iconic deschutes

1 Iconic Adventures // Deschutes Proposal December 10, 2012

Deschutes 25th Anniversary Landmark Tour

Fall on Mirror Pond

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ICONIC ADVENTURES


Type to enter Black Butte

Green Lakes

Mirror Pond

The Deschutes 25th Anniversary Landmark TourCreating an exclusive-access event that celebrates 25 years of community-!rst brewing.

Iconic Adventures is proud to present this proposal for an event celebrating Deschutes’ 25 years of developing and brewing some of America’s best craft beers. This event will be held in Bend and will highlight all of the natural landmarks that have provided the identity for Deschutes’ best know brews - Black Butte (Porter), Green Lakes (Organic Ale), Mirror Pond (Ale) and other natural highlights depicted in the Landmarks film.

This event will also serve to showcase the best that Bend has to offer including award-winning chefs, breathtaking landscapes, a bustling music scene, bike-friendly environs and a community that is as passionate about their beer as they are about their town. All of these elements make the perfect backdrop for a 25th anniversary event, and one that will serve as a centerpiece for Deschutes’ 2013 marketing efforts.

December 10, 2012 Iconic Adventures // Deschutes Proposal 3

Day-By-Day

PRE-RIDE Kick-off dinner and community eventThe ride kicks off in high fashion as we host an event for riders and the community. This is a chance for riders to check in, sample some great local cuisine and showcase why Gary Fish chose Bend as the birthplace of Deschutes.

DAY 1 Riders are off!Our ride starts early with a local coffee roaster on hand to fuel the morning miles. Riders have a choice of mileage options today and can decide which to take while on the route. A local food truck will be at the lunch stop for those ready to eat, and our ending point today will tie-in to Smith Rock. A beer tent will greet

riders as they cross the finish line and our evening will be spent enjoying a great local band and cuisine. A speaker can be added from a local charity or from Deschutes.

DAY 2 More miles and more beer!After a hot breakfast riders are back on the road again, taking in the

The ultimate combination of activity, great food, friends new and old, and the perfect beer to compliment the occasion.

majestic scenery that inspired the Deschutes beer line. Rest stops will feature unique local items and contests, and our hosts will again be waiting at the Black Butte--inspired finish line with cold “recovery” drinks. In impromptu dance floor will appear tonight as we dance the night away - or as long as our tired legs will let us stand up!

DAY 3 A big finishWe will need a few miles to shake off the cobwebs this morning as we pedal our way back to Bend and the grand finish. Rest stops will again have contests and themes to keep riders interest, and our route will take us past beautiful vistas on it’s way to the Deschutes Brewery in Bend. Music, food and beer await as riders turn in their bikes for a coozie. Deschutes brewers will be on hand to show off their creations as riders and employees mingle for one last time. Names will be drawn for some great prizes as everyone leaves happy and exhausted. This is an event that they will talk about for years to come!

Type to enter Smith Rock


Unique Event Elements

Event ElementsUniquely Deschutes. Distinctly Bend.

Type to enter Three Sisters

01 Exclusive AccessThe event could be developed and marketed with a limited number of participants for an “exclusive access” feel.

02 LocalEach element of the event could focus on a community asset including vendors, chefs, and support staff.

03 BendBend could be highlighted in every aspect of the marketing and design.

04 BeerDeschutes could brew a “limited

edition” beer to coincide with the event.

05 MusicLocal musicians could be highlighted each evening as part of the overall program.

06 Customer FocusA marketing campaign could be developed so that a small number of consumers can “win” the chance to be a part of this exclusive event.

07 25th AnniversaryThe perfect reason to throw a party!

08 Community and StaffThis event serves as a great way to bridge the community and Deschutes staff under one event.



“I realized these customizable trips are like having a wedding

planner for your most epic adventures. Everything's

organized for you ahead of time—you just need to show up and

take the leap.”5280 Magazine



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Our ServicesIconic is your complete event partner from start to !nish.

DESIGN AND PLANNINGCreative Trip Design and Production

Memorable Site Selections

Financial and Budget Management

Contract and Vendor Negotiations

Menu Planning Specific to Location and Event Theme

Total Program Management and Execution

PROMOTIONComplete Trip Registration

Promotional Road Shows

Press and Media Relations

Sponsorship Solicitation

Branded Event Web Sites

On-Site Event Promotion

Customized Gifts

Notable Event Collateral

Memorable Trip Videos and Photography

ON-SITE MANAGEMENTProfessional and Experienced Guiding and Staffing

Equipment Rentals

Ground Transportation

Food and Beverage Management

On-Site Professional Staff to Manage Every Event and Trip Detail


Joe Solomon spent years working as a cycling and hiking guide for Backroads, one of the world’s most respected upscale adventure travel companies. He learned his lessons well, and knows how to run active trips with a white glove touch, from arranging logistics to pampering guests before, during, and after their strenuous days. Like many top guides in the field, the day came for Solomon to go out on his own, but he took a different path than most of his peers, launching Iconic Adventures.

Instead of guiding individual leisure travelers, Solomon realized that his experience in active group travel could be catered to the growing need for corporate team building, retreats, company wellness initiatives, alumni and donor travel, and non-profit fundraising. It is an underserved niche, and one Solomon and his staff of Iconic Adventures guides – including others from Backroads – has handled well.

