Wednesday, March 31, 2010

FAQ's about qualifying picture for #STH#...

I have received many questions about the "qualifying" part of STH3 and wanted to get a quick post out today before the hunt ends tomorrow evening; making sure all followers have time to qualify and win prizes!

To qualify for a prize as one of the first twelve (12) people who find the secret location Thursday evening between 6 and 8 pm, you MUST beforehand take a picture with at least one employee at any of the locations @nataliedaily has "checked-in" at via foursquare and left an @sactreasurehunt or #STH3 clue in the comment section (All these show up in @nataliedaily tweets!). Only those locations qualify; and FYI: there are not any actual physical clues at these locations to find!

For those of you who live outside the city of Sacramento, you may go to a different store/location of the same company and take the picture there.

YOU then MUST twitpic and or post on facebook that picture by 2 pm on Thursday.(Special Prize: the person who can get the most employees in a picture with themselves gets a $100 gift card!)

IF you figure out the secret location for Thursday night you can't be one of the twelve (12) winners if you have not taken a qualifying picture! Make sense now?

Here are a few examples of the pictures that STH3 participants have already taken to qualify this week!


@bethdiebels picture taken at Luigi's Slice


@therealmtnbdude picture taken at Nugget Market


@cakegrrl picture taken at Target

Sorry for the confusion, as we appreciate all feedback and sometimes our creative side gets the best of us!!!

STH Team and @nataliedaily

Monday, March 29, 2010

STH3 - How to play and more...

Sac Treasure Hunt #3 (STH3) will start THIS Monday, March 29th and end in the evening on Thursday, April 1st! Not only will we be utilizing Twitter and Facebook for this SPECIAL hunt, we will also include Foursquare!

STH3 will be nothing like the past two hunts. We wanted to encourage more people to participate by mixing it up, making the hunt a little shorter and ending it during the week. And, what better day to end a hunt then on April Fool's Day!

Also new for STH3 is a special guest host who will help us with clues on a daily basis. Who is that you ask? It's none other than @nataliedaily (as she is known on twitter)!

Be sure to follow Natalie on both twitter and foursquare, as her daily "tweets" and "check-ins" will offer clues that will lead you to Thursday evening’s secret location. She will post the final clue before 4 p.m. on Thursday. Clues may not make sense individually. You’ll need to keep track of all of her STH3 clues throughout the week in order to figure out your final destination!

Please Note: Not all of Natalie’s “tweets” and “check-ins” will offer clues for STH#. All clues will specifically mention STH3 in the tweets or comment part!
So how does STH3 work?

Here is your checklist for participating in the hunt:

1. Be sure to follow tweets from both @sactreasurehunt and @nataliedaily on twitter each day. Clues and contest updates will be given out Monday through Thursday via the twitter platform.

2. Be sure to follow @nataliedaily’s Foursquare check-in’s on Twitter to see where she checks in during the week. You can also add @nataliedaily as a friend on Foursquare so you will be notified each time she checks in to a new location. Natalie will tag some of her check-ins with "@sactreasurehunt clue” or “STH3”; if the location is not tagged…it’s not a clue.

3. TO QUALIFY FOR PRIZES: To qualify for a prize at the end, you must go to one (1) place that @nataliedaily has checked in at (via foursquare) and get a picture taken with any employee that works there (logo helps). Post the picture on twitpic or facebook; then tweet it out before 2 p.m. on Thursday. For those of you who live outside the city of Sacramento, you may go to a different store/location of the same company and take the picture there. Make sense? (Special Prize: the person who can get the most employees in a picture with themselves gets a $100 gift card!)

4. Natalie and I will be at the secret location on Thursday evening from 6 to 8pm. We will be awaiting the arrival of the first twelve (12) people. No daily keywords are needed for this hunt. As long as you’ve qualified (by taking a pic at one of Natalie’s stops along the way with an employee) the first twelve (12) people who arrive will win a prize.

5. As each person arrives, they will be given a numbered ticket, which is the order in which they will pick a gift bag after the last person (number 12) has arrived.

6. PRIZES: All of the STH3 prizes will be in gift bags. All of the gift bags will be the same size, so choose wisely! To keep this hunt even more different from past ones, we are NOT announcing what all of the prizes are in advance. All we are saying is that each gift bag will have a prize with at least a $50 value inside…and several bags will have prizes valued well over $50!


