Student treasure hunt: Towson chosen to test new app, “Campus Pursuit”

By: Alex Best, Contributing Writer

Towson University recently became one of several colleges affiliated with a new app called Campus Pursuit.

Launched in early 2014, Campus Pursuit is a scavenger hunt app that allows students to find and win prizes every Monday through Friday.

Once the free app is downloaded, students can check for hints and clues to the locations of prizes that are hidden throughout the campus daily by Campus Pursuit brand ambassadors.

Once a prize has been found, the student then scans the QR code found in the prize envelope indicating that they located and obtained the reward.

Prizes can include gift cards to local restaurants or local chains.

“I can see that at least a few hundred people are using the app,” freshman Sydney Miles said.

Miles won a signed Eli Manning jersey from a multi-college contest that took place across all 15 Campus Pursuit campuses.

“Whenever the notification that clues are hidden comes up, I see people sprinting around campus,” Miles said. “It’s really competitive, and I love it.”

Scott Wisotsky, CEO and co-founder of Campus Pursuit, first began developing the app during his final years in college.

“We wanted to find a way to interact with students in a meaningful and tactful way to engage students in different brands,” Wisotsky said. “A lot of advertisements aimed toward college students are rather ineffective and we wanted to come up with a fun way to connect with the students.”

As the app expands, the company hopes to incorporate prizes from larger brand names and local restaurants.

“Our inspiration behind the app was to make students happy,” Wisotsky said. “The motto of the app was to put a smile on a student’s face every day, I believe we do that well.”

The Campus Pursuit app can be downloaded on the App Store for Android and iPhone.