January 2004
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In Profile

Urban Challenge
The most fun your people can have standing up!

When planners want to take attendee interaction one-step beyond a conversational cocktail—find creative ways to insert team-building activities and communication exercises into the meeting and event mix—many times they struggle for an innovative idea or worse, experience a fund shortage. But an energetic new group activity is sweeping the nation…and solving that problem.

The world is merely a marketplace of innovative ideas, and inspiration can be drawn from almost anywhere. Just ask Kevin McCarthy, founder of Urban Challenge, an interactive teambuilding enterprise, who originally came up with the idea after creating a game for his daughter Katie’s 12th birthday party.

“For her birthday, we created an adventure that had Kate and her friends racing all over town taking photos and solving clues,” says McCarthy.

Corporate America and event planners can now experience the energy of Urban Challenge for custom-designed management retreats and meetings. His challenge first thrilled planners nationwide in 2002 and has now taken corporate event planning to a new level.

“My daughter and her friends had such a good time that I decided there must be a way to create that experience for a lot more people, and luckily, the market for this sort of thing has been amazing,” notes McCarthy. “If you want an event to have a lasting impact, you should always make it fun.”
Don’t be mistaken though, McCarthy doesn’t consider this innovative challenge a child’s game, and he winces if you refer to it as a mere scavenger hunt. Instead he sees it as a great way to boost morale and company spirit. With the economy struggling to climb back up, Urban Challenge gives event planners a lot more options as far as being cost effective and innovative.

“We have done events all over the country, and we find that our clients really love this hands-on competition,” says McCarthy. “Ideally we like to set it up with teams ranging from three to four people, and we let the company choose the teams as a way to get people to break the ice and meet new people.”

At the start of the adventure, the teams are given trivia to determine the order of their departure. There are several posts set up around the city (or the venue of their choice) with various questions that need to be answered in order to get to the next clue. The teams are allowed to use any means necessary to answer the questions, including cellphones and text messaging.

Some of the questions can be customized for the specific company participating, touching on policies and guidelines that the company provides. Depending on what the client wants, the clues can range from being easy to difficult.

“Urban Challenge forces teams to think on the run—to react quickly to information in a way that depends on clear communication, skillful strategizing, and teamwork,” says McCarthy. “But most rewarding is that it is an absolute blast! This frantic adventure is the most fun your people can have standing up.”

Incorporating an exhilarating experience with the basic skills of a successful business creates a match made in heaven, not to mention a program that screams cost effective.

“This is simple to implement and will give life to any corporate event,” advises McCarthy. “Usually we end the adventure at the door step of a bar or restaurant to enhance the social aspect and give people a chance to unwind with a couple of drinks.”

Event planners can focus freely on the overall event and allow Urban Challenge to help create the interactions.

Urban Challenge delivers a thrilling event that leaves participants feeling they work for the best company; one committed to teamwork and successful communications.