No, this is not about Coldwell Banker Real Estate, LLC ®, the nation’s oldest national real estate brand, but Monopoly®.
Now, I have to admit my bias here…I grew up in Atlantic City and lived briefly on States Ave (where the rent was lower) and then moved up to the yellows, between Ventnor and Atlantic Avenues as a teenager. So, I have a strong emotional tie to Monopoly. I was always the race car.
So I was fascinated when I saw this post on Wired Magazine on the 75th anniversary relaunch of Monopoly Revolution…a round board, no money (you use an ATM and debit cards), and recognition of inflation ($2,000,000 for passing go). They took a big chance messing with a sure thing…
So as we move forward in transforming our 104 year old national real estate brand by developing more relevant search opportunities for homes and agents (Bluescape® Search, mobile and video and our Coldwell Banker On Location® Youtube channel), this gave me a great opportunity to see how the world reacts to change…and it’s not pretty.
Some folks love the change and applaud Hasbro for staying ahead of the times…many others are just shocked that they messed with the formula at all. The posts are funny and brutal. And it appears stealing from the bank is now a lost art with the debit cards, and that seems to be the biggest complaint.
But I think the message is clear…without this change, we wouldn’t be talking about Monopoly on their 75th anniversary. A new generation of users may not even consider buying Monopoly without some recognition that times have changed, that folks today don’t carry a lot of cash with them and that a hotel on the Boardwalk doesn’t cost just $1,000 to build. Others just want the old game as is…
And I am especially comforted that so many people want that that older gentleman we all called the “Banker” to stay a part of the game they love…Hmmm.
I guess Balance is necessary with Change…
Rock on, Banker…
I'll have to check this out and see if my kids will like it. I wonder if they thought about mortgages, short sales, REO's and government bailouts for the banker?
It is very interesting, though. I also wonder if they'll come out with "Vintage" monopoly next year if it doesn't work, like "Classic Coke" several years back!
Hmmm, maybe CB should come out with a branded version of Monopoly that I can give my clients as closing gifts?
[…] game of all time is Monopoly. Don’t try and argue. It’s a fact. We were surprised a few years ago when Monopoly disregarded paper money in favor of a new debit card system that allows players to digitally manager their real estate investments and also cut down on those […]