To market its new "Trivial Pursuit: Bet You Know It" game, Hasbro has rounded up some of YouTube's biggest stars for an online interactive Trivial Pursuit tournament.
"The interactive game on YouTube is a first for Hasbro," Donetta Allen, a spokesperson for the Pawtucket, R.I.-based brand, tells Marketing Daily. "It's also the first time that YouTube channel stars have been tapped for an interactive game on the channel." After registering at youtube.com/trivialpursuit, viewers can answer questions to build up their own scores.
But since the main goal of this version of the classic is to bet on what the other team may or may not know, viewers then go up against people like Gary Brolsma, whose lip-sync-and-dance routine has now been viewed over 1 billion times, Harry and Charlie Davies-Carr, now 6 and 4, of the famous "Charlie Bit My Finger" video (the No. 3-most-viewed video ever on YouTube), and Michael Buckley from "What the Buck?" More than a dozen YouTube stars are involved in the promotion.
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To get consumers in on the game, the company is using Facebook, as well as an ad on YouTube's front page. And the YouTube version of the game will also be mentioned in new animated TV spots for the game, starring characters called Wedgies, scheduled to begin airing next week, she says.
The YouTube game is scheduled to run through December.
Separately, in a conference call for investors, Hasbro executives gave an update on the launch of the Hub, its joint venture with Discovery. Programming for the new channel, scheduled to launch into 60 million homes on Oct. 10, is aiming to fill two major gaps: Shows made just for the 6-to-11 set, since so much programming already exists for preschoolers and tweens, and those designed especially for co-viewing, with content that will appeal to both kids and parents.
In addition to original programming, such as a series called "Family Game Night," it will also air Discovery staples, like "Meerkat Manor."
I really like the basic idea behind this campaign, but I wish the execution was a bit tighter. It seems like there's something missing here. Maybe the payoff could have been better; for instance, betting correctly enters you in a sweepstakes to win a copy of the new game. Or, maybe it could have been more personalized via Facebook Connect, so you could bet against your friends rather than betting on behalf of whoever “the people” are.
We took a deeper look at this campaign, as well as other online video marketing examples, in a recent blog post: http://theawesomeblog.net/2010/09/betting-on-and-against-online-videos/