I know this because I just got the opportunity to participate on an Iconic Adventures trip in Colorado, one which demonstrated the company’s versatility and included a strenuous bicycle ride over the highest continuous paved road in the Lower 48. Trail Ridge Road is a Scenic Byway in Rocky Mountain National Park, eight miles of which sits above 11,000 feet, peaking at 12,183’. After we finished this ride on the second day of our trip, Joe explained his philosophy to me.

“Tom (Hale, founder and president of Backroads) is great at what he does, and I didn’t want to compete directly with him in the leisure market. But these kinds of trips are perfect for today’s emphasis on team building and the increased number of corporate wellness initiatives. You saw what happened today. Imagine what that could do for a company’s employees.”

Solomon was referring to the crowning achievement of our trip, the arduous 10+ mile continuous climb of Trail Ridge Road, with an average grade of 6% and without a single brief descent – about as long a stretch of road as it is possible to find that never stops climbing. Ten miles is a very long way to pedal uphill without a break, and this climb quickly revealed the strengths and weaknesses in our group of riders, one of whom was intimidated early on and was on the verge of quitting (a ride

in the Iconic Adventures van is always an option). But instead, several of us joined together to ride at that person’s pace, offering encouragement and camaraderie and even telling jokes by way of distraction, and succeeded in reaching the top.

Relatively few cyclists ride this fairly extreme climb and

summiting is a definite achievement, one which I

think brought out a newfound sense of success, and more

importantly, self-belief, in our near-quitter. Instead of going

home disappointed, our teammate was looking ahead to new challenges. Think of

that impact in the workplace.

Of course, not every day out of the office has to include one of the hardest climbs in cycling. Since it does only customized itineraries, Iconic Adventures can create trips of any length and level of difficulty, including multiple options for participants, anywhere in the country – or abroad. They have been hired to run trips from Maine to Wyoming to Italy, for customers as diverse as well-known outdoor gear and clothing manufacturer The North Face and college alumni associations. One specialty I did not even know existed is “demo safaris,” designed around trade shows as a way to get buyers, journalists and other interested parties hands-on experiences with new products, from clothing to skis to footwear. But Iconic Adventures does not just cater to the outdoor specialty marketplace. Their core competencies are Alumni Travel Programs, Donor Appreciation Travel (for non-profits), soup to nuts management of large scale Charity Fundraisers (runs, hikes, bikes) and of course, corporate outing and team building events.

The trip I went on also illustrated another good reason to use a company like Iconic Adventures. One reason few cyclists traverse Trail Ridge Road is that it

logistically difficult to do. The west side of the park is fairly isolated, and negotiating a self-supported vehicle drop off at either end requires many hours of extraneous driving, the chief alternative being an out and back ride few cyclists can realistically do in one day. Using guides alleviates all such concerns and participants merely have to participate. Likewise, our trip involved another marquee road climb over Rabbit Ears Pass near Steamboat Springs, Colorado. By allowing Iconic Adventures to plan the route and shuttle participants in between legs, we essentially cherry picked the very best sections of roads to ride in Northern Colorado, without any of the less interesting or heavily trafficked stretches in between. As with any other kind of travel, relying on a knowledgeable expert provider creates a “best of” itinerary and maximizes every minute.

I’ve had the good fortune to travel with some of the very best outfitters in the adventure travel realm, companies like Butterfield & Robinson, Abercrombie & Kent, Micato Safaris, and others on hiking, biking, skiing, rafting and all kinds of upscale adventure trips. So with a healthy frame of reference, I can attest that Solomon and his Iconic Adventures staff do a great job. Like any of the top tier tour operators in this space, they offered great event support in the form of expert guides riding with the group on bicycle, guides driving a support van, food and beverage stations, daily briefing, maps and cue sheets, all the elements expected from a quality active tour operator, right down to bringing guests’ luggage into the hotels. But one interesting wrinkle I had never seen before was the creation of a unique and very functional website specifically for our trip – something Iconic Adventures typically does for every client. This included everything from a detailed description of each day’s ride, with maps and elevation profiles, to a checklist of gear to bring to FAQ’s and weather and regional travel advice. This kind of one-off micro-site helps brand the company sponsoring the trip and exudes a very high level of professionalism, and I was extremely impressed. In fact, after having experienced their service firsthand, if I was a company looking to send staff, management, or clients on an adventure trip with an upscale slant, I would not hesitate to hire Iconic Adventures. I had an absolute blast.

Forbes.com // September 2012

Team Building, Corporate Outings & Non-Profit Fundraisers Get Active - In High Style

http://www.backroads.com/

http://www.backroads.com/

http://www.iconicadventures.com/


http://www.rmnp.com/RMNP-Areas-TrailRidge.HTML

http://www.rmnp.com/RMNP-Areas-TrailRidge.HTML

http://www.iconicadventures.com/what-we-do/demo-safaris/

http://www.iconicadventures.com/what-we-do/demo-safaris/




“The time together away from spreadsheets really builds camaraderie. There are no barriers between you and the guy or gal

pedaling 12 inches away. Trust is important, and somewhere down the line, the relationship you’ve built will benefit your businesses.”

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