Treasure Hunt: turning an inauguration into collective memory

Key takeaways

• Inaugurations can be turned into cultural experiences when participation replaces passive observation.
• Using the territory and local culture as a setting for integration expands the sense of belonging and the understanding of organizational purpose.
• Distributed teams that rarely meet in person can build deep bonds when brought together around a shared experience.
• Collaboration across different areas and hierarchical levels, including C-Level, strengthens relationships and the collective identity of the organization.
• Lasting organizational memories are built through active experience, not through institutional communication.

The dilemma

Lightsource BP was at that moment completing a historic milestone for its operation in Brazil: the inauguration of one of the largest solar energy plants in the region of Juazeiro do Norte, in Ceará.

More than delivering strategic infrastructure for the country, the company needed to turn that moment into a symbol for its people. The challenge was to make tangible a project that had been built over months of work, much of it carried out by distributed teams and professionals who often had never met in person.

How do you create connection between people, purpose and territory? How do you make the inauguration represent more than the delivery of a project and turn it into an experience capable of strengthening the organization’s identity?

What we heard

As we deepened our understanding of the project’s context, we identified the need to connect different dimensions of the experience.

On one hand, there was pride in the construction of a pioneering venture and in the contribution it would bring to the country’s energy development. On the other, there was the opportunity to bring together people who had collaborated intensely from a distance and were now meeting for the first time.

We also perceived the importance of broadening the understanding of the ecosystem that made the project possible: the local culture, the region’s history, the communities, the challenges and the opportunities surrounding the new plant.

More than getting to know a facility, people needed to understand the meaning of that project within a larger context.

What we built

In partnership with Cornerstone, we created a fully customized team building experience, using the city itself as a space for learning, discovery and integration.

We developed a large corporate “Treasure Hunt”, structured as an immersive game in which participants moved through different points of the region in search of clues, challenges and experiences.

Each stage allowed them to explore aspects of the local culture, the history of the territory, the socioeconomic relevance of the project and the characteristics of the new solar energy plant.

The teams, made up of professionals from different areas and hierarchical levels, including C-Level executives, had to collaborate, solve challenges and gather information for a final stage of synthesis and sharing.

At the end of the journey, the groups presented their discoveries, turning the knowledge gained throughout the day into collective narratives about the meaning of that moment for the company.

What it cultivated

The project helped turn an inauguration into a cultural milestone.

The experience strengthened relationships, expanded the sense of belonging and created deeper connections between people, the territory and the organization’s purpose.

Instead of a traditional ceremony, the company built a shared memory based on discovery, collaboration, affection and learning. A memory created not only by observing a final result, but by actively participating in the construction of its meaning.

What was inaugurated that day was not just a solar energy plant. It was also a new chapter in the history of Lightsource BP in Brazil, lived and celebrated collectively by those who helped make it a reality.

Frequently asked questions

What was the treasure hunt held for Lightsource BP?

It was a customized team building experience, structured as an immersive game in which teams moved through different points of the Juazeiro do Norte region in search of clues and challenges. Each stage explored the local culture, the history of the territory and the socioeconomic relevance of the new solar energy plant.

Why did Lightsource BP choose an immersive experience instead of a traditional inauguration ceremony?

The company wanted to turn the inauguration into a symbol for its people, creating connection among professionals who had worked together from a distance and often never met in person. A traditional ceremony would not have addressed this need for belonging and for building a collective identity.

Which groups took part in the activity?

The teams were made up of professionals from different areas and hierarchical levels, including C-Level executives, who had to collaborate to solve challenges and gather information throughout the journey.

How did the activity end?

At the end of the journey, each group presented its discoveries, turning the knowledge gained throughout the day into collective narratives about the meaning of that moment for the organization.