Great North East Digital Treasure Hunt launched
Left to right: Charlie Nettle, head of marketing at the North East Chamber of Commerce, Emma Gillespie of Activ Telecom (holding the prize), Nicola Reid of Catalyst Recruitment, Martin Robertson of Atlas Cloud and Anna Ward of Catalyst Recruitment
Jun 6, 2014
Everybody loves a treasure hunt and everybody loves a prize. Now, the North East Chamber of Commerce together with recruitment specialist Catalyst and technology company Atlas Cloud, is bringing you both.
To register for the Great North East Digital Treasure Hunt visit: www.pluscatalyst.co.uk/treasurehunt
It will be a treasure hunt with a difference, based on geocaching, a craze that is sweeping the world, a fun challenge in which GPS devices are used in a hide and seek trail.
As part of the run-up to its 200th anniversary next year, the Chamber is supporting the Great North East Digital Treasure Hunt, at the same time underlining its support for innovation across the region.
The competition, which is open to all members, will run for 12 months in the Chamber's Contact magazine and on the online bulletin. One prize will be up for grabs in each issue. This time, successful participants will win a Nokia Lumia 625 Smartphone, donated by Newcastle-based business technology and communications company Activ Telecom.
A series of clues will be set, the answers to which will reveal the co-ordinates for specific locations across the region, such as parks or at well-known landmarks. The challenge is then to reach these locations first. Typical clues might be a QR code in a secret location, which, when found, is to be scanned with a smartphone. It could be a number hidden in a city centre telephone box, or a hidden page on a website.
The final clue for each puzzle will be GPS co-ordinates pinpointing where the cache – a waterproof container holding a golden ticket with instructions to contact the organiser Catalyst – will be hidden.
Anna Ward, senior IT recruitment consultant at Catalyst says: “You can easily type in co-ordinates to a search engine like Google on a desktop computer or tablet and access a map of a precise location and there are many free GPS apps which can easily be downloaded to a smartphone.
“The beauty of this competition is that it is technology enabled and accessible to everyone. It’s simple. You can do it in your lunch hour. It’s a high-tech treasure hunt for the digital generation. Another beauty of it is there’s definitely no digging muck involved!’’
The idea for the competition stemmed from Anna being a fan of geocaching and meeting fellow enthusiast Phil Richardson, chief operating officer of Atlas Cloud. The concept was developed with input from Catalyst colleagues including senior IT recruitment consultant Nicola Reid. Momentum grew after discussion with other businesses which are providing the prizes, such as Activ Telecom, and with the North East Chamber of Commerce.
“This has already captured people’s imagination,’’ says Nicola Reid. “It’s a great way to have some fun while becoming more tech savvy. For the Chamber, it adds to the 200th anniversary celebrations in true 21st century style, for Catalyst it marks our own upcoming 10th birthday while raising our profile as a leading North East recruitment consultancy and underlines our associations with, and strengths in, the technology sector. For Atlas Cloud it generates awareness and raises the profile of a highly successful North East cloud technology company. Everyone’s a winner – including the finders of the caches.’’
Charlie Nettle, head of marketing at the North East Chamber of Commerce added: “As part of our 200th anniversary celebrations we are looking to celebrate our members who are also having big anniversaries in 2015. Our intention is to work with a handful of these members on some joint events. We were looking for ideas that were a little different and this initiative that Catalyst presented us with certainly seemed to fit the bill. We’re looking forward to seeing how our members get on with the challenge!”
How to take part: To register for the Great North East Digital Treasure Hunt visit: www.pluscatalyst.co.uk/treasurehunt
The first clue is: www.hello
The second part of the clue you will receive when you register at: www.pluscatalyst.co.uk/treasurehunt
After solving three clues you will discover the location of a golden ticket placed securely in a public place somewhere in the region. The first to claim the ticket will win the prize. Terms and conditions apply. Visit www.pluscatalyst.co.uk/treasurehunt for more information and to register
The Prize: Nokia Lumia 625 Smartphone donated by Activ Telecom.