Like past hunts, once you arrive at the secret location, you are not allowed to use your cell phone(s) until all qualifying participants (twelve people total) have arrived. You must be over 18 to play and win a prize.

Play STH3 as an individual, with a family member or friend, maybe even round up some of your co-workers to help you piece all of the clues together.

The first twelve (12) people who find Natalie and me on Thursday (between 6 and 8pm) will also be treated to something else...besides the gift bags and prizes!

Best of Luck...
STH Team and Natalie

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

SPECIAL STH3 Starts Monday, March 29th!

A SPECIAL STH3 will be starting on Monday, March 29th and ending on Thursday, April 1st!

No treasure chest keys in this hunt; just several social media platforms that will challenge you each day to figure out where the secret location is on Thursday!

A social media experiment galore...

So find the pirate in you to figure it all out and you will be rewarded!

STH Team

2nd Sac Treasure Hunt - Last clue and the ending...

The 2nd Sac Treasure Hunt ended on a beautiful Saturday morning at the secret location, the Sacramento River Cats.

At stake was over $2,000 in prizes for one lucky Sacramento treasure hunter!

Even before the last clue was tweeted out at 9am, three people had figured out the location. The grand prize winner, as well as two friends who had been waiting in the parking lot with binoculars looking for the treasure chest!

Once the last clue was sent out, it wasn't long before others found the secret location and over the course of the next 40 minutes all ten treasure hunters had arrived and qualified by writing down all the daily keywords.

So here is how all the clues led to the secret location. All clues were given out daily last week via the Sac Treasure Hunt twitter page:

Monday
1st Clue: Water is useful here
Answer: To water the outfield grass where the River Cats play or water to drink for the fans and ball players. (This first clue definitely had people thinking about one of the Quick Quack Car Wash locations as well the Sacramento Zoo or even Nugget Markets. Since Jiffy Lube was the secret location of the 1st STH, most ruled their locations out.)

Tuesday:
2nd Clue: You can find something "green" here
Answer: The outfield grass of the River Cats field. (Once again this led people to believe it was Quick Quack Car Wash, Sacramento Zoo or Nugget Markets.)

Wednesday
3rd Clue: You may wait in a line here
Answer: Line to purchase tickets to a River Cats game and or line to buy food and beverages at a concession stand, or even to use the bathrooms. (This clue could have been used for any location for the most part, and that is why it was, very vague in nature to keep people guessing!)

Thursday
4th Clue: Signs are found here
Answer: Signs to park, find your seat, etc.. at the River Cats. (Once again a clue that left many still thinking Quick Quack Car Wash, Sacramento Zoo or a Nugget Market location.)

Friday
5th Clue: Where people watch something
Answer: Fans watch the River Cats play baseball. (This clue had many people thinking that one watches their car get washed or to watch animals at the zoo, or even watch a Sac State Hornets football game.)

Saturday
Last clue: Where you can hear a roar from time to time
Answer: River Cats, the roar of the fans when something good happens! (As I found out afterwards, all the people who were at a Quick Quack Car Wash location were now racing to the Sacramento Zoo and those already at the Zoo searched around Land Park for a treasure chest.)

Extra clue: Catch the Feeling
Answer: The River Cats slogan

So that is how all the clues worked together. Please view the 2nd Sac Treasure Hunt video to see how it all ended, some good drama free of charge!

After it was all over we enjoyed yet again another AMAZING Sac Treasure Chest cake done by Kristy (@cakegrrl)!

Congrats to the 10 winners, as they found the pirate in themselves, and all left with great prizes from our prize sponsors! For all those who did not find the secret location this time, there's a new STH coming soon, so stay tuned!

Thanks to all those who participated and supported the 2nd STH on twitter with daily tweets and RT's! Greatly appreciated!

Special thanks to our generous prize sponsors: Nugget Markets, Quick Quack Car Wash, Jiffy Lube, Sacramento River Cats, Sac State Hornet Sports, Kirkwood Ski Resort, Unique Impressions and Mama Boot Camp.

Until the next hunt...

Sunday, March 21, 2010

5th Clue of the Sac Treasure Hunt

5th Clue: Where people watch

Daily Keywords: Sacramento Zoo

RT the 5th clue by 9pm tonight to enter to win a pair of Sacramento Zoo tickets, 3 winners will be picked!

Keep track of the daily keywords, you will need to know them in order to have a chance at opening the treasure chest and winning the grand prize!

