Posts Tagged ‘trivia questions’
Trivia Themes Which Nobody Likes: A List of Failed Trivia Rounds
Thursday, June 30th, 2011
Following up on yesterday’s post highlighting 5 trivia themes proven to bring smiles to people’s faces, I thought today we would explore the flipside: live trivia party themes which are surefire flops.
As discussed yesterday, I’ve been writing & hosting live trivia events for 5 years, and in that time have experimented an awful lot with trivia questions and themes. I’ve managed to develop a strong sense of what people respond to, but also what does not resonate well for live trivia. On the one hand, I enjoy being creative, and pride myself on coming up with rounds which are unique, fun and different; on the other hand, though, if the rounds don’t soar with the audience, well- they tend to sink like rocks.
Below is a list of my all-time greatest trivia theme flops, in no particular order:
1) Funky Sounding Colors Round – I announced colors with weird names, and teams had to name the family of more familiar colors which they belonged to (ex: “chartreuse” is a mix of green & yellow). This was the most stale, boring and uninspired round I’ve ever done, people were booing halfway through. Ouch.
2) Awareness Ribbons Round – Like the colors round above, only I’d give a ribbon color, and the audience named the cause the ribbon was associated with (ex: pink = breast cancer awareness). Not only was this incredibly dull, but there were multiple causes for each color (do you have ANY idea how many causes use blue ribbons??)
3) Weird Beards Round – Early on in my pub quiz days, I thought it would be fun to describe weird people who have beards [ex: “This person lives in isolation, but breaks into people’s homes once a year." (Santa Clause)]. What the heck was I thinking?
4) Pie Round – I thought this was clever, since I love pie (any baked goods, really, but pies especially). Asked questions about sweet & savory pies, ethnic pies, ingredients, shapes etc. Total flop. People don’t care about pie. I was crushed.
5) 2008 Year in Review Round – Sounds innocent enough, only I did it at a bar on like, January 3rd, 2008. I thought it was pretty clever- turns out, not so much. It could have been called the “extreme current events round,” and I still would’ve gotten booed back to the stone age.
6) Band Hometowns Round – I name the band, you tell me their hometown. Guess what? Not only do people not know where bands come from, but they will argue your Wikipedia-backed answers to death. Epic fail.
7) YouTube Viral Videos Round – So it turns out, people don’t know anything about viral videos beyond the basic premise. Once you start asking about character’s names, view counts, quotes and such, the crowd turns on you like a pack of killer whales on a freshly-wounded sea lion. Beyond bad idea.
8) Math Round – Terrible.
Believe me, there are more. These are just the ones which stick out in my mind as being particularly ill-received; there’s nothing like having upwards of 150 strangers booing you to remind you not to ever, ever offer that round again. If you’re a fellow quizmaster, hopefully I’ve spared you similar shame; for trivia enthusiasts and HR managers looking to book a private trivia party for your company, don’t worry- you will never be subjected to these rounds, I guarantee it.
What experience do you have with horrible trivia rounds? Leave them below, so we can know to avoid as well!
5 Fun Themes for Live Trivia Parties, and Why They Work
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011
Perhaps one of the first things I’m asked when holding an initial conversation with clients is, “what kind of trivia do you guys do?” The answer brings both good news and bad: the good news is, you can have a trivia event about any topic you like! The bad news, of course: where on earth do you begin?
Having produced so many live trivia events over the past 5 years, I’ve had the opportunity to experiment a lot with trivia topics, throwing an awful lot of trivia spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. While this kind of event entertainment can be customized to fit the needs of any group, I have found that the below broad themes for trivia questions consistently go over well, especially for intelligent, fun-loving & competitive groups:
1) Pop Culture – People love pop culture, and consume it voraciously. TV, movies, music, celebrity gossip, fads, commercials – you name it, people follow it, with passion. We recently held a night of pop culture trivia to benefit VH1 Save The Music, and had to close sales in advance because it received such an enthusiastic response. When it comes to selecting trivia questions, pop culture is definitely a winner.
2) Nostalgic History – It’s important to know the age of the group, so that appropriate history questions can be asked which evoke an emotional response. None of us were here to witness the Mayflower landing, but LOTS of us remember where we were when OJ took his fateful ride in a white Bronco; tugging at the nostalgic heartstrings goes over extremely well at trivia events, and I use this as often as I can.
3) Geography – People go nuts over geography – who knew? Whether asking about cities, states, countries or oceans, people have atlases tucked into the dark recesses of their brains, and feel ridiculously satisfied when they pull out the correct answers.
