Background
In celebration of Wikipedia’s 25th birthday, the Apps will launch a 25th Birthday Reading Challenge, that motivates readers to meet certain reading goals, for the opportunity to win prizes. This is patterned off of Summer Reading challenges run by local libraries and schools in the US. We’ll build an associated widget that helps users track progress towards their goals. The challenge and associated widget will be a temporary feature in the apps. It must launch on May 1st, end after May 31.
We believe that introducing a time-bound streak challenge will increase the frequency and consistency of Wikipedia app sessions among participating users. By giving readers a concrete daily goal (opening one article each day) and a visible record of their progress, we expect to establish a reading habit that persists beyond the challenge period itself.
The core assumption is that extrinsic motivation (the streak counter, the prizes) can inspire intrinsic motivation (genuine curiosity and the habit of daily reading), and that users who complete or meaningfully engage with the challenge will show higher retention rates in the months following May than they did before.
Annual Plan tie-in
This work fits under Key Result WE 3.8: By the end of Q4, scale at least one experiment per platform (web and apps) that displayed improvement to retention or an indicator metric for active readers in a test environment, monitoring a guardrail appropriate for the feature.
Hypothesis
If we add a temporary 25th Birthday reading challenge widget on the apps that motivates users to meet a reading goal, we'll see a 5% higher conversion rate from casual (2-week return) to active (2-day returned) for users who joined the challenge in the first 14 days, compared to our baseline of 16.8%.
Top-line user stories
- As a Wikipedia reader, I want to be challenged and reminded to read more Wikipedia articles, so that I can build a habit of learning something new everyday.
- As a dedicated fan of Wikipedia, I want to have access to exclusive features and swag related to the 25th birthday, so that I show others how much I love Wikipedia as it reaches this milestone.
- As a readers PM, I want to learn how effective goal setting and reading streaks are, so that we can decide whether to invest more in this space.
How we'll measure success
3-day leading indicator check
- 0.1 - Full page announcement was displayed to 40% of active users
- 0.2 - 10% of those who see the announcement join the challenge
- 0.3 - 5% of those who joined the challenge install the widget
20-day analysis
Funnel metrics
- 0.1 - Full page announcement was displayed to 40% of active users
- 0.2 - 10% of those who see the announcement join the challenge
- 0.3 - 5% of those who joined the challenge install the widget
Key Results
- KR 1.1 - X% increase in the overall upgrade rate (velocity) of casual readers to active readers compared to baseline (previous months)
- KR 1.2 - 5% higher conversion rate from casual (2-week return) to active (2-day returned) for users who joined the challenge in the first 14 days, compared to our baseline of 16.8%
- KR 1.4 - Users who installed the widget have a 5% higher upgrade rate compared to users who simply joined the challenge
Curiosities
- CR 2.1 - (Android only) For campaign new installs, what was their retention split? (what % became casual users, what % became active) How do they compare to non-campaign installs? Did we see any differences between new installs who joined the challenge vs did not?
- CR 2.2 - How many users claimed their prizes? (utilized their discount code, or added the custom app icon)
- CR 2.3: How many people installed the app just for this challenge? (new installs from Comms) (Android only)
- CR 2.4: What was the most common drop off point in terms of streak days? 10, 15. 20, etc
- CR 2.5: How many accounts were created through the challenge?
- CR 2.6: Did we create long-term habits: after the challenge period continued, did those who took part in the challenge retain at the same rate as during the challenge?
Overall feature requirements
- Announcement to users to the challenge upon first app open after launch
- Create a reading challenge Widget
- Provide states to motivate maintenance of the streak and communicate the conclusion of the challenge
- Custom app install link for Comms promotion
Nice to have
- Create a reading challenge module within Activity tab of the app
Detailed requirements can be found on each user story sub-task
User stories
Onboarding & Enrollment
- Show Join announcement to logged-in readers
- As a casual Wikipedia reader, I want to discover the May Reading Challenge through a non-intrusive prompt, so that I can opt in without feeling pressured.
- As a new participant joining anytime in May, I want to understand the rules upfront: open 1 article per day, for 25 days, with 1 automatic streak freeze: so that I can make an informed decision to join.
- As a new participant, I want to know that my prizes travel with me even if I finish after May 31st, so that I feel confident committing to the challenge regardless of when I join.
- Show join announcement to logged-out users with prompt
- As a logged-out user who clicks "Join" on the Reading Challenge announcement, I want to be prompted to log in or create an account, so that I can participate and have my streak tracked: and upon logging in, I want to land directly on the Activity tab, already enrolled in the challenge.
- [Nice to have] As a logged-out user who clicks "Join" and then starts creating an account, I want to be able to navigate "back" to the challenge announcement, so I can read more and decide whether I want to continue creating an account.
Daily Engagement
- Start reading
- As a new participant, I want to see a friendly invitation to start reading, so that I feel positive about my decision to join the challenge.
- Daily reading
- As a participant, I want to open any Wikipedia article to log my daily read, so that participation feels natural and fits how I already use Wikipedia.
- As a participant, I want to see my current streak count and whether I've read today across the Activity tab module and widget, so that I can check my progress and have a reason to open the app daily.
- As a participant, I want to open any Wikipedia article to log my daily read, so that participation feels natural and fits how I already use Wikipedia.
- Widget
- As a reading challenge participant, I want access to a widget so I can be reminded daily about the challenge without intrusive push notifications.
- Activity Module
- As an app user, I want to see the reading challenge within Activity, so that I can track my progress and access prizes.
- Restarting the challenge
- As a participant whose streak has ended, I want the option to restart the challenge, so that I can re-engage if enough days remain in May for a fresh attempt to be mathematically possible.
- As a participant whose streak has ended with insufficient days remaining to complete a restart, I want the restart option hidden, so that I'm not misled into an impossible attempt.
Completion & Reward
- As a participant who completes 25 days, I want to automatically receive my 15% store discount code and have the Baby Globe icon applied to my profile, so that the reward feels immediate and satisfying.
- As a participant who did not complete 25 days, I want my best effort recognized and communicated so that I understand what my progress was.
Nice to Have
- Additional Widget prompt
- As a user who has just joined the challenge, I want to be prompted to install the widget immediately after enrolling, so that I'm nudged to set up my best retention tool at the moment I'm most motivated.
- Joining Just for the fun of it
- As a participant who returns after May 31st and wants to continue, I want the option to finish "just for the fun of it" with no prizes on the line, so that I can complete my personal streak goal if I choose to.
- Streak freeze
- As a participant who misses a day, I want my one streak freeze to be applied automatically, so that I'm protected without having to take any action.
- As a participant who has already used their freeze and misses another day, I want to know immediately that my streak has ended, so that I'm not left confused about my status.
- Share
- As a participant who completes the challenge, I want to be able to share my achievement, so that I can celebrate and potentially inspire others to build a reading habit.
- Re-start screen
- As a participant who lost my streak but still has time to restart, I want to see a specific acknowledgement of my past streak, with an invitation to restart instead of a 0 days, so I feel more motivated to start again.
