• by Les Luchter , July 13, 2022

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched its first virtual health worker: an AI character named Florence, who helps players achieve and maintain physical and emotional health in Stork Limited’s Goodville, a mobile app which is itself a blend of farm adventure game and emotional well-being enhancer. The latter goal is achieved as players communicate with in-game characters to fulfill game tasks.

Alexey Meleshkevich, co-founder of Stork Limited, told Marketing Daily that a promotion featuring the Goodville/WHO tie-in will be running soon at both the App Storefor iOS and Google Play for Android.

Florence provides tips and advice in line with WHO's #HealthyAtHome educational initiative. This includes not only improving mental health, but also highlighting the importance of physical activity, healthy diet -- and, for relevant adult players, ways to stop smoking.

Florence is also knowledgeable about COVID-19 and provides answers to questions about vaccines.

“We work with the technology industry and gaming companies, such as Stork Limited, to bring credible health content to people in the palms of their hands so that they can make better health decisions for themselves and their loved ones," explained Andy Pattison, WHO’s team lead, Digital Channels, in a press release.

How does Florence actually work?

Players answer a series of interactive questions, and she then tailors a response to address their needs, according to the announcement. “Then, with the player's input, Florence draws from the best available science to create a personal plan while offering players support and guidance throughout the process.”

Since its launch two years ago, Goodville has been downloaded more than 500,000 times in the U.S. and 1.8 million times worldwide, according to Sensor Tower mobile analytics.

The free app, developed in collaboration with neurophysiologists and psychiatrists, is monetized through a combination of in-app purchasing and in-app advertising, which include rewarded video and interstitials. Bidstack and HyprMX serve as native ad providers, with IronSource handling app management functions.

“The pandemic, conflict, and overall uncertainty have become part of our reality,” said Meleshkevich. “Goodville is a nonobtrusive way for players to achieve and normalize their emotional well-being with in-game mechanics and daily psychological tests."