Couples will search for a $10,000 engagement ring on Saturday, at REEDS Jewelers inaugural Diamond Dash in Tuscaloosa. The outing will provide the perfect opportunity for one lucky couple not to worry about the high cost of an engagement ring.
Susan Elam, the General Manager at the REEDS Tuscaloosa location, said that REEDS is thrilled to put on the event.
“We just really want to get our name out there,” Elam said. “We are just wanting to reach out to the community and give back and let everyone know that we are a family-owned jewelry store, and we are very customer service oriented.”
REEDS is partnering with SCVNGR, a mobile gaming technology created by Google, to host ten Diamond Dash events across the country. This means that overall, REEDS will be giving away $125,000 worth of diamonds throughout all the events.
Couples can submit their personal love stories at the REEDS website for the chance to be selected to participate in the event.
In order for the couples to win the engagement ring, they have to be the last remaining couple with all of the correct answers to the riddles they will be given. The SCVNGR insures that there will be no ties.
While learning more about SCVNGR, Mitch Cahn, the director of marketing and business for REEDS Jewelers spoke about what SCVNGR does exactly.
“An alliance was built with Google to marketplaces like Tuscaloosa,” Cahn said.
SCVNGR will come out a few days before the event and pick clues that go with Tuscaloosa, he said.
“They will put the clues into a database so no one team will be on the same track,” Cahn said.
Once the contestants solve the riddle, they must text back the answer. If the answer is correct, the couple will receive another clue for their next riddle. Usually, the following riddles will be fairly close to their current location. The idea is to scatter all of the couples throughout different areas of downtown Tuscaloosa.
REEDS is expecting a large turnout for this event. Cahn said that, “Over 100 riddles is generally what wins.”
About 200 couples are entered in the event, he said.
Amanda Stone, marketing manager of SCVNGR, said that the jewelry store is making final preparations for the event and will begin to come up with clues to solve the riddles within the next few days. Riddles will all vary. However, all of the information the participants will need to solve the riddle will be provided in a text message from SCVNGR.
“An example of a riddle that might be asked could be, ‘What ROYGBIV color do you mix with blue to make the color of the building’s overhang?’” Stone said.
On the day of the event, the contestants will simply begin the scavenger hunt from their cellphones. Each couple will use a phone to text a specific number in order to begin, and then they will receive a message back with an address and clues for their first riddle.
