Utah Ale Trail Crafts the Fall Crawl Challenge

The Utah Ale Trail has launched the Utah Fall Crawl, powered by Explore’s digital passport technology. With 58 unique places across the state, the Utah Ale Trail encourages locals and visitors to support independent brewers, and their annual Fall Crawl offers fun prizes, incentives and fall themed digital badges to participants who check-in along the crawl throughout the Fall season.

Crafting the Utah Ale Trail

The Utah Ale Trail showcases Utah’s burgeoning craft beer and cider industry. Curated by the creative team at Third Sun, the trail highlights independently-owned breweries and cideries across the state to encourage locals and visitors to support this entrepreneurial community.

Crafting the Utah Ale Trail is a labor of love for these beer enthusiasts and the passionate brewers who participate. With each new brewery comes another opportunity to engage communities and generate ongoing support for local craftsmanship.

The Ale Trail spans the entire state, with 22 locations beyond the hub of Salt Lake City. By uniting all of these entrepreneurial efforts under the umbrella of the Utah Ale Trail, each individual brewery supports the efforts of the whole community, attracting additional customers and increasing awareness of the local industry.

Fermenting the Fall Crawl Challenge

Now in its sixth year, the Fall Crawl offers participating breweries and cideries a boost in foot traffic every autumn. What started with just 12 Salt Lake City breweries back in 2018 has grown to an incredible 58 locations across the entire state this year.

Previously, The Fall Crawl was a printed paper passport that participants needed to pickup from a participating location, and then remember to bring it with them for each brewery visit to get stamped at each stop along the Crawl.

This year, everything has changed.

With the introduction of Seeker’s Explore gamification technology, the Utah Ale Trail’s Fall Crawl has officially entered a new era. Gamifying the experience with a digital web app opens up so many more doors for the creative team behind the Utah Ale Trail, while simultaneously amplifying the reach of the Trail for all of its breweries and cideries.

Participating breweries and cideries benefit from the virality of a seasonal campaign, with UGC check-in photos able to be shared across social platforms to continue fermenting a buzz.

And — perhaps most importantly to generate engagement — the digital passport is so much easier for users.

Participants can quickly and easily join the challenge and start checking in right away. There is no need to remember to carry around a paper passport, they can just pick up their ever-present phones and snap a photo to check in. The app-like experience requires no download and can be bookmarked on the home screen of any mobile device for quick and easy access. With each check-in, participants automatically earn credit for each stop along the trail, climb the leaderboard, unlock badges, and earn exciting prizes.

This year’s Fall Crawl will undoubtedly be much more engaging and exciting for everyone involved.

Tapping into Digital Passport Technology

Going digital with Explore’s gamification technology for the 2024 Fall Crawl has enabled the Utah Ale Trail team to modernize the experience for participants and their partner breweries and cideries.

Gathering first-party data and UGC photos will be invaluable for everyone involved, providing ideal marketing material for next year while generating social buzz and support throughout the Fall Crawl this year.

Tapping into technology improves the experience for users, making participation a fun game with friendly competition and enticing opportunities to win prizes. While users benefit from the fun factor, participating businesses benefit from increased brand awareness and conversion.

Ready to taste-test your way through Utah’s many breweries and cideries? Join the Utah Ale Trail Fall Crawl Challenge. Interested in crafting a unique, immersive digital experience for your brand or destination using Explore? Book a demo.