How we built Alan Walk in less than 6 months (part III)

Three months later and with the initial launch validated, it was time for a checkpoint, and as the first results were great, we decided to go all-in and invest more resources with a bigger crew. It was time to scale and crack three key challenges: enhancing the core experience, cracking enrollment at scale, broadening our feature set, and increasing long-term retention.

For context, we recently explored and used Rive, an animation software bridging the gap between motion graphics and interfaces. You can learn more about it in this blog article.

Our major focus was improving the step counter and the collection experience.

While functional, our initial gauge design had limitations. Members weren't sure about rewards beyond 10,000 steps, and the progress visualization needed clarity. Not to mention that the berries collection wasn't clear and exciting enough. We needed something more engaging to show progress and celebrate achievements.

We went through multiple iterations to improve the existing gauge and solve these challenges but it wasn’t great, we didn’t find something we liked.

But powered by our recent adoption of Rive for delightful animations, we finally ended up with a great redesign for the gauge that marked a pivotal moment in Walk's evolution.

The result? A vibrant 'rainbow' gauge with multiple arcs that celebrate each milestone.

At its heart, our dynamic marmot mascot brings personality and playfulness to the experience — resting quietly when inactive, springing to life with a basket of berries when berries were ready to be collected.

This wasn't merely a cosmetic upgrade — it transformed how members experience their daily progress, turning step-counting into an engaging daily habit.

We transformed the berries collection from a passive popup into an interactive celebration transforming a simple reward collection into a moment of pure delight.

We wanted the moment of collecting berries to feel truly special — a small celebration of your daily movement. Through Rive animations, we created an experience where berries would burst into joyful explosions when collected after tapping on the marmot. Adding haptic feedback brought a satisfying tactile dimension to these moments, making each berry collection feel more meaningful and rewarding.

Overall, these animations and improvements on the core experience made the entire experience more intuitive and enjoyable for our members.

From refreshing old avatars with better and more exciting ones to improving the leaderboard and charities interface, we’ve also made quite a lot of small changes that, in the end, together created a more cohesive and engaging experience that keeps members coming back.

We worked and iterated a lot on our communication flow.

This refined communication approach drove activation rates to new heights — 70% for automatic launches and 85% with assistance. Through extensive A/B/C testing, we've discovered what truly engages our audience.

For HRs, the human touch makes all the difference. Emails offering personal calls achieved an 11% click rate, highlighting how crucial personal reassurance is in the adoption process.

For members, timing and tone proved critical, with the first three days being decisive. Our pre-launch teasers consistently outperform (65% open rate vs 55% average), and friendly, reward-focused messaging resonates strongly. We also learned that once activated, members become powerful advocates, with their communications achieving 92% open rates.

But most importantly, we learned that authenticity trumps creativity: member testimonials tripled click rates compared to memes or graphics, and messages focused on novelty and rewards consistently outperformed those emphasizing competition.

We also completely reimagined our entire onboarding activation journey.

This new activation flow created a more comprehensive introduction to Walk, guiding members through every key feature — from understanding core benefits and authorizing step tracking to personalizing their avatar, completing challenges, and exploring the social aspects of the leaderboard.

Results revealed interesting tradeoffs. On the positive side, we saw increased engagement with active challenges and higher berry collection rates. However, these gains came at a cost: overall conversion rates dropped from 94% to 88%, and avatar customization fell significantly from 96% to 64%.

This data taught us an important lesson: while deeper engagement with core features is valuable, each additional step creates friction that can deter some users from completing activation.

In fact, our improvement in enrollment rates ultimately came more from our refined communication strategy than from the new activation experience.

After iterating on the activation experience and communications, we saw enrollment rates doubling. Walk was gaining traction and we therefore focused on enriching the experience with new features.

Alan Shop is our curated online platform offering health and wellness products and services recommended by our healthcare professionals.

The integration with Alan Shop brought our rewards full circle. Members were able to exchange berries for discounts on health products. It was also the first step in integrating the layer of gamification with berries outside of Walk.

To add more excitement to daily walks, we introduced our first active challenge, Brisk Walk, and added streak systems to celebrate consistency. The concept, complete a 10 or 20-minute fast walk daily for rewards.

Lastly, we released a comprehensive achievement system centered around a personal profile page that serves as both trophy room and social hub. Members showcase their journey through earned badges — celebrating various milestones — alongside their walking statistics and records.

This space has become more than just a personal dashboard; it's a social hub where members explore each other's achievements. This social dimension has proven particularly engaging, with 25% of players visiting other members' profiles weekly, creating a powerful motivation loop that keeps members coming back.

Alan Walk is live for 11,000 members across 724 companies, with over 2,250 weekly active users, with numbers that tell a compelling story:

And a real behavioral change, with members taking an average of 1,000 additional steps each day!

Most significantly, on the long term, Walk has transformed how members interact with Alan. Walk-eligible employees show 35% app engagement versus 21% for non-eligible members, and they spend more time exploring health services than insurance features — a fundamental shift in how they view their health insurance partner.

This has clearly demonstrated the strong potential of Alan Walk and gamification to boost member wellness and engagement.

Alan Walk was just the beginning. We're now doubling down to expand gamification across our entire health offering.

Concretely, we will soon introduce exciting new game mechanics — from duels and challenges to levels and enhanced social features. We are also revamping the current navigation experience by putting gamification and your health at the center.

We are expanding gamification to all new French customers, with our sights set on a global launch across France, Spain, Belgium, and Canada by Q2 2025.

As we look ahead, one thing is clear: gamification isn't just a feature — it's becoming core to how we help members engage with their health. Alan Walk proved that taking care of your health can be both rewarding and fun. Now, we're ready to bring that experience to everyone.

Keep on walking! 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️

Interested in building the future of health with us? We're hiring for product, design, and brand roles.