We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brandon Oropallo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brandon below.

Brandon, appreciate you joining us today. Can you tell us about a time where you or your team really helped a customer get an amazing result?

Working for a company that offers group events means you’re sometimes going to get some unique requests, and it’s led us to a policy that has served us well: we always say yes. This policy has led us to great experiences, but one of our favorite yes moments happened when a prospective client reached out asking for a custom scavenger hunt near the hotel where they’d be hosting a conference. On the border of Plano and Frisco, two thriving cities in the north Dallas suburbs, sits the Boardwalk at Granite Park, a destination for meals, cocktails, and getting together, and it’s attached to the Hilton where our clients would be meeting.

The client specialized in landscaping and construction, and they were eager to find a unique experience that celebrated their industry and their knowledge in a way that wasn’t too focused on work. We agreed that a custom scavenger hunt would be a great fit, but we were faced with the challenge of how to blend their culture into an experience complete with all the fun and flair DFW Scavenger Hunt typically offers.

Our inspiration came from some of the most famous builders of all time — the three little pigs. The client loved the idea, and we built an entire game around the notion of the three little pigs searching for new consultants, and it was filled with puzzles built around fairy tales and nursery rhymes. Humpty Dumpty, Rapunzel, and Goldilocks all made appearances, much to the surprise of a few the burlier workers completing the challenge.

We collaborated with our client to create questions specific to their industry, and we built the game to look like a presentation from an elite Fairytale Kingdom construction company. Meanwhile, at the client’s request we supplied a Spanish version of the game as well, in order to accommodate a few members of the team for which English was not their first language.

Hosting the event meant meeting the group at the Hilton and leading them out onto the course, where they were on their way. They posed for photos, hunted down clues, and did so much trash talking! They had a blast, and so did we.

We love being surprised by a request like this, and we love the experience that comes with it. We’re grateful we get to keep saying yes.

Brandon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

After many years in entertainment marketing, I started DFW Scavenger Hunt after a move to Texas, prompted by a desire to do my own thing as well as truly discover the place I now called home. Committed to helping people discover how much they know, shaking the cobwebs out of creative brains, and celebrating North Texas communities, DFW Scavenger Hunt is a company that’s dear to my heart. With this business, I’ve created an enterprise that helps folks find a unique way to get out of the office, mark special occasions, and — finally — reunite with the people they care about. And our commitment to local means that every hunt has an only-in-Dallas twist, a game born, built, and hosted by folks who live right here. Our puzzles are like no other, and we’re proud of the way so many customers have praised the games for their elaborate structure, their accessible gameplay, and unique sense of humor.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

When I came up with the idea for a local scavenger hunt, I imagined my business would be hosting bachelorette parties and wrangling tourists. I spent a lot of time brainstorming ways to reach people who were visiting the city. It turned out that I was a bit off. It turns out, our core customers already live here in North Texas, and they’re eager to explore their own hometowns. Not only that, but I came to realize just how local people liked to stay. I’ll never forget when we opened our hunt in Frisco, and one of our first clients was so grateful that they didn’t have to drive all the way to Plano. To be clear, the cities of Frisco and Plano border each other. I realized that we could find greater success by going hyperlocal, targeting the businesses and residents of not just Dallas, but the growing suburbs that surround it. Today, we spend a lot of time hosting events in the suburbs, and in the small town of Grapevine, our hunt is one of our most popular.

Have you ever had to pivot?

When we created DFW Scavenger Hunt, it was important to us to find ways to get people off their computers and get them together. We spent a year and a half perfecting those ideals with in person scavenger hunts in Dallas, Plano, Frisco, and Grapevine. And then spring of 2020 arrived, and suddenly getting together was no longer in fashion, and staying on the computer was pretty much the only thing anyone could do. We needed to pivot, and quickly, and we started offering virtual hunts that people could play from their homes. We were glad to have found a way to continue to offer our services, and our customers were delighted to find an activity they could participate in safely and from wherever they were. Folks working remotely suddenly had a fun way to get together, and our local business became an international one.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.dfwscavengerhunt.com
• Instagram: dfwscavengerhunt
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dfwscavengerhunt
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dfwscavengerhunt
• Twitter: twitter.com/dfwscavenger
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyq6p9bJbd8
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dfw-scavenger-hunt-dallas

Image Credits
Brandon Oropallo