Lastly, be sure to read the how to play, STH rules and prizes blog for the 2nd Sac Treasure Hunt, as some new twists have been added!

Best of luck....
STH Team

Thursday, March 18, 2010

4th Clue and $250 Pirate Hat Picture Contest!

4th Clue: Signs are found here

Daily Keywords: Jiffy Lube

Be sure to retweet the clue on your twitter account by 9pm to enter to win a $50 Jiffy Lube gift card!

EXTRA $250.00 Picture Contest:
Thought we should have some fun today, mix it up, see who is creative out there...take a picture of yourself in a pirate hat (either home made, purchased or from a costume, etc.) today and then do a twitpic and or post it to your facebook page by 9pm tonight to enter.

Picture MUST BE date stamped for today, no old pictures please!

Once that is done you then must tweet the link to the picture with the following message: "@sactreasurehunt, here's my pirate hat picture (put link here), I want the $250 prize!"

So who will get really creative today and win $250?


Keep track of the daily keywords, you will need to know them in order to have a chance at opening the treasure chest and winning the grand prize!

Lastly, be sure to read the how to play, STH rules and prizes blog for the 2nd Sac Treasure Hunt, as some new twists have been added!

Best of luck....
STH Team

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

3rd Clue of the 2nd Sac Treasure Hunt

3rd Clue: You may wait in a line here.

Wednesday Daily Keywords: Hornet Sports

Be sure to retweet the clue on your twitter account by 9pm to enter to win a $50 iTunes gift card!

Keep track of the daily keywords, you will need to know them in order to have a chance at opening the treasure chest and winning the grand prize!

Lastly, be sure to read the how to play, STH rules and prizes blog for the 2nd Sac Treasure Hunt, as some new twists have been added!

Best of luck....
STH Team

2nd Clue of the Sac Treasure Hunt

2nd Clue: You can find something "green" here.

Tuesday Daily Keywords: River Cats


Be sure to retweet the clue on your twitter account by 9pm to enter to win a pair of Sacramento River Cats tickets. We will be choosing 4 winners!

Keep track of the daily keywords, you will need to know them in order to have a chance at opening the treasure chest and winning the grand prize!

Lastly, be sure to read the how to play, STH rules and prizes blog for the 2nd Sac Treasure Hunt, as some new twists have been added!

Best of luck....
STH Team

Monday, March 15, 2010

2nd STH has started! 1st Clue...

The 2nd Sac Treasure Hunt has started!

1st Clue: Water is needed here.

Monday Daily Keywords: Nugget Markets.


Be sure to retweet the clue on your twitter account by 9pm to enter to win a $50 Nugget Market gift card!

Keep track of the daily keywords, you will need to know them in order to have a chance at opening the treasure chest and winning the grand prize!

Lastly, be sure to read the how to play, STH rules and prizes blog for the 2nd Sac Treasure Hunt, as some new twists have been added!

Best of luck....
STH Team

Sunday, March 7, 2010

2nd STH - Prizes and Sponsors

The Sac Treasure Hunt is proud to have such wonderful and generous prize sponsors for the 2nd STH event next week!

There are two ways you can win and receive prizes: being one of the first 100 people to find the secret location of the treasure chest and or by retweeting the daily clues each day.

The Grand Prize Winner

$500 cash from the Sac Treasure Hunt team.

Two (2) front row tickets (Floor 1 / Row A) to the Carrie Underwood concert at Arco Arena on Thursday, May 20th.

3 months of unlimited FREE car washes from Quick Quack Car Wash.

$150 in gift certificates from Jiffy Lube.

Four (4) baseball tickets and a special gift from the Sacramento River Cats.

Free daily passes to the Sacramento Zoo.

$150 if gift cards from Nugget Markets.

Clothing, gear and tickets to a game from the Sac State Hornets Athletic Department.

Professional Teeth Whitening and Spray Tan from Unique Impressions.

Two (2) one day adult passes (No blackout dates!) to Kirkwood Ski Resort.

....and a few other wonderful items!

2nd thru 9th Place:

Each will receive a STH goodie bag with gift cards, free items and or prizes from our sponsors.


11th thru 100th Place

Each will receive a special offer or coupon from our sponsors.


Retweeting the daily clues:

Every night at 9 PM, Monday thru Friday of the STH week, someone will be randomly selected who has retweeted the daily morning clue that same day.

