High Network

Turning networking into
daily achievable tasks

the idea

THE BRIEF

HighNetWork wanted to create an app that supports busy people in developing and improving their networking skills. Previously, they offered courses to help with networking, but these required significant time and financial commitment from participants.

To better serve their audience, they pivoted to deliver an exclusive app experience tailored for busy individuals. The app condenses course content into simple, actionable tasks, using gamification to keep users motivated and engaged over time.

what needed to be solved

THE PROBLEM

HighNetWork wanted to create an exclusive service that they could offer to their existing clients. They needed a way to personalise the experience, allowing users to receive different levels of content and support based on their individual needs. Drawing on their expertise, they divided their offering into three core areas: ‘Reputation’ and ‘Intimacy’. Every user action was linked to one of these focus areas, helping individuals improve where they wanted most.

Recognising that busy people have limited time, HighNetWork understood that users would need to commit time to benefit from the service. To support this, users could set their own time or commitment level, which would then customise the content and activities presented to them.

To bring this vision to life, they sought a developer to build a mobile app for user interaction, along with a CMS to manage clients, create content, and control what users see.

the clever bit!

THE SOLUTION

Working with The Distance, HighNetWork chose to present their tasks in the form of playing cards within the app. Each user would receive a tailored deck, a curated collection of tasks based on their goals and the amount of time they committed to invest. To achieve this, The Distance developed a custom algorithm capable of handling multiple variables and generating a personalised deck for each user. Once in place, the algorithm gave HighNetWork the flexibility to expand their card collection and add new content directly through the CMS.

The CMS played a vital role, giving HighNetWork full control over their client base and content. It allowed them to monitor how users interacted with the cards, providing valuable insights that informed future content updates. As an exclusive service, the CMS also let them manage who could access the app, ensuring the right users received the right experience.

Given the target audience, the app needed to be clean, slick, and effortless to use. It was designed to minimise friction, so users could focus on completing tasks, not navigating menus. Tasks (or “cards”) were delivered one at a time, with simple call-to-actions to complete the activity or move on to the next one.

measuring success

THE RESULTS

HighNetWork chose to launch the application on iOS first, valuing the platform’s reputation for security and reliability. The app was developed natively and released on the App Store, allowing HighNetWork to offer it as a premium product to organisations. Staff were onboarded via email or SMS invitations, which linked directly to the app and enabled them to log in to their account seamlessly.

Both staff and organisations quickly embraced the app and its purpose, offering positive feedback as well as suggestions for future improvements. HighNetWork continued working with The Distance to evolve the product, adding new card types and testing new features based on real user insight.

A gamification layer was later introduced, giving organisations access to engagement statistics and allowing users to track their progress. Users could see how they were performing compared to others in their organisation, and a global leaderboard showed how individuals ranked against the wider user base in their field.

Following the success of the iOS launch, there were strong calls to expand to Android, opening the door for HighNetWork to reach even more users and organisations.

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