Rebuild the platform around a different model of gamification, one that connects every user action into a loyalty system, so the site stops being a series of experiences and starts being a returning engagement loop.
Challenge
The work was a handover. The site existed, the audience existed, the brand existed. The job was to take what was there and rebuild the engagement model from the ground up to match where the campaign was heading.
The previous mechanics were experience-style. Users completed a questionnaire or watched a 360 VR walkthrough, then moved on. There was nothing pulling them back. The new direction needed mechanics with stickiness: gacha-style rewards, points that accumulate, returns that pay off. Different model, different code, different system thinking.
Stickiness on its own wasn't enough. Gamification, comments, registration, and content interactions all needed to feed into the same points-based loyalty system. Otherwise the new platform would just be a collection of features, the same problem the old version had, dressed up differently. The point was to make every action a user took count toward something larger, so the site stopped being a series of moments and started being a single engagement loop.
And all of it had to feel right for Charm's actual audience. These are women looking for education and entertainment, not gamers chasing points. The mechanics had to feel rewarding without feeling like a game. The loyalty system had to feel natural without feeling like a frequent flyer program.
What we built
The platform was rebuilt around a single principle: every meaningful action a user takes on the site should feed into the same engagement loop. The visual redesign aligned with the new campaign direction, with cleaner article layouts and a more engaging interface that still sits within Unicharm's brand standards. But the deeper work was the mechanics underneath.
Gacha-style gamification. A daily gacha mechanic where users play to win between 20 and 500 points, with rewards layered in. Built for daily replay rather than one-time experience.
Trivia Quiz mechanic. A daily trivia quiz where users earn points for answering correctly. Educational content turned into a points-earning activity that supports the brand's mission.
Article interactions that count. Readers can read, share, and comment on articles, with each interaction tied back to the points system. One-way publishing became multi-directional engagement.
ChaCha Gold Points loyalty system. A full loyalty engine sits behind the points, branded as ChaCha Gold Points to fit Charm's voice. Users track their balance, see their activity history, and redeem points for rewards.
Mail blasting built into the platform. A direct mail blasting feature lets Charm's marketing team communicate with their registered audience from inside the same platform that captures them, without third-party tools.
Simplified registration. Sign-up was streamlined to remove friction, with social login options added to lower the barrier for first-time users entering the loyalty system.
The mechanics are designed to compound. A user signs up for points, logs in for points, reads an article for points, comments for points, plays Gacha for points, answers a Trivia question for points. None of these are large actions on their own. Together, they turn a content site into a system where every visit produces something the brand can build on, and gives the user a reason to come back tomorrow.
Outcome
An engagement model that compounds. The previous version had engagement as a series of one-off experiences. The new platform turns every visit into an action that adds up: points earned, content engaged with, behavior captured.
A loyalty system that gives the brand a returning audience. The loyalty layer gives Charm a structural reason for users to come back, alongside a database of engaged, opted-in users for the marketing team to work with.
Marketing operating from one platform. With mail blasting built into the site, Charm's marketing team can run direct campaigns to their audience without external tools, keeping the brand-to-user relationship inside Charm's own platform.
Aligned with the new campaign direction. The platform matches where Unicharm wanted the brand to go, with mechanics, loyalty logic, and design language all built around the new direction rather than retrofitted onto the old.