Only 1 retweet is necessary to be eligible for the daily prize (note: numerous retweets will not help your chances of winning and may offend your followers!)

Daily prizes for retweeting will be announced each day.

Best of luck to all...

STH Team

2nd Sac Treasure Hunt - How it works; a few new twists!

The Sac Treasure Hunt is always looking for ways to have more winners and add more fun; and having learned from the 1st STH, we have some new twists for the next one!

The 2nd Sac Treasure Hunt will start next Monday, March 15th and end on Saturday the 20th. The STH is a fun and interactive game that is open to everyone over the age of 18; and takes place in the Greater Sacramento area. Simply just follow the clues on twitter and find the secret treasure location at the end.

Here's how the STH will work:

1. First, make sure to sign up for a twitter account (www.twitter.com) if you don't already have one; as all clues will originate from our twitter page.

2. Once signed up for a twitter page, be sure to follow us at www.twitter.com/sactreasurehunt to look for the daily clues that will be given each morning the week of the STH at 9 AM PST. All STH's will start on a Monday and end on Saturday of the same week.

3. Daily clues and keyword(s) will be given each day, Monday thru Friday, and the last clue will be given on that Saturday at 9 AM as well. Clues could be numbers or letters, questions or answers, general Greater Sacramento trivia or maybe something on another website. You will never have to go any where or purchase anything to get a clue, just follow our tweets!

4. Put all the clues together to figure out where the treasure is located after the last clue on Saturday. The actual treasure will not be put in place until Saturday, so if you think you figured the location out beforehand, just wait till Saturday to go and find it.

5. You will also need to remember all the keywords from each specific day. We suggest writing them down on a piece of paper and bringing that with you when trying to find the secret treasure chest location. YOu will fill out a sheet upon arriving at the secret location and must have it correctly filled out to continue.

6. The first 10 people who show up at the secret treasure location on Saturday after 9 AM and CORRECTLY fill out the daily keywords sheet, will then choose 1 of 10 keys in order of how they finished the daily keywords sheet. The next 100 people who show up after the first 10 will receive special offers from our sponsors (such as coupons).

7. Once all 10 keys have been accounted for, each key holder, in order, will then attempt to open the lock of the treasure chest. 3 of the 10 keys will open the lock(new twist here!). When the final 3 keys are known, they will then start over by selecting a key and trying to open the treasure chest. When the treasure chest is finally opened by one of the key holders, the hunt is officially over at that time. (This part of the STH may be filmed to later publish online so everyone can see the drama of keys not working and others working!)

8. The treasure chest will contain prizes and items from local businesses in the Greater Sacramento area. Over $5,000 in total prizes will be given away. Be sure to read the Prizes and Sponsors post for all that information.

9. The 2nd thru 9th place participants will receive a Sac Treasure Hunt goodie bag that contains free gifts and prizes as well; so all 10 of the key holders will win something for finding the secret treasure chest location first.

10. As noted previously above, the 11th thru 100th people who find the secret treasure chest location will receive special coupons and offers from our sponsors...so be one of the first 100 people to receive something special on Saturday!

Rules and Conditions:

Must be 18 years and older to participant in the STH. 1st thru 10th place winners must show photo ID and or proof of age to collect prize as well as fill out a simple form with their name, address and twitter account name.

If you are one of the first 10 people to receive a key, you will be asked to put your cell phone or any other electronic device you have on you in a provided "safe basket" close by; as we don't want people to be tempted to call, email or text their family or friends about the secret location of the treasure chest(fair play for all!).

If you decline or refuse to put your item in the "safe basket" you will be disqualified and your spot will be given to the next person waiting, no exceptions. Once the winners are established and the hunt is over you can retrieve your item.

We have the right to remove you from your position in the STH at any time if we feel you are helping others in any way; such as giving them the keywords or telling others the location of the secret treasure.

By actively participating in the STH you are agreeing to the above rules and conditions. Rules may be changed or added without notification if unforeseen issues surface later.

Play fair and have FUN....just figure out the secret location of the treasure chest!

Best of luck to all!

STH Team

Thursday, March 4, 2010

New Sponsors for the 2nd Sac Treasure Hunt!

We are proud to have the Sacramento Zoo and Nugget Markets join the list of generous prize sponsors for the 2nd Sac Treasure Hunt!

You can follow them on twitter here:

Sacramento Zoo

Nugget Markets

The 2nd Sac Treasure Hunt starts on Monday, March 15th!