Turning a Design App into a Game and Improving Retention | Gili Dangeli (Playtika)

Description

Gili Dangeli studied psychology and brain sciences, worked in marketing research and consulting and in digital marketing, and got into product management through Playtika's product management academy. Today she is a product manager on Redecor, an interior design game played mostly by women who don't see themselves as gamers. In this episode she describes how focus groups and data exposed two problems: content that disappeared after 48 hours, and a first-to-tenth ranking that made the experience impossible to control and drove frustration and churn. The fix was a saga inspired by Solitaire and June's Journey, with hearts instead of winning and losing. Gili also covers mid-term layers that didn't all work, the psychology of the players (recognition, relaxation, values-driven content), the next challenge of long-term retention and a more precise economy, and the skills that take a PM from good to excellent: deep understanding of every stakeholder, interpersonal skills, and communicating the "why".

Key moments

1. 0:56 · From psychology and brain sciences to product
2. 2:03 · From marketing research to Playtika's PM academy
3. 3:53 · What Redecor is and who it's for
4. 6:14 · Discovery with players: focus groups and playtests
5. 10:34 · Two pains: disappearing content and no control over the experience
6. 14:14 · The saga: inspiration from Solitaire and June's Journey
7. 18:02 · Hearts instead of win/lose, and day-2 retention
8. 21:16 · Mid-term layers and the copy-paste mistakes
9. 23:17 · Player psychology: recognition and relaxation
10. 25:06 · The next challenge: long-term retention and a precise economy
11. 33:13 · Key skills: ownership and interpersonal skills
12. 37:59 · Rallying stakeholders and using AI
13. 41:37 · The tip: communicate the why and lobby early