Conventions
Conventions are one of the best places to go and network with like minded people, whether that's people in your own industry or if your exploring something new like a hobby or for academic purposes. But sometimes they can feel overwhelming, especially if you have never done one before, or are introverted. Not knowing who to talk to or where to go can drain your sap your social energy and leave you exhausted before the day is done.
That's where a well-designed scavenger hunt can help: It can motivate attendees to explore and break the ice with booths creating a structured way to talk to people and a starting question to ask. And there's no pressure, finding a booth and moving on for the hunt can be as simple as that. Or it can turn into something longer.
Here at Seekr Games we built a scavenger hunt platform that makes it easy for participants to join and engage in, we also made it easy to host too. Our platform utilizes AI validation and photo-based tasks to validate submissions automatically (That means no moderators needed!). We also have the option to do text based submissions as well so you can have word riddles or codes for your participants. People can participate easily by scanning a QR code or joining via seekr.it on any web browser, and they can start playing instantly. Hosts can easily manage the hunt in real time, with stats and trackers they can see who's in the lead and help moderate any confusion.
Why scavenger hunts belong at conventions
Scavenger hunts are a natural ice breaker
they give attendees a reason to start a conversation. "Do you know the answer to…" is an easier approach than "So, what do you do?" or "tell me about this" Hunts create a shared goal between booths and attendees that get people talking about something they can both be interested in.
It's great for students and introverts
A little bit of structure can help reduce decision fatigue and social friction. Tasks can help give people direction, and point them towards booths/places they haven't visited yet.
It drives foot traffic to the exhibitors
Create a challenge that sends players to specific booths, demos, or sponsors. Exhibitors get engaged visitors and opportunities to show off their brand with interested people rather than simple passersby.
Encourages exploration of the conference
With a scavenger hunt you can make sure that tasks bring participants to all edges of the convention, no more attendees simply walking through the front door and perusing just to leave 10 minutes later. You can get attendees searching the convention high and low and far and wide.
Keep the energy high across multiple days
Scavenger hunts promote a sense of competitiveness, some will use it as a means to explore, and some will use it as a means to compete. Anyone who joins the hunt could have the animal inside of them to win it, and with each scavenger hunt submission you'll get more energy in those who compete.
Create a sharable social experience
Scavenger hunts can create opportunities for photo ops that can be shared on social media and other platforms, they can also help people remember your convention bringing returning attendees for years to come. Adding tasks like take a selfie with this mascot, or with this brand can help create a lasting memory.
Scavenger hunts can show measurable engagement
Instead of guessing how many people visited a booth, or how long did an attendee stay, you can track and see the results of the hunt in actual tangible data. See how many tasks users completed which ones users didn't engage in, or where people dropped off. Data is knowledge and that knowledge can help you create a better event next year.
An element of friendly competition
People love a little competition, giving them that can help them engage in and connect with others. You can also hold raffles or prizes to help motivate those who have a little trouble getting into the thick of it. ultimately the goal in the end is engagement, it doesn't have to be a race, unless you want it to be 😉.
What a convention scavenger hunt might look like
Photo ops: "Get a selfie with [brand]", "Take a selfie at the landmark"
Code missions: "get a code from [brand]", "What is the mascot of company"
Learn something: "What was this speakers main idea", "what is the big push for this company"
Networking: "Take a selfie with another person", "Take a picture of someones business card"
Exploration: "Find this statue in the venue", "find the purple branded sign"
Sponsors: "Take a photo of a sponsors employee", "find a sponsor branded item"
How Seekr Games helps make it easy for hosts and players
Get started instantly - players can simply scan a QR code or join via seekr.it on any mobile web browser. No apps to download.
Straight forward tasks - our platform manages the tasks for you, and can provide them to participants in a clear custom formatted way
Live leaderboards - hosts and participants can see which way the action is heading by watching our leaderboards.
Play your way - participants can team up or go solo, or even compete against their friends. They can also choose to play a little or a lot.
How Seekr Games makes it easy for organizers and exhibitors
Easy setup: setup can be as easy as gathering reference photos, which could just be part of sign up for exhibitors. They could be as simple as take a picture of a branded item. Or more complex like what their logo looks like or a company brand color.
Scalable: Regular scavenger hunts can be hard to manage especially as you get up in numbers, having a person moderate punch cards or stamps can be a hassle when traffic gets dense. Seekr Games takes care of that with AI validation. They also moderate joining by having QR codes or ways to join via the browser
Real-time control: with the host platform you can moderate mistakes, or cheaters as needed. And watch to see how smooth the hunt is running
Analytics and insights: track which booths are being visited, or what tasks are being completed, or aren't being completed, either data can be valuable. You can also see how long people are spending on the hunt.
Sponsors: Get directed and guaranteed traffic for your sponsors. Having tasks come to them means they are getting their money's worth.
On-site visibility: Display live leaderboards on the screens at the center, to help people be excited to get that top 10. Driving participation and curiosity.
Best practices for a convention scavenger hunt
Start simple, making some tasks especially the first tasks easy can drive engagement for the rest of the hunt.
Add simplicity throughout. Some tasks should be hard but keeping easy wins throughout can help keep participants engaged
Use different completion types, simply using photo based hunts can be fun but can get tiring especially depending on your hunts length. Add in a mix to keep people brains turning
Get creative, there are many different creative things you can do with a scavenger hunt, don't shy away from exploring new possibilities.
Test your hunt, it's good practice to make sure that your hunt makes sense to others and that they can actually solve it. Not having a vendor show up can mean the difference between frustration and friction.
Reward for extra effort. Making tasks harder can also mean adding more reward. Add in bonus points or change up the amount for tasks of varying difficulty.
Plan prizes, people will do a lot for an prize, incentivizing the participants can make a difference in engagement.
Plan for traffic flow. Make sure that tasks are spread out, and don't cause back tracking.
Example flow for a day
Morning kick off: have QR codes and signage or tvs ready at registration to get people in the hunt early. Make sure the first tasks are easy.
Midday: booths, trivia, and other exploration challenges are great here.
Afternoon: keep people engaged by opening up final areas or some big bonus points to really change up the game
Finish: make sure to get prizes ready and to announce winners. Or get in touch with them electronically for them to claim their prize
Example flow for multi-day event
Day 1: Orientation, registration, and getting first users
Day 2: keep the hunt mostly the same, but can be tied to networking or workshops
Day 3: final push, keeping tasks similar can be great for people who weren't able to attend earlier. Make sure to save awards and prizes for last.
Why Seekr Games for conventions
Seekr Games is built for high energy and small to very large events. With Ai validation people don't have to spend their entire time focusing on the hunt, they can be focused on bigger tasks at hand and worry less about hte hunt and more about bigger problems than a scavenger hunt issue. With web-based access you will be able to capture the majority of your users, problems with app downloads won't be a problem. Whether you're trying to get students to connect, or give people an easy icebreaker, or even measure and track engagement a Seekr-powered scavenger hunt can help make it happen.
Ready to try and create a memorable event? Contact us to set up a demo or try and create your own on our platform to test the capabilities yourself.
