The main objective of this pilot study was to test the effectiveness of an online, interactive physical activity intervention that also incorporated gaming components. The intervention design included an activity planner, progress monitoring, and gamification components and used SMS text as a secondary delivery channel and feedback to improve engagement in the intervention content. Healthy adults (n = 21) recruited through ads in local newspapers (age 35–73) were randomized to the intervention or the control condition. Both groups reported physical activity using daily report forms in four registration weeks during the three-month study: only the experiment condition received access to the intervention. Analyses showed that the intervention group had significantly more minutes of physical activity in weeks five and nine. We also found a difference in the intensity of exercise in week five. Although the intervention group reported more minutes of physical activity at higher intensity levels, we were not able to find a significant effect at the end of the study period. In conclusion, this study adds to the research on the effectiveness of using the Internet and SMS text messages for delivering physical activity interventions and supports gamification as a viable intervention tool.

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Purpose -The present paper aims to investigate the effect of network provider, customer demographics, customer satisfaction and perceived switch costs on churn in the mobile telecommunications market. Design/methodology/approach -The study is carried out as a longitudinal, two-wave study of mobile telecommunications customers in Norway: n ¼ 1,499 (wave 1) and n ¼ 976 (wave 2). Churn is measured as change in the mobile network provider between the two waves. The data are analysed as a logistic regression with the independent variables provider, gender, satisfaction, switch costs and age. Findings -The analysis shows significant effects of provider, satisfaction, switch costs and age and of the interaction between satisfaction and provider. Gender has no significant effect on churn. Provider effects are interpreted as effects of brand image since other known influences on churn (satisfaction, switch costs and demographics) have been controlled for in the design. Research limitations/implications -Further research is necessary in order to single out which brand aspects are responsible for the effects of brand ownership and to ensure the generality of the findings outside Scandinavia. Practical implications -The findings indicate that a strong brand image makes a company less susceptible to customer churn caused by low satisfaction. Originality/value -The relation between brand ownership and churn in the mobile telecommunications sector has not been reported previously.

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