Hasbro brings Trivial Pursuit to YouTube

This post is part of the “BizBlog Series,” which was formally its own blog. Check back each week to see articles about partners and advertisers on YouTube, or search under the label 'BizBlog'.

What do you figure the Numa Numa guy knows about arts and literature? What about Tay Zonday’s knowledge of world history? Would you be willing to bet on whether Michael Buckley knows his geography? This week, Hasbro brings the world ‘You vs. YouTube’ Trivial Pursuit experiment, which asks players to do just that.

Hasbro has upgraded the old version of Trivial Pursuit to their ‘Bet You Know It’ edition, adding an interactive element where you bet on whether or not your opponents know the answer. In the ‘You vs. YouTube’ experiment, they’ve pitted the public against YouTube stars like the Davies-Carr brothers (from ‘Charlie Bit My Finger’) in a giant online tournament.

We’re excited about this at YouTube because it gives our partners a chance to shine, it provides users a fun gaming experience, and it gives Hasbro a chance to get the word out about their new game. Hasbro's Group Executive, Jane Ritson-Parsons, said of the online competition, "We know our consumers are online and watching as many of today’s stars are discovered online -- and many through YouTube — that we felt that a partnership with the world’s most popular video site would be a natural fit. It provides us with great context and relevance for our game introduction". In our opinion, they’ve done a number of innovative things from a marketing perspective:

• They evolved their product. Hasbro listened to their customers when they said the game questions were too hard or obscure, and tweaked their product accordingly. Questions were re-written, and they made the game more interactive through the ‘betting’ element.

• They recognized the power of viral video. Hasbro knew that YouTube stars have built an audience that resembles their own. By teaming up with our partners, they’ve added unique voices to their campaign. For example, on Michael Buckley’s channel, he talks about his ‘Trivial Pursuit Story’. Tay Zonday wrote a special song for the game. Gary Brolsma dances in his living room with friends during their Trivial Pursuit night. And the Davies-Carr brothers warn you to challenge them, or they’ll bite your finger...

• They share the love with the YouTube community. On the Trivial Pursuit channel, Hasbro has uploads of other partner videos discussing the challenge. Of particular note is mediocrefilms’ ‘REJECTED Trivial Pursuit Commercial’ By allowing other content creators to participate, they get a lot more reach into audiences they might not have considered directly targeting.Brand advertisers are starting to recognize the power of the YouTube community and popular partners.

We look forward to providing more fun and entertaining brand integration in the future. In the meantime, try out the game! ‘The People’s’ chips are down!

Margaret Healy, Strategic Partner Manager, recently watched “You vs. YouTube-EDBASSMASTER-Skippy Calls Hasbro”