4) Local Trivia – I mainly produce live trivia parties in New York City, and find that any NYC-centric questions really go over well – especially those which only “real” New Yorkers will get (I’m talking famous subway performers, bus stop billboards, flyers of guys who teach guitar etc.). However, regardless of where the event is being held, natives will always respond well to questions about that place.
5) Other Media – People love it when you toss another form of questioning at them, in order to mix up the flow of the event and skills needed. Music rounds are popular, whereby you play songs over the sound system and attendees need to guess the title and artist. Picture rounds are also great, where teams need to identify 10 obscure celebrity photos for points, as well as figure out what all of them have in common. I’ve also seen video rounds at some trivia nights – I don’t do these, because I feel the results don’t justify the time & labor needed to assemble, but still they are enjoyable.
Even though I’ve created so many events, I certainly don’t claim to be the final answer when it comes to ideas for trivia themes. Do you produce, host or attend trivia events? What themes do you find are consistent crowd pleasers? What new themes do you think would go over well? Please share your ideas below!
Finding Trivia Gold in Pop Culture Garbage: Great Questions from 6 Terrible Movies
Monday, June 27th, 2011
I read a very interesting article this weekend in the New York Times movie section, entitled “Catch That Reference? There’ll Be a Quiz.” The gist here was that many movies contain veiled references to other works, directors and eras, and that viewers who catch these subtle hat tips will enjoy the films better. This got me thinking about something which, as a professional trivia host, I already spend an awful lot of time on anyway, which is how to find great trivia tidbits in movies. However, as I thought about it more, I realized that I actually spend WAY more time on something else: sifting through the unbelievably huge pile of pop culture garbage out there, in order to find the juicy trivia morsels people will know and enjoy.
Trust me, this is not as easy as you think. Take a look at some of the high-budget Hollywood movies which have come out in the first half of 2011:
1) Just Go With It
2) Kung Fu Panda 2
3) No Strings Attached
4) Gnomeo & Juliet
5) Hall Pass
6) The Green Hornet
Now, all of these movies had high promotional budgets, star actors and/or box office success. However, did you or anybody you know actually SEE any of these movies? If you did, were they THAT memorable that you are able to answer trivia about them, either subtle or overt? I’m going to venture that the answer is no, because these movies were terrible; I will also take it a step further, and assume that none of these films will have much cultural staying power. However, there are still good trivia questions to be mined here, if you embrace the awesomely bad aspects of each movie.
For example, basic plot summaries:
1) “Which terrible 2011 romantic comedy pairs Adam Sandler with Jennifer Aniston?”
2) “Name the only animated sequel to have a voice provided by Jack Black?”
3) “What was the Natalie Portman/Ashton Kutcher hookup flick?”
4) “What was that animated movie about lawn gnomes?”
5) “What was that awful movie were Owen Wilson is given a week off of his marriage?”
6) “What was the first 3-D comic book superhero movie to be released in 2011?”
Or how about the official movie taglines, which we were bombarded with relentlessly upon each film’s release:
1) “Sometimes a guy’s best wingman… is a wingwoman.”
2) “Prepare for the return of awesomeness.”
3) “Friendship has its benefits.”
4) “A little adventure goes a lawn way.”
5) “Good for one week off marriage.”
6) “Breaking the law to protect it.”
Chances are, given the amount of promotion each of these movies received, the average pop culture trivia enthusiast would have a reasonable expectation of figuring out the answers to the above questions – even without having seen the films. So long as they’re “getable,” trivia questions about terrible movies – new or old – are always an option.
Can you think of any other terrible movies which would actually make for some great trivia questions?
Using Twitter for Trivia: A User’s Guide
Thursday, June 23rd, 2011
Since launching our official TrivWorks Twitter feed in 2009, we’ve utilized it for a variety of purposes: marketing upcoming free trivia nights, highlighting news items & achievements of fellow event professionals and live trivia hosts in New York City and beyond, as well as to promote the daily blog you are reading now. However, as a trivia company we also use it as a means of engaging with our audience on a daily basis by providing a steady stream of fun trivia questions for people to enjoy.
There are plenty of great daily trivia feeds on Twitter: @AnswersDotCom, @OMGFacts, our TrivWorks “Special Host” @PatKiernan and even @MasterCard come to mind. However, having tweeted trivia every single day for almost two years, I’ve learned a little something about how to ask realtime Twitter questions in order to maximize engagement with an online audience.
