OCR Text |
Show team Cotopaxis adventure race, the Cotopaxi Questival, will return to Salt Lake City on April 10. Each specific piece of Cotopaxi gear has a designated cause that it benefits financially. The Questival is Cotopaxis way of creating a positive impact in local Yerkes said. If I had to describe the Questival in three words, it would be exhausting, adventure, extravaganza. Although the Questival is a race against other teams, participants said it is sometimes hard to figure out their ranking among the others during the race. Yerkes said the best way to go about that is to return the following year and try to beat old scores. I saw and did so many things Id never done before, nor would otherwise had the opportunity to do, said Corey Cronin, senior sociology and political science major. Cronin and Yerkes were on the same team at last years Questival. Its a blast and I highly recommend it, Cronin said. communities across the nation. Participants are required to download the Cotopaxi app, which contains a list Cotopaxis current marketing director, Allison Schwam, gave a look into Questival and the Cotopaxi brand as a whole: challenges appropriately What was the inspiration behind the Questival? 24-ho- ur Westminster students will join other teams of two to six participants to be scored on the completion of various challenges to earn prizes, benefit their community and create lifelong memories. Cotopaxi is a unique outdoor gear company that is equally invested in giving back to the and improving local communities as it is in producing quality products. under-privileg- ed of possible challenges. They then must photograph the in order to earn points and The idea for Questival came from a race that Davis, the CEO, had started with a friend in business school. They were students looking for adventure and a way to experience other cultures and people in a genuine and unique way. Davis and his friend organized an Amazing Race-sty- le scavenger hunt, from Belize to Panama, where teams of four collected points by completing objectives such as engaging with the local people and culture, crashing a wedding, helping an entrepreneur or cleaning up a local park. AS: prizes. The winning team from each Questival will be sent to the world championship, which is a race through seven different countries starting in Belize and ending in Panama. The Cotopaxi Questival world champions will be rewarded with a trip around the world. The Cotopaxi team uses strategic marketing strategies to appeal to a large consumer base, and has even intrigued some of the more adventurous Westminster students. There were service challenges, like working for an hour at a food bank or picking up trash from the side of a highway, said Peter Kirk, junior integrated marketing communication major and Cotopaxi design and development intern who attended last years Questival. Of course there were some quirky ones, too such as take a selfie with a llama, or jump in a body of water. Being an avid skier and rock climber, Kirk and his team of two others had no trouble completing the tasks. However, he said the more uncivilized challenges were his favorite. There was quite a mix, but Im really into the eating , challenges, Kirk said. Like eating every bite of a lemon or downing a brine shrimp from the Great Salt Lake. Kirk was not the only Questival, as we know it now, was bom as a launch event for Cotopaxi in April 2014. We wanted to create an experience that embraces Cotopaxis mission to inspire adventure and do good. The launch event was a huge success. Its now going on a tour of the U.S. winners from each city will compete in the World Questival Championships. The championships will bring back Davis original adventure: a race from Belize to Panama. a marketing perspective, has the Questival drawn in a more . diverse consumer base for the company? From AS: Questival generally Westminster student to attend attracts active people who are last years Questival. But really we see about Greg Yerkes, senior is social and up who anybody international business major, for adventure regardless of and his team of three other demographic. Westminster students had The great thing is that we different highlights slightly can introduce the Cotopaxi from their experience. to people who might brand were My best memories themselves as outdoor see not playing a hand of blackjack ' enthusiasts. in Wendover and going out We hope Questival to take pictures of us doing inspires them to get outside. salt angels on the salt flats, 18-3- 0. ! travel the world and do some good. Ideally, theyll think of Cotopaxi if they need to make purchases. about the importance of benefiting these humanitarian causes through the Questival and the company as a whole. Talk What cities does the Questival take place in? How do you find employees for each festival? AS: Currently, most of the Cotopaxi team is behind the scenes working the event. We wanted to get involved in every detail so we can continue to improve the experience for participants. Weve learned from each event and have made big updates. PETER KIRK, College campus words: Adventure, scavenger race. GREG YERKES, SENIOR Major: International business Favorite Questival