Quizzes as a Marketing Tool

I have noticed lately that many of my Facebook friends are taking lots of quizzes: What State do you Belong in? What Zombie Apocalypse Character are You? How Would you Die in Game of Thrones? The trend, popularized by Buzzfeed, consists of quizzes determining -- well, anything you'd want to know. I'm not exaggerating, either; some of my personal favorites are What Arbitrary Thing are You?, Which Famous Turtle are You?, and of course, How Big of a Dick are You?. Seriously, check them out -- there is no limit to the level of ridiculousness they can attain!

These quizzes are seen as fun and entertaining, but do our FB friends realize this is a form of marketing? At least it can be, and Game of Thrones has capitalized on this opportunity by working with Buzzfeed to make a branded quiz for the show. Think about it: it's shareable content (a must for modern, integrated brands), it features the brand name in the title while trending on everyone's news feeds, it engages all sorts of social media users with the brand, AND it provides the marketing firm with lots of valuable consumer information. What's more, we as users provide this information willingly, without even realizing we're doing so! AND -- we enjoy doing it!

As a recent Marketplace podcast mentions (which by the way, I recommend listening/subscribing to; its a great way to keep up with business news) , the quiz fad will likely die out in little time. So, what will be the next new, creative way for brands to interact with us through social media?