Below are some pointers to make your Twitter trivia feed shine as brightly as it possibly can:
1) Be Consistent – Like any other aspect of social media, consistency is key to maintaining an audience. If you’re going to tweet multiple questions a day, do so. If you’re like Pat Kiernan and tweet one question at the same time every day, keep to that schedule. Your following will reward consistency, but will abandon you quickly if you start deviating from your established pattern.
2) Use Appropriate Hashtags – In order to broaden your Twitter reach beyond your following, be sure to always use the #trivia hashtag, as well as appropriate hashtags for the content of the trivia- be it #movie, #tv, #popculture or #history, there’s an audience of trivia lovers out there just waiting for your awesome questions!
3) Mix It Up – Different people enjoy different types of trivia. While I’m tempted to ask lots of pop culture questions, I know that people also enjoy geography, current events, politics and a plethora of other topics. Keep things spicy by adding variety, and keep your followers on their toes.
4) Never Repeat Questions – If you have a broad and active following, they won’t like it if you ask the same question multiple times. Keep things fresh – there’s an entire world of trivia out there, so take advantage of it!
5) Include Different Media – I’ve found that people respond well not just to tweeted questions, but also to “Identify This” photo questions, with a shortened link to a photo of something. Also, music trivia is very well received – if the question is about a specific song, I often include a “spoiler” link to the answer, typically going directly to a song video on YouTube.
6) Offer Incentives for Responding – Give people a reason to respond, other than just setting their minds at ease with the knowledge that they got an answer right. I often tweet that the 1st to @ me with the correct answer wins a retweet to our followers- a nice incentive indeed! I sometimes spice it up by offering to RT the winner’s choice of trivia question, quote or link as a prize as well.
There are a bunch of other tricks I’ve discovered for maximizing engagement while tweeting, but these are the core tips to follow if you seek to reach your following with trivia questions. What other ways can you think of to make Twitter questions more fun and engaging?
Using Live Trivia for Audience Engagement & Brand Awareness: The Economist Case Study
Friday, June 17th, 2011
This week, I had the honor of producing and hosting another very special trivia event with The Economist, the distinguished weekly news magazine known for broad and insightful coverage of current events, politics, economics and world history. Readers of The Economist are equally bright, intellectually curious consumers of global affairs, and in an impressive effort to engage this loyal readership, the magazine is continually seeking new and creative ways to reach out off of the written page, allowing enthusiasts to connect with them through a variety of means. These not only include a Facebook page with a over 700,000 fans and an official Twitter feed with nearly 1 million followers, but also many “live” audience engagement events held in various cities, ranging from social gatherings to editor meet-and-greets.
The idea for The Economist pub quiz came about late last year, when the magazine was approached by an avid reader who also loved NYC trivia nights. Feeling that live trivia parties would be a perfect match connecting the cerebral publication and its clever readers, we set out to create events which would not only deliver a hearty amount of entertaining & high-brow trivia, but which would have an instantly recognizable Economist look, feel and flavor. Using the same level of care and attention to detail which The Economist is known for in its articles, we then set out to craft trivia questions which the average reader would have a reasonable expectation of knowing about world affairs, politics, economics, and the magazine itself.
After selecting fun trivia bars in New York City, the magazine made sure to paint the venues “red” for their events by tastefully displaying the magazine’s famous logo on signage and flatscreen TVs throughout the rooms. Upon arrival, attendees were presented with Economist pens and answer sheets, as well as complimentary red T-shirts. Teams were instructed to choose their own team names, and encouraged to be creative to earn bonus points – resulting in many humorous Economist-themed names, which delighted the crowd. After reading out a couple rounds of trivia, we then welcomed a high-ranking member of the magazine’s editorial staff to read off their own favorite trivia questions about The Economist, as well as share a sampling of their ipod songs, which attendees could earn points for identifying. After raffling off several prizes, we passed around a round of picture trivia featuring major political figures, all of whom had something in common which the audience had to figure out in a set amount of time. We concluded the events with a final round of “challenging” questions, and then awarded prizes to the winning team.
I find these Economist pub quiz nights to be so fantastic, for three reasons: 1) the audience who attends loves the magazine, and clearly enjoys the opportunity to interact with it in an exceptionally fun, unique and personal way; 2) the magazine gets to engage with its most loyal fans firsthand in an extremely positive, high-energy manner; and 3) the intellectual challenge of creating questions for highly intelligent, sophisticated and lively trivia enthusiasts simply can’t be beat.
Do you feel that experiential marketing and brand awareness events successfully bring a brand closer to its audience? What other ways can you think of for a distinguished brand to engage with its loyal following in a “live” setting?
TrivWorks founder David Jacobson blogs daily on a wide range of topics relevant to corporate event entertainment, team building and live trivia. 
