Splitting up your prizing and getting the best return

Over many years of being involved with setting up, running and providing support for trivia nights I have come to the conclusion that giving plenty of smaller prizes is better than giving one big prize.

Several years ago I was speaking with a pub owner who had recently negotiated with a supplier to get 12 bottles of spirits as sponsorship for his 12 week long quiz schedule. He hadn't started the quiz at this time and he told me he planned to give away one bottle per week over the 12 weeks.

I suggested that instead of giving away the bottle at the end of the night that he give away the spirit in shots. The perceived cumulative value of the shots from the bottle is much more than that of the bottle itself.

When patrons get a prize, any prize, they mentally make a calculation of how much the prize is worth. And when they get a bottle of spirits they equate its value to what they would pay for it at the local liquor outlet, not what it would cost over the bar. The shots, however, are priced mentally at the bar price, a much greater value. Additionally a bottle can only be taken home by one member, not all the team.

He said he would think about it and I didn't give it much more thought. Then speaking to him again towards the end of his 12 week quiz schedule I asked in general how things were going?

He immediately made mention of the shots. He was pleased he had made the change. He decided after our first talk, to arrange for some more prizing and use the bottles of spirits for general prizing throughout the night. Besides the increase in perceived value he felt there were additional positive affects on the night. He thought it lightened the mood of the quiz compared to previous years. The shots were given throughout the night as reward for clever or funny answers. Typically the clever answers were given when the teams had no idea what the correct answer was.

The best part, was that the bar-take was up compared to previous years. And this venue always had a full house for its long standing yearly quiz.

He told me that he planned to do the bottle of spirits again the following year, sponsored or not, and also run it for longer to take advantage of the momentum.

This story isn't a recommendation to give away a bottle of spirits every night. But there is value in spreading your prizing around rather than having one big prize.

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