Is that a tick???
I was working on a catalytic event for a client this week, and I remembered this story.
It was 2005, and my team was preparing to attend and a mid-sized conference. We purchased some space in the exhibit hall. My boss tasked me with creating a way to boost foot traffic to our booth.
Why did she choose me? I'm not entirely sure. I never had been to a professional conference before. I think it had to do with my ability to ideate, creatively solve problems, and turn anything into an activity or novel experience. So we turned on the "what if?" machine and generated many ideas. After a good bit of brainstorming, we chose to modify an experiential exercise to fit the conference.
Before I explain exactly what we did, it's essential to know some context. When hiking or camping in certain backcountry regions, ticks are prevalent. Ticks are tiny arachnids known to stealthily attach themselves to the warmest parts of the body without you noticing. Many species of ticks carry serious diseases. When traveling in these areas where ticks are common, backcountry guides suggest performing periodic "Tick Checks." You stop what you are doing and thoroughly check your hair, armpits, nether regions, etc. They are the sneaky, sneaky ninja of the animal kingdom.
Over time, the Tick Check also evolved into an experiential learning activity.* The experiential facilitator would carry a spring-loaded wooden clothespin in their pocket. And at some point in the program, they would sneakily attach it to a participant's clothing. Then they called a Tick Check, and everyone would search their clothing. Without fail, the clothespin would be found attached to someone without their awareness. If you were playing with kids, the facilitator might ask an icebreaker question or request something fun or silly from the person with the tick. The game would continue through the program, with participants encouraged to tick someone new if they found it on themselves.
With this in mind, we decided to turn the conference into a giant game of Tick Check without telling anyone we were playing. We got a bunch of clothespins and attached a short message and coupon to it. "If found, come by our booth to receive a free item."
Our hope was that when people found the Tick and coupon, they would feel amused (and not violated) and come visit our booth.
Then the real adventure began. Our team walked around the hallways in stealth mode, attaching Ticks to backpacks, coats, and other articles of loose clothing. Sometimes people would keep on walking without noticing. Other times people felt the Tick immediately and turned around to see one of us with a mischievous (but not creepy, we hoped) grin on our faces. If they caught us, we politely apologized and pointed to the message on the Tick. The times that were the most embarrassing were when someone other than the Tick recipient noticed. Bystanders would respond with a look of confused concern towards us as they saw us approach the unsuspecting target. They were unsure what they were witnessing, trying to determine if this unexpected behavior was a harmless game or a prelude to purse snatching or worse. The same thing sometimes happened after we successfully ticked someone. A bystander would look in our direction, and one of us would make a playful "shush" signal with a finger to our lips. After an hour or two, we had ticked enough people that we ran out of coupons.
As I think back to this experience, I want to ask a few questions. Was this Tick Check experience successful? Well, it depends on how you measure success. Did we drive significantly increased traffic to our booth? Absolutely. About two-thirds of the coupons we handed out were redeemed. Most of the people who visited the booth had a positive and amused response to the game. They understood our intention was not to violate boundaries or personal space but to show our brand in a fun and whimsical way.
I liken this experience to a hidden camera or prank show. Do the pranksters have fun? Yes! Does the audience laugh? Yes! How do the people who are not in on the prank react? Reactions are mixed. Some people laugh, some people scurry away mildly uncomfortable or confused, and some people get mad enough to swear at the actors or camera. So was our Tick Check successful in adding a joyfully unexpected experience to some of the conference attendees? Yes. Did the other one-third feel the same way? That’s another story.
Could it have had caused an adverse reaction or made the environment feel less safe? Could the bystanders’ lack of knowledge cause them to be more likely to be creeped out by our actions? Could it have triggered memories of trauma for people victimized in the past? All of these are possible, and we will probably never know. If we made the conference experience worse for anyone, how much should we pat ourselves on the back for our success in reaching our short-term goal of foot traffic?
As I wrap up this story, I think it is important to note, that with most of real life it is not as simple as identifying a hero or a villain. It's challenging to try an experiment and do things in a way that has not been done before. Was it right to try something new? I think so. Did we think through the full implications or the impact on other people before attempting our idea? No. Would I do a Tick Check again at a conference? Maybe in a conference workshop where people had the opportunity to opt-out of the activity? But not with random conference attendees in the hallway. Adult-Mark does not think that is a great idea anymore. I would consider playing Tick Check with a team that knew what was going on and agreed to play. It would be fun to try if a team had a long road trip or team retreat and wanted a stealthy #secretmission. It might even be worth having different-sized clothespins to see just how clever of a ninja you can be.
Reflection and Action:
How do you approach experimentation?
What are the pros and cons of your approach?
Think of a time when your great idea had unintended consequences. Share this story with a friend or colleague.
Play Tick Check with your team on your next trip or offsite. Make sure you obtain consent and make clear ground rules before playing.
If you want help blending experiential learning activities into your meetings, events, or training, email mark@workplaysolutions.com.
*I was not able to identify the original creator of the Tick Check experiential activity. If you know, please let me know so I can give them credit.
