Thoughts on HQ Trivia & Pricing Research

 A bunch of us here at TRC enjoy trivia, so we’ve been playing HQ Trivia using their online app for the past few months. HQ is a 12-question multiple choice quiz that requires a correct answer to move on to the next question. As a group, we have yet to get through all 12 questions and win our share of the prize pool. But it’s a nice team-building exercise and we like learning new things (who knew that 2 US Presidents were born in Vermont).  

 

Given the fun we have playing it, I can understand HQ’s success from the player perspective. Where I am a bit confused is the value proposition for its creators. Venture capital funding provides the prize money.  But there are no ads, so I’m not sure how anybody’s actually making money. There are occasional tie-in partnerships (The awesome Dwayne Johnson hosted one of the gaming sessions to promote his newest movie release, “Rampage”.)  But I suppose the biggest question is, will interest in HQ still be there when they’ve finally signed on enough sponsors to be profitable?  

 

We do a lot of pricing research at TRC, and can model on a variety of variables. But predicting the direction of demand is nearly impossible for certain products. For consumables and many services, product demand is predictable. How your product fares compared to the competition may have its ups and downs, but you can assume that people who bought toilet paper 2 weeks ago will be in the market for toilet paper again soon.

 

But with something like HQ Trivia, product demand is much more difficult to determine in advance, especially more than a few weeks from now. Right now it’s still hot – routinely attracting 700,000 – 1,000,000+ players (HQers) in a given game. How do the creators – and investors and potential sponsors – know whether it’s a good investment?  What if interest suddenly declines, either because the novelty has worn off or because something better comes along?  

 

One way to find out is through longitudinal research. Routinely check in with HQers over time to determine their likelihood to play the next week, their likelihood to recommend to their friends, and their attitudes toward the game itself. This information can be overlaid with the raw data HQ collects through game play every day – number of players, number of referrals, and number of first-time players. This information can not only help shed light on player interest, but players could also weigh in on changes the creators are considering to keep the game fresh.

 

HQers are engaging in a free activity which gives them the opportunity to win cash prizes.  But just because it’s free to play doesn’t mean the HQ powers-that-be couldn’t do pricing research (more on that in a future blog).  

 

For now, I’ll keep on playing HQ hoping I can answer all the questions, not the least of which is: when will I – and the other million HQers – no longer care?