Ruckus Nation Competition- We Help You Win $75 Grand!

I received an email today from Games for Health about a new competition called Ruckus Nation. This fantastic initiative invites people from all over the world to come up with a product idea that gets kids up and moving, to help control weight gain in kids. The winner of this competition could win $75,000, after which HopeLab (the non-profit group which is running the competition) will develop the idea and possibly bring it to market.

I thought this was one of the most socially valuable competitions I’ve heard about in a long time, so thought I might be able to help out with some ideas on how to best develop a winning product. Keep in mind this competition aims at kids in middle school (ages 11 through 14) and can be almost any kind of product (see the exact guidelines in PDF form here).

Without further adieu, here’s our way of helping you win $75 grand, and helping HopeLab reduce kiddy waist lines everywhere:

• Kids can be competitive- does your idea pit child against child, or does it give kids a chart which shows their progress against themselves, other groups, or the world?
• Kids in middle school are generally social with each other, does your idea involve groups of kids, or can it leverage off involving a social element to the game?
• Kids enjoy rewards and recognition, can this idea of yours give a sense of reward or achievement to the kids using it?
• Does your idea provide information which gives the child knowledge that they can then apply in life? Can your idea get both get the child up & moving, as well as provide weight loss information at the same time?
• Is your product cool? Are kids going to ‘puke’ when they see it, or is it likely to become socially unacceptable for kids using it? You may need to run your idea past some kids aged around 11-14 years to gauge their reaction. Forget the perils of the generation gap and you may risk missing out on a prize!
• Does your idea get kids moving, and give them incentive to keep moving? Judging guidelines for the competition state that 20% of the score given to an entry is based on whether you can keep your kids moving after you’ve given them motivation to get up to begin with. A device like a pedometer might be key to monitoring that a child is moving around, but how can you use that to motivate them to keep going?
• Is your idea easily portable, or available to kids all day long? If your idea consists of a very large product that can only be accessed in large outdoor areas at limited times of the day, or only small numbers of people are able to use it at a time, the product may not appeal to HopeLab. Remember, the more kids that can afford to use it, and are able to use it at the greatest length of time during the day, the better.
• Another judging criteria is whether your idea gives kids the control over the product. You shouldn’t find it hard to go wrong here, just be sure nothing about your product design requires adults to be involved. Adults aren’t cool anyway, just ask your kids!
• Find some inspiration by looking at current trends. Two that I’m particularly aware of are Dance, Dance Revolution and the degree to which that has taken off as an exercise tool for schools, and the Nintendo Wii. What elements of those two products can you identify as being integral to their success? My ideas are; its fun, its cool, and it involves your friends. I doubt getting fit at the same time has ever had an influence over how popular those products are with kids.
• I can’t believe it, but I almost forgot the most important, and most obvious tip! Is your product fun!? If you can make the product or game fun, or addictive, then you have a much better shot at getting a prize. Again, you will want to consult with some 11-14 year olds to see if your idea of fun is the same as theirs. If you want some inspiration from addictive games, try playing The Sims, or World of Warcraft. These games are like some kind of addictive drug- I’ve personally spent far too many hours on both. And while I’m on the topic of drugs, the competition doesn’t allow you to enter any kind of medication or surgical ideas, so you’ll have to follow that one up on your own…!
• The competition allows you to enter solo, or as a member of a team. I strongly suggest if you’re an adult, you enlist the help of a couple of team members who are around that 11-14 age group. I’ve already mentioned a few times why this is a good idea, but having a kid around who can poke holes in what you believe to be a flawless masterpiece may elevate your idea from unsuccessful, to a $250 prize winner, a $25,000 category prize winner, or to the top $75,000 prize winner.
• Is your idea original, or is it a clone of another idea? HopeLab would like the entries to be bold, creative and original. These criteria alone will help HopeLab market the idea to the media better, and hence create a more successful product which more kids will be able to use. However, be sure that while your idea is bold or creative, Ruckus Nation are looking for ideas for products that actually can be developed in the near future, so no holodecks or anti-gravity boots. More on that, here.
• Ruckus Nation suggests you come up with an idea by thinking of a time when you were physically active and moving about, and it was really fun. Numerous ideas pop into my head at this point that unfortunately only over 18′s could engage in, but the guideline may help you none the less.
• Finally once its all said and done, you need to submit your entry. Even if you’ve had mixed response from adults and kids, if you personally believe strongly in your idea- submit it. You never know what the greater population might think of it, or whether HopeLab can use your idea in combination with something else.

I hope you’ve found my list useful and are able to make a lot of kids healthier, and yourself wealthier!

If you’re interested in signing up, go here, you need to submit your entry by November 20 at 5pm PT. And please read all the legal and entry requirements. While I’ve done my best to be accurate regarding what I’ve written about here, its best to review all HopeLab’s documents in detail, especially the legal guidelines!

If you have any good ideas for submission to my list, please let me know via comments, below, or via my contact page.

Good luck!

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