Pop culture references are helpful when they make a quiz more relatable or make the outcome more immediately helpful. Someone sees their result, recognizes the reference, and thinks, “Oh, that’s me.”
That’s a good reason to use one.
Don’t just add a pop culture theme in the hope that it will get more engagement. Start with what the reference helps someone understand about themselves.
If you’re helping people figure out their leadership style, their brand personality, or what kind of product fits their taste, a familiar reference can give them a picture of what you mean. They already have an association with that person, character, or style. You can use that shared understanding to make the result easier to grasp.
The important part is connecting it to the reason they took the quiz.
A useful historical example comes from Kaye Putnam’s brand personality quiz. In our earlier interview, she described matching well-known entrepreneurs with the archetypes that showed up in their brands. Her quiz helped business owners identify their own brand archetypes and understand how to apply them. Read Kaye’s story.
What I like about that approach is how a recognizable example can make an abstract idea easier to understand. Someone may have trouble picturing what a particular brand archetype means. Seeing a familiar person associated with it can give them a starting point: “I understand that way of showing up. I can see some of that in myself.”
Then you can explain what it means for their own business.
For an illustrative example, imagine a leadership quiz for an audience that knows the same television show. One outcome could reference a character they recognize as the person who always plans ahead and keeps everyone organized.
The useful part of that comparison is the specific behavior. Your result might explain:
“You tend to think ahead and give people a clear plan. Others may appreciate that you’ve already considered the details before they’ve even thought to ask. Your next opportunity is to leave enough room for people to contribute their own approach.”
A familiar character could make that description click faster. The explanation gives the person something they can recognize in their everyday life and use afterward.
Be clear about which qualities you’re comparing. Someone can relate to a character’s creativity or preparation without identifying with everything that character does. Explain the connection so the person understands why the comparison fits.
You also need to know whether your audience recognizes the reference. A character you know well may mean nothing to the people taking your quiz. Even when people recognize the same character, they might remember different qualities.
Keep the plain-language explanation alongside the reference. Someone should still understand their result if they haven’t seen the show.
You don’t have to build the entire quiz around pop culture, either. A reference might be most useful as an example within an outcome. You can keep a straightforward quiz title, ask questions about the person’s actual situation, and use the reference where it helps explain their result.
The questions still need to give you the information required to make a useful recommendation. In that hypothetical leadership quiz, you would want to understand how someone makes decisions, supports other people, and responds when plans change. Knowing their favorite television character wouldn’t automatically tell you those things.
I would build the quiz around the audience’s question first. Write the outcomes clearly, then look for places where a familiar reference makes the meaning easier to see.
When you review it, ask: “What does this reference help someone understand about themselves?”
If you can point to a clear answer, you have a reason to include it. The reference can be playful and entertaining while helping someone walk away with a better understanding of who they are and what to do next.