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Igniting Viva Engage Adoption with Gamification: A New Era Success Story

Written by New Era Technology | Jul 9, 2025 2:03:24 PM

Client Objective

Boost internal engagement and social learning across the enterprise by increasing daily usage and visibility of Viva Engage as a hub for peer connection, knowledge sharing, and change momentum.

The Challenge 

Viva Engage had been deployed, but was underutilized.

  • Few employees actively posted or engaged with content
  • Departments worked in silos, with minimal cross-functional sharing
  • Leaders wanted more authentic, bottom-up communication and energy around transformation initiatives like Microsoft Copilot

New Era was brought in to energize adoption and make Viva Engage a trusted, go-to platform - not just another app.

Our Approach: Gamified Engagement, Peer Recognition, and Role-Based Activation

Gamification Engine 

We turned Viva Engage into a dynamic, fun, and social learning space by launching:

  • Daily Challenges tied to Microsoft Copilot (e.g., “Share your favorite prompt,” “Post a time-saving tip”)
  • Themed Weeks (Prompt Week, Productivity Week, Power Prompters Week) with curated content and missions
  • Departmental Leaderboards to showcase posting activity, feedback shared, and engagement per team
  • Digital Badges for milestones (First Post, First Tip, 5 Prompts Shared, Team MVP)

Interactive Engagement Activities

We layered gamification with interactive experiences that pulled people into Viva Engage organically:

  • “Copilot in Action” Story Campaign: Employees posted real stories of how they used AI to save time or solve problems
  • Ask Me Anything (AMA) with AI Champions: Internal experts hosted open threads where employees could ask Copilot questions in Viva Engage
  • Weekly Shoutouts: Leaders spotlighted contributors with high-value posts and comments, driving recognition and reinforcing desired behaviors
  • Crowdsourced Prompt Library: Top-voted prompts from Viva Engage were collected and published to a shared resource hub

Executive and Manager Buy-In

We provided managers and leaders with:

  • A weekly playbook of messages to amplify the campaign
  • Pre-written engagement prompts to post in Viva Engage
  • Dashboards showing their team’s engagement levels
  • Talking points to discuss the “why” behind Viva and Copilot adoption 

What Made It Work

  • Gamification tied to real work (e.g., Copilot usage), not just points-for-posting
  • Recognition and visibility at multiple levels; peer, manager, and exec
  • Consistent rhythm of posts, prompts, and campaign moments to keep momentum
  • Community-first mindset that positioned Viva Engage as a space for sharing, not pushing 

Client Testimonial

“We thought Viva Engage would be a slow burn. New Era made it explode. People were posting, learning, and connecting in ways we hadn’t seen before. It’s become a part of our change culture, not just a communications tool.”

The Takeaway

When you infuse gamification and peer storytelling into adoption strategies, tools like Viva Engage become more than a platform, they become part of how your organization learns, grows, and connects.

 

Want to drive authentic engagement with Microsoft 365?
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