Brothers Zac and Josh Ball, managing partners at Way Creative Media, have set up a way for businesses to gain product, brand, and web site exposure while simultaneously offering consumers free incentives such as grand prizes and Doubloons. "We wanted to create an entertaining way for consumers to interact with businesses that would create a beneficial relationship for both," explains Josh Ball. The brothers used to play scavenger hunts around the house when they were kids. "We thought it would be really cool if there was something like that on the net. You can teach people about your web site and make it fun for others along the way," said Zac.



Rewarding relationships with consumers are important, especially in the 24 percent of online adults who, according to Jupiter Research, are "influential brand advocates" that help companies profit from the internet and emerging technologies. eScavengers.com has shown that they act as a valuable breeding ground for these types of connections. In its fourth month, eScavengers.com has incurred over 7.5 million hits and 105,000 unique visitors. The site has hosted over 30 Adventures and given away over $20,000 in laptops, iPods, TVs and other prizes to competitors who complete the Adventures first. All participants receive Doubloons for completing Adventures, which they can trade for exciting merchandise at Treasure Island.

eScavengers plans to soon release a third version later this month. They will offer Adventures that can be played anytime for Doubloons in addition to the real-time competitions. The businesses, who pay to set up the Adventures, in addition to paying for page views, emails, and survey questions, can expect improved consumer tracking.