Nike Grid has been called a 'real world web' running game: an immersive experience designed to augment the traditional running experience with a blend of physical city and virtual interactions. It's important to note that this was far more than a half-hearted experiment in mere 'gamification'. It was created with a focussed objective in mind: to unlock an interest in running amongst people that wouldn't ordinarily call themselves runners (due to a lack of association with the established culture of running and a pre-determined opinion of what running was and should be), by re-presenting what it could be using playful interaction design, gaming theory and the unmistakable energy of Nike. This was something we couldn't just say, we had to do.

Grid took place in London over two game periods, both built around the central objective of running through London to claim territory and rewards. Runs were logged through a physical connection with the cityscape - phone boxes - rendering the experience uniquely and unequivocally 'London'. All you needed to play was a desire to run, and a Facebook account. (Making this a human experience, rather than a technological one, was paramount, and a fundamental to this was removing as many barriers to participation as possible).

Grid created a depth of engagement unseen in any other Nike activation project from recent memory. 31,000 total runs were logged. 62,000 phone calls were made.

The active Facebook community shared tips and tactics, posting comments every 6 minutes over the 2 week period, with over a third of these receiving responses from other players.

Over 2 weeks, players clocked up more than one run every minute and on average spent 12 minutes on Nike Grid sites. The most active pushing themselves to over 40 runs a day. 9 of them ran every single phonebox in all 48 postcodes.

Players changed their profile pictures to GRID related photos and logos. After the game we sent all runners their individual game stats. At the end of the game, the players organised their own celebration party, to meet each other and celebrate their victories.In total, players collectively ran half the circumference of the Earth (over 12,500 miles).