challenge: My favorites were playing a hand of blackjack in Wendover, sleeping under the stars on the alumni house lawn, creating a sunset marching video while hiking Ensign Peak, swinging late at night in Liberty Park and doing salt angels on the salt flats. Negatives: Scoring system is weird. It is hard to know if all of your points really got counted, and there are so many people doing it. You know you can't win. Explain the Cotopaxi in three words: Exhausting, adventure and extravaganza Cotopaxi. with JUNIOR Major: Integrated marketing communication Favorite Questival challenge: The eating challenge, because the event pushed me to do things I wouldn't normally do. Negatives: None, really. It was a super fun, long day with friends and llamas , (llamas are friends too.) Explain the Cotopaxi Questival in three representatives have played a big part in promoting Questival here in Utah as well as other cities. Many of them have participated in Questival in the past and want to get more involved. Luckily, we also get a lot of customers who love the brand and want to help. Volunteers are really stoked to be a part of Questival and What's up JUNIOR Major: Environmental science Favorite Questival challenge: I loved the camping challenge. A bunch of Westminster students went that I didn't know and that was really great to get to know them. Negatives: It felt disorganized in the beginning. I wish there was a big kick off where everyone was set off at the same time. Explain the Cotopaxi Questival in three words: Adventurous, fast and fun Questival to San Francisco and Las Vegas. Well be hitting up other cities like Seattle, Portland, Denver, Phoenix, Knoxville, Providence, Durham, Houston and Austin. the llamas? our spirit animal. They thrive in the mountains. They are adaptable, social, loyal and silly. These are qualities we value in our team and drives our company culture. The llamas also have an uncanny ability to make everyone smile. Its amazing to watch people drop whatever they were doing and focus on how to make friends with the AS: The Hama is a little about the challenges. Some of them sound a little extreme for the average Joe. Have there been any notable liability issues in the past? Talk How many years has the event been going on? KATE PUDDY, taken AS: We have AS: The company exists to reduce poverty in a sustainable way. Its in our DNA as a benefit corporation and drives our business. The more successful Cotopaxi and Questival are, the more we are able to help others. Through both our products and Questival, we find that showing the impact is very powerful for inspiring people to do good. Each product is tied to a particular initiative and named after the region where ' an impact is being made. For example, the Kilimanjaro Backpack provides education to a child near the base of Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. We want the product to connect customers with the impact they have on someones life in a tangible way. At Questival, we challenge participants to give back and feel how good it feels to make a difference. Also, we found that doing a food drive at the party is a really meaningful experience for participants to see their impact. AS: Teams can choose whichever of the 300 challenges they want to tackle. Types of challenges include adventure, camping, hiking, community & cultural, quirky and service. Challenges include things like climb a pitch outside, volunteer at a local charity, eat a taco with no hands, cook a tinfoil dinner and share it . with another team and visit a national or state park. We have not had any notable liability issues. We do shut the app down for a few hours in the middle of the night so that people rest in order to prevent issues. We really want to stress that its about the experience and creativity versus ticking challenges off the list. I think people understand what its really all about once theyve been through it. STUDENT PROFILES MEG WOLF, JUNIOR Major: Environmental science Favorite Questival challenge: My favorite was camping with other Questival challengers and completing challenges together. Negatives: If you didn't have a car, you wouldn't be able to do a lot of the challenges and it was unfair to limit those who could participate. Explain the Cotopaxi In three words: A crazy adventure. llama. COREY CRONIN, SENIOR Major: Sociology and political science Favorite Questival challenge: Camping with other Questival challengers and completing challenges together. Negatives: For being an outdoor company, we sure did do a lot of driving, which is 3 COTOPAXI QUESTIVAL IN SALT LAKE CITY ; ; 4 , i April 1011 5 p.m. ' V7S;iE: 3003 Thanksgiving Way, Lehi, Utah ; QUESTIVAL EVENTS : scavenger hunt bonanza Over 300 challenges j i 24-ho- ur ' 1 ; s Saturday race starting at 9 a.m. The only downside is that participants are not eligible for the grand prizes. J Saturday race for kids Prizes include a llama super cape. 1 April 2014 was the first Questival and the launch event for Cotopaxi here in Salt AS: Lake City. So, one year. r. b f x&Ut u. J J. damaging to the environment. I guess that's the price you pay to have fun. Explain the Cotopaxi in three words: Great college experience. n 9 |