Organizing a campaign

Goal

Use this guide to plan a GameBus campaign before it goes live. You will define the campaign structure, decide how users are grouped, plan waves, and map missions to activity data.

1. Define the campaign

Start with a clear campaign scope.

• Give the campaign a short name.
• Decide which domain the campaign will use.
• Write the main behavior change goal in plain language.
• List the roles needed to run the campaign.

Good campaign goals are specific. For example, "help participants walk more each week" is easier to configure than "improve health".

2. Plan the groups

Create a group plan before adding users.

Then decide which roles people need in each group:

• participants take part in missions;
• trainers guide or support participants;
• managers oversee setup and progress.

3. Plan the waves

Waves define when things happen. Write down each period with a start date, end date, and purpose.

Common waves include:

• onboarding;
• baseline measurement;
• intervention;
• follow-up;
• repeat rounds for later cohorts.

If groups start at different times, use waves to keep the timeline clear.

4. Design the missions

Missions should guide users through meaningful progress. Keep each mission focused on one campaign goal.

For each mission, define:

• the target group;
• the wave in which it is active;
• the milestones users should reach;
• the tasks that complete each milestone;
• the skills that tasks improve.

5. Decide how progress is measured

Progress in GameBus comes from activities. For each task, decide which activity proves that the task was done.

Examples:

• a walking task can use a walking activity with steps or distance;
• a reflection task can use a feedback activity;
• a training task can use a completed-session activity.

Then decide how much each activity contributes to a skill. Contributions are percentage points from 1 to 100.

6. Connect providers

Providers are the sources of activity data. A provider can be a manual entry flow, GameBus itself, or an external integration such as an activity tracker.

7. Define consent and privacy choices

Before launch, make data handling explicit.

• Decide which consent items are required and which are optional.
• Check whether the campaign needs terms of use, a privacy policy, or a specific license version.
• Review each activity property and set the right default visibility: public, private, or hidden.
• Limit provider permissions to the activity data the campaign actually needs.
• If you use custom embeds, allow only trusted iframe origins for the relevant activity templates.

8. Review the campaign rules

Before launch, check the full path for each user type.

• Can the user join the right campaign group?
• Are study arm assignments clear?
• Are waves dated correctly?
• Is each mission enrolled for the right group and wave?
• Do tasks award the expected skills?
• Do activities have the properties needed for progress?
• Are consent items, license agreements, and property visibility settings correct?
• Do staff have the right roles?

Outcome

At the end of this guide, you should have a campaign plan that is ready to configure in GameBus Core: groups, waves, missions, tasks, skills, activities, and providers all have a clear purpose.