Spotlight on Business Solutions
Behaviour Interactive’s Business Solutions Unit was created in 2014 to help companies harness the potential of video game technology. We spoke to Dominique Lebel, Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Vice-President, about the unit’s work and its unique place in the marketplace.
You’ve had an impressive career to date – in politics, at the head of big advertising firm, and as an author. Why did you choose this opportunity to build the Business Solutions Unit at Behaviour?
There is a common thread running through my career and that’s an interest in solving concrete problems that people and/or companies are facing. I see all these roles in a continuum, as different ways of solving problems.
I joined Behaviour in 2014 because I was persuaded that the impact of video games in our lives will only get greater. I was also convinced that video game developers have unrecognized expertise that will only become more valuable in the future. I think both these assumptions have been pretty accurate!
What problem does the Business Solutions Unit try to solve?
The Business Solutions team is essentially interested in two kinds of questions.
The first focuses on the client experience on digital platforms. What have we learned through developing video games that can improve the digital engagement of, say, banking or insurance company clients? How can our expertise in UI and UX, and our understanding of consumer behaviour, help a company with the development of training tools? These are the subjects that excite us and we know that we can have a real impact on our client’s digital performance.
The second question is technology, specifically the high-performance technologies that we use in the gaming industry. This includes development engines like Unity and Unreal and other complementary tools like Olympus, a proprietary technology that Behaviour has developed to support our digital products. To use a concrete example, technologies developed for making video games are renowned for their efficiency and reliability for 3D projects, be it simulation, visualization, or customization. Gaming tech is also used to create impactful AR and VR experiences.
What industries could benefit from gaming technology?
The expertise of video game developers and artists can help companies differentiate themselves in the market and accomplish the previously unimaginable. More and more, video game technology is being used in the aeronautics, construction, automobile, and retail industries. For example, Behaviour’s Business Solutions Unit has worked with Bombardier Aviation to develop customization tools for private jets. Gaming tech is also widely used in simulation projects.
Video game technology is also more and more present in the entertainment industry. For example, we’ve created an entirely new virtual experience in partnership with Montreal’s Fly Studio for the New Year’s Eve Times Square celebration in New York City.
Do other video game companies have a unit like Business Solutions, or is Behaviour unique in this regard?
There are quite a few companies that provide services in what we call gamification. This is not the niche we want to develop. Our interest is transposing what we have learned – about user behaviour on digital platforms and what we can do with gaming technology – into transformative projects for large organizations. There aren’t many in the market offering this kind of service.
What’s the value-added of Business Solutions being part of Behaviour?
First, we exist because of Behaviour! It’s the expertise and the rich range of projects and teams at Behaviour that nourish us. Our mission is to leverage best practices in the gaming industry and put them at the disposal of large organizations.
At the same time, the kind of expertise that we have on the Business Solutions team, and the projects we’re undertaking and the clients we’re working for, also benefit the rest of Behaviour. This creative cross-pollination makes Behaviour truly unique – expertise in one business unit can be tapped to benefit the others and take their projects to the next level.
What are the different types of expertise on your team?
Our expertise resembles much of Behaviour’s other business units. What differentiates us is the kind of projects to which we apply it.
What motivates those working for the Business Solutions Unit?
Making a difference for our clients. Nothing brings us greater pleasure than when a client tells us “we couldn’t have done this without you.” That is what really motivates us.
What’s the why of Business Solutions?
Our mission is really to help companies outside the gaming industry profit from the expertise that we have developed over the years. To show how the gaming industry in general, and Behaviour in particular, can assist other companies and industries to improve their performance and truly benefit from the experience of game developers.
Find out more about Behaviour’s Business Solutions Unit.
Dominique Lebel
Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Vice-President
Behaviour Interactive
