Turning strategy into a game
The challenge
Organisations take the time to create detailed customer personas, but they can end up sitting in a slide deck on a server, never to be seen again. Selwyn District Council wanted to make their personas practical, memorable, and part of their team’s decision-making.
First, we needed to help craft the right personas for the council. Then the challenge was to help staff understand each of these audiences and ensure they stayed front of mind – instead of on server.
Our solution
We worked with Selwyn District Council to develop three sets of personas, each representing a segment of their community. The personas are fictional profiles based on real people, designed to guide every decision about events, communications, and services. They help staff:
- Understand how people engage with Council services
- Communicate in more inclusive and effective ways
- Build empathy for different needs and lived experiences.
To make learning fun and memorable, we created Persona Bingo — a gamified approach that turns persona knowledge into an interactive experience.
How to play:
- Listen to a clue about a persona
- Mark the matching persona on your bingo card
- Write the clue under the persona name
- Complete a row or column to win
- Share the clues you matched to each persona
The game encouraged discussion, debate, and storytelling, helping staff connect with the personas while team building.
We facilitated the first bingo session with council staff, providing templates and guides so they could continue running sessions independently, to keep reminding themselves of their customer personas.
The impact
The feedback was enthusiastic! — Staff reported the game made personas approachable, memorable, and easy to apply in real-world decisions. They said it was fun!
The gamified format made learning social and memorable, helping teams design better events, communications, and services that truly respond to their community’s needs.
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Client feedback
Selwyn District Council
"The gamified approach completely changed how our team connects with our community personas. What used to be a static document has become something everyone actually talks about and uses. The Persona Bingo session was such a hit — they sparked real conversation, laughter, and even a bit of healthy debate! It’s helped us build genuine empathy for our different audiences — from our older residents to our younger people and local business owners. We’re now making decisions with these voices in mind, not just because they’re written on a page, but because we feel like we actually know them."
Natalie Cahill, Economic Development Engagement Lead, Selwyn District Council
