Boehringer Ingelheim InSync: gamified online training on a journey to Mars

The starting point was clear: a lack of knowledge and understanding of the InSync methodology, which the organisation had recently launched to improve communication and teamwork. A new tool, freshly presented and, so far, not actually in use.

It is the classic problem with any internal methodology: it gets presented, filed and forgotten. On top of that came the format, an online training session, competing with email, notifications and the temptation to switch the camera off. The session had to be dynamic enough to hold attention for two hours and, on top of that, leave behind something that kept working once the call ended. If InSync was meant to improve teamwork, the training itself had to get teams working together.

The proposal was a highly dynamic learning experience paired with a powerful concept: an online training event built around the idea of a space journey to Mars. The whole experience was packed with space references, imagery and graphic elements that burst out of the screen throughout the two-hour intervention.

The journey fits what was being taught. A space mission only succeeds if the crew communicates and works in sync, which is exactly what InSync promises. And the narrative solved the online format problem: this was not just another video call, it was a lift-off. So that the mission did not end when the session closed, there were WhatsApp stickers, printed shuttle tickets and an openbook inviting people to keep practising the tools while the team carried on “travelling” around Mars.