Today, Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) brings MONOPOLY, a Hasbro Inc. (HASDAQ: HAS) brand, to life by launching Ally + MONOPOLY, the augmented reality (AR) game that turns six American cities into a live MONOPOLY board game to promote financial literacy in a fun and engaging way. People across the country will have a chance to grow their fortunes by winning up to $50,000 in cash, a new Jeep Wrangler, and other prizes totaling $1 million, all while learning smart money tips and supporting Junior Achievement.
“More than two in five (41%) Americans say they don’t feel as confident as they’d like in their knowledge of money concepts. We get it – thinking about money and how best to manage it can be daunting, but gamification is proven to help,” said Andrea Brimmer, chief marketing and public relations officer of Ally.
In fact, new research from Ally shows games can be a useful tool in improving financial literacy and learning money concepts. According to a recent survey of over 2,000 U.S. adults age 18+ conducted for Ally by The Harris Poll, four in five (81%) Americans say money-related board games are helpful in teaching basic money concepts, while seven in 10 who played money-related games as a child (71%) say doing so helped make them more comfortable with money concepts.
“Ally + MONOPOLY is part of our ongoing strategy to make the ‘money talk’ less intimidating, giving people the confidence to talk about saving and spending, making investments, buying a home, and how to recover if they have a financial stumble,” continued Brimmer. “I think players are going to have a blast with this game – learning about money, winning some great prizes and hopefully taking actions that will change their lives.”
How to Play
Ally + MONOPOLY launches online across the U.S. and locally in six cities including Charlotte, N.C., Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, New York and Seattle. In those cities, over-sized MONOPOLY tokens and property spaces create a real world, AR scavenger hunt. Players ages 18+ can use their smartphones and Ally + MONOPOLY’s unique AR functions during daylight hours to experience Mr. MONOPOLY come to life as part of the game for a chance to win a variety of prizes. Among the prizes are a new Jeep Wrangler, GO Square prizes of $200, and grand prizes of $50,000.
In addition, Ally’s AR version of the MONOPOLY game includes a Community Chest square, where players can raise money for their local Junior Achievement chapter just by landing on it. Ally will make a donation of $50,000 to Junior Achievement in the city with the most plays of the virtual Community Chest. Ally also will make a donation of $15,000 to Junior Achievement in the other five cities, totaling $125,000 nationally. Junior Achievement is one of the largest organizations dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices.
Power of Gamification
According to the new Ally survey, when asked to recall their earliest experiences with money concepts, more than one-third (34%) of Americans said it was playing with money-related board games.
“The MONOPOLY game is a staple in many households, helping to teach children the value and responsibility of money at a young age in a fun and memorable way,” said Jonathan Berkowitz, president of Hasbro brands. “MONOPOLY acts as a stepping stone to build children’s financial literacy for the future, and we’re happy to be a part of that experience while also creating memorable family moments.”
An overwhelming majority of Americans (94%) have ever played money-related board games, with 86% of them having played as a child, according to the survey. Among Americans who played money-related board games as a child, 71% say playing these games as a child helped make them be more comfortable with money concepts and 62% of Americans who play/played money-related games say their experiences playing these games improved their ability to make good real-life financial decisions.
Those who did not play money-related board games as a child, on average, learned about the basic concept of money nearly two years later than those who did play these games as a child (age 14.3 vs. age 12.4, respectively).
Ally + MONOPOLY + Junior Achievement
Improving America’s financial literacy and learning smart money concepts early in life has become a critical part of today’s national conversation. The community element of Ally + MONOPOLY supports this mission by giving to America’s youth to support programs in financial literacy, entrepreneurship and areas of work readiness.
“Financial literacy is incredibly important, but today many young people don’t get the kind of exposure to money concepts they need to become fully prepared as adults,” said Jack E. Kosakowski, President and CEO of Junior Achievement. “Ally + MONOPOLY is a great way to learn about money in a new and fun way, helping to advance the financial literacy movement America needs to better prepare our youth for the future.”
For more information about Ally + MONOPOLY, including prize periods, rules and eligibility, visit PlayAlly.com and follow the hashtag #AllyMonopoly on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The sweepstakes concludes October 28, 2019.