Oct 23, 2024
Behind the Scenes of Quest: How POWER Creates a One-of-a-Kind Experience for Employees
POWER’s version of an employee appreciation event is unlike any other. Thirteen years ago, we launched a massive end-of-year celebration in Cancun, Mexico to say thank you and recognize the accomplishments of our employees over the past 365 days.
But through the years, it has evolved into something much more than just a typical year-end party. That event, now called “Quest”, is one part music festival, one part wellness retreat, one part beach vacation — except instead of bumping elbows with 100,000 spectators, it’s an exclusive viewing party for POWER employees and their loved ones on the beaches of Mexico.
Curious about how a home remodeling company pulls off one of the most unique and high-profile music festivals in the country?
We’re pulling back the curtain on Quest and giving you a behind-the-scenes look at how our in-house People Experience (“PX”) and Brand teams bring this unique experience to life.
Creating the Vision
The work for Quest 2024 started the moment PX and Brand touched back down in The States following Quest 2023. Starting in January, Vice President of People Experience, Chelsea Sullivan, works closely with Co-CEO, Asher Raphael, to start negotiations with artists and talent agencies in order to curate the most diverse and star-studded festival lineup possible.
The journey of Quest starts and ends with employees. Formulated from employee feedback and current trends, Chelsea presents a vision for the year’s Quest to the PX and Brand teams in April. This initial brainstorming session sets the tone for the entire event, ensuring that Quest remains fresh, exciting, and aligned with employees’ interests year after year.
So what’s the vision for this year? “Best of Quest” — tribute to our past, a signature of the present, and a signal of our future.
Preparing for the Pitch
After getting general guidelines from Chelsea, the Brand team gets to work. They develop three distinct concepts, each complete with key art designs, tones, manifestos, and keywords. This creative pitch is then presented to Asher, Chelsea, and Brand Leadership. Together, they make the crucial decision on which direction to pursue, setting the stage for the next phase of planning.
The concept that was selected to bring the “Best of Quest” theme to life was Techno Future — a bold, chromatic, and dimensional look that merges retro soul with future sound.
Meeting of the Minds
Once the creative direction is locked in, it’s all hands on deck. The Brand and PX teams divide and conquer, breaking into working teams who meet weekly leading up to the event, perfecting the visual and experiential elements like swag, environmental design, the Quest website, and more.
They plan each activation and each moment so the festival feels as exciting and immersive as possible. They also develop every communication to ensure attendees are hyped and informed leading up to the big event. The teams include:
- Communications
- Contests
- Website
- Attendees Management
- Scenic and Activations
- Swag
- Photoshoot
- Video + Production
- Attendees Entertainment
- Workouts + Wellness
- Food, Beverage, and Sustainability
- Safety
- Transportation
Let’s Not Forget the Logistics
POWER’s PX team are masters of logistics. From summer to Day 1 of Quest, the team is hard at work dotting their I’s and crossing their T’s, coordinating every detail to ensure the experience from signup to the flight home is nothing short of perfect. Building and updating hotel rooming lists, organizing airport transportation for thousands of people, curating menus, coordinating with talent, DJs, workout instructors, and working with vendors to order festival swag are just some of the moving parts of what it takes to host this multi-faceted experience.
Cue Execution
Three weeks before Quest, several team members touch down in Cancun to oversee the physical building and execution, bringing the vision to life. This is when the grand stage, installations, signage, activities, swag store, and more transform from rendering to real life. But what’s most important is leaving an element of mystery and surprise for our attendees, so that’s all we can share for now…
This collaborative effort, fueled by creativity, meticulous planning, and a shared vision, creates an unparalleled experience for POWER people each and every year.
Don’t forget to come back to our newsroom in December when we recap Best of Quest and show how this vision became a reality.
