In November 2024, I stepped onto a stage at the Waldorf Astoria Orlando to pitch an idea to supercharge company culture.
More than 100 ideas had been entered into NIQ's Culture Slam, an internal competition for ideas with the potential to strengthen company culture. Five finalists were selected to pitch live. There would be one winner.
The format was uncompromising: five minutes to pitch, followed by four minutes of Q&A.
The idea I presented was NIQ Universe, a gamified learning experience designed to help colleagues understand the complete market research value chain.
By the end of the event, NIQ Universe won, securing $250,000 in funding to bring the idea to life.
Winning the pitch and holding the $250,000 cheque above my head was an unforgettable moment. More importantly, it was a strong vote of confidence in the idea and in the role creative learning can play in shaping company culture.
Making the whole business visible
In a large and complex organisation, people naturally become specialists. They develop deep expertise in their own part of the business but may have fewer opportunities to see how their work connects with everything that happens before and after it.
That matters. Strong company cultures are built when people understand not only their own responsibilities, but also how their decisions affect colleagues, clients and the final outcome.
NIQ Universe was created to make those connections visible.
Rather than asking employees to work through another traditional training course, we designed an experience they could actively explore. Players join a mission to help a fictional client succeed in a challenging market, making decisions and solving problems as they progress through the research process.
Gamifying the market research value chain
The game takes employees through the full market research value chain. Players must complete each stage of the journey, including:
- Universe studies and sample design
- Data collection
- Data ingestion, validation and quality control
- Product coding
- Client configuration and reporting
- Turning information into insights that can be presented to a client
Each stage gives players a different perspective on how NIQ creates value. Players earn points and badges by understanding the connections between teams, making sound decisions and recognising the consequences further along the chain.
The objective is not simply to teach processes. It is to build greater appreciation for the expertise that exists across the company and create a shared understanding of how those different disciplines come together to serve clients.
Why gamification matters
The best learning experiences do more than transfer information. They spark curiosity, encourage participation and give people a reason to keep moving forward.
A mission, clear stages, decisions, feedback and visible progress can transform a complicated business process into an experience that is easier to explore and remember.
For NIQ Universe, the game format also reflects the reality of our work. Success rarely comes from one person or one team. It comes from people with different expertise completing their part of a connected journey.
By allowing employees to experience that journey for themselves, the game helps them see the bigger picture and understand the contribution made by colleagues across the organisation.
And perhaps most importantly, it was fun. When learning is enjoyable, people are more willing to participate, experiment and remember what they discover.
By the end of the first month after launch, more than 2,000 employees had completed the game.
An investment in shared understanding
The $250,000 prize was more than funding for a learning platform. It represented an investment in helping employees understand the end-to-end research journey: how their work connects, why every stage matters and how NIQ ultimately turns data into insights that help clients grow.
For me, the experience reinforced a simple lesson: ambitious ideas do not always need a long presentation.
Sometimes you have five minutes to make people see the possibility, four minutes to defend it and one opportunity to change what happens next.