Amazon Prime Video’s Pop-up Obstacle Course Sends Fans on Active Missions

To promote its new thriller series, “Reacher,” Amazon Prime Video mirrored the active, immersive experiences typically found at a fan convention in a traveling outdoor obstacle pop-up that had consumers mimicking missions the show’s lead character, former military sniper “Jack Reacher,” carries out. Dubbed the “Reacher Challenge,” the two-city program took place Jan. 30 at Omni Hotel Battery in Atlanta and Feb. 5 at the New York-New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

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Targeting sports- and action-genre fans, the experience included challenges such as breaking out of zip ties and escaping a holding cell, flipping a tire to reveal a secret code that unlocked the door to “the chief’s” house, “punching a hitman,” and jumping over or maneuvering under blockades before sorting through boxes filled with money to find the counterfeit bills. Once they found the counterfeit money, consumers sprinted to the finish line and pressed a red timer button to complete the challenge. The course ended with a celebratory photo opportunity, and each challenger took home a souvenir “Reacher Challenge” scorecard.

“The current pandemic has challenged us in ways we’ve never been challenged before. Nevertheless, this tough situation allowed us to be extremely creative and to pioneer strategies that harness the fun of [in-real-life] activations and funnel it to at-home experiences,” says Jennifer Verdick, head of partnerships, synergy and events at Amazon Prime Video. “We haven’t seen a slowdown in foot traffic at our activations. It’s amazing for Prime Video to see our members come out and show up to support our efforts, and join along in the fun.”