New Beginnings
Registration:
We Are Here
October 1st - December 15th - 2025
Qualifying Round:
January 4th - March 31st
Scavenger Hunt:
April 15th - May 15th
About:
Some may call them “New Years Resolutions” but the 1st day of the 1st month of a brand new year feels blissfully like the creamy fresh page of a new notebook just waiting for a beautiful new story to unfold.
New Beginnings don’t always begin on January 1st, and they don’t always begin by choice, which is why we think it’s so important to create connections and explore businesses, brands, people, places, and spaces that are brimming with opportunity, new habits, motivation, and solutions whether you currently need them or not.
Within this theme we chose nine (9) categories of businesses that offer products or services that can help you reach your goals, create new positive habits, quiet your mind, fall in love with yourself, reconnect with what matters, and help you succeed on your new journey to a life and mindset you truly deserve.
Categories In This Theme:
Mocktails
You don’t need alcohol to have a good time, but you deserve something more sophisticated and satisfying than a diet soda on a night out. Did you know that mocktails are getting more popular everyday? Explore the sweet spots across CT and discover the best mocktail you never knew existed!
Bookstores
Bookstores are gateways to knowledge, peace, inspiration, motivation, support, and a million other things, but many bookstores offer so much more than that. Community, purpose, connection, and workshops are just the beginning. Explore and connect your way to a better tomorrow.
Healthy Eats
It’s an every year resolution to eat healthier, but healthy eating can be boring and feel repetitious. Explore these businesses to uncover delicious new options, unique pairings, convenient solutions, and a whole new way of looking at healthy eating so you can keep that resolution.
Family Activities
Winter is tough with cold snowy weather keeping you indoors with kids bouncing off the walls and an endless string of “I’m Boreds” but CT is home to countless activities, place, and spaces that are fun for the whole family. So get out there and enjoy family time. It’s the most important thing!
Cleaning & Organizing
There is nothing like being stuck in the house to realize how badly you want to clean and organize your entire life. Less stuff means more time to focus on what matters and these businesses have secrets and solutions to help you tackle that resolution once and for all.
Thrift & Consignment
A fantastic partner to cleaning and organizing, thrift and consignment stores are a great way to tackle two resolutions. Clear out the excess and spend less on the things you are searching for. Whether you are donating, selling, or buying, these businesses are fantastic solutions.
Coffee
Coffee is never just coffee. It’s motivation, inspiration, connection, and productivity. Whether you are looking for a quiet place to knock out some soul searching work or secretly searching for a soul mate, coffee is a key player in every beautiful beginning.
Health & Wellness
New beginnings aren’t complete without some resolutions for better health and well -being. Whether you are exercising your mind, body, or soul, these businesses know the secrets that you are seeking. Connect and explore to uncover the best version of you, for you.
Fun For Grownups
Why should kids have all the fun? Life is better when you are doing something exciting, engaging or meaningful by yourself or with friends, new and old. Get out of the house and out on the town. There’s an adventure for every mood, and some you never even imagined existed.
Registration:
Registration is limited to thirty five (35) businesses per category. Businesses must have a physical location in CT and priority is given to small businesses over chains and franchises if a category fills up.
The participation fee is $899, and includes the following:
3 month listing during the qualifying round where traffic is driven directly to your business to cast votes and explore
Participation in the scavenger hunt with advertising and traffic guidance (only applies if chosen as top ten by voting)
A permanent listing in the “New Beginnings” theme bundle. This bundle will be actively displayed through May 31st and then exist as an archived bundle that will be linked as such.
Winners in each category are given additional exposure and marketing opportunities.
Permanent credit as sponsorship of the online resource section of the website for dog owners in CT
Payment must be made before the registration period closes, so payments can be made over a few weeks, but payment must be made in full to secure a spot. If the registration fills before your final payment is made, a refund will be issued minus any processing fees charged by our third party vendor (typically 2.9 - 3.5% + .30 cents)
Business Registration Information Request Form
Does your business fit one of the categories above, and do you have a physical location in Connecticut? Fill out the form below and let’s connect!
After The Registration
Your registration has been accepted. Now what? The first thing we will do is get you added to the sponsorshop page and the category hunt listing. To do this we will need a 1:1 (square) image of your logo, a link to the website where players can find all the info they need like location and hours, and a short paragraph overview of what you offer and how it fits the theme.
We will create and send a custom QR code for you to frame or laminate and display at your location. This QR code will scan to a custom page created for your business and will include a voting form for players to register and complete. Please make sure to test it out right away and notify us of any issues. You will not need to do anything special at this time other than provide a top tier experience and earn those votes to advance to the next round!
While you are not required to do anything special, you are welcome to. As long as votes are freely cast, without bribery, fraud, coercion, or threat, then you are encouraged to earn those votes in unique and engaging ways. Just don’t forget that the scavenger hunt is where you will really have to shine if you want to claim that number one spot so don’t burn out too quickly!
We recommend using the time between registration and the qualifying round to check out your business with a critical eye, stock up products, refresh policies, procedure, and super shine the customer service. Ask friends and family for some feedback and remember the first fifteen seconds are critical in creating a positive experience. When someone walks through the door what do they see, how does it smell, do they feel welcome? Players will be arriving who have never set foot in your shop before, and many who never would have thought to visit. While they may not be your target market, they likely know someone who is and this engagement creates a fantastic opportunity to win customers you can only win over in person. How will you grab their attention and make them feel as if you are an old friend they hadn’t yet met? A little prep goes a long way, so take this time to plan out the details and make sure the heart of your brand really shines through!
Qualifying Round
Let the fun begin! In the qualifying round players will be visiting as many businesses as possible because each vote they cast equals an entry into the big prize drawing at hunt end. Many will not stay long so find unique ways to maximize their experience without making them feel as if they are being held hostage. We will offer some creative ideas and tips for you to consider and are available to guide you along the way.
There are nine categories and twelve weeks in the hunt. Each week we will highlight a category and publish content about each business. You may provide us content to share or we can create a blurb based in the info we have access to. You will be notified ahead of time which week is your highlight week so you can prepare.
While we know that some locations will always receive more traffic than others, we will do our best to even the traffic numbers by showcasing businesses with less traffic during the last three weeks of the qualifying round. If your business is in a harder to access location or has more challenging hours then we will provide an extra oomph of visibility and encourage you to offer something to entice that traffic into your shop at that time. With this approach we can even out voting numbers to most accurrately determine ranking for who will move on to the next round.
Qualifying Round Voting
At each location players will use their smartphone to scan a QR code that is unique to that business. The scan will direct them to a page that includes the business details and a short registration form. Every vote cast is an entry into the main prize drawing so players will register with their name, town where they live, email and phone number so they can be contacted if they win a prize. Once a player has registered they will be asked “Should this business advance to the next round?” Players will answer yes or no, and if they answer no they will be required to enter a reason. This is to reduce the possibility of people voting no as a way to stack the deck for other businesses to advance. A team member will review each no reason and throw out any no votes that are deemed invalid.
The Top Ten Scavenger Hunt
The votes have been tallied and the top ten businesses have been chosen by the people! The scavenger hunt will run for one month and include a total of ninety (90) businesses, with ten businesses in each of the nine categories. Now is the time for businesses to pull out all the stops, engage, entice, attract, and entertain players. Of course the prep work for this started months ago, but this is the time it all comes together.
For this round the goal is to get players to stick around the business a little longer. To do this, each business will create a task / puzzle to be completed and offer a small prize for players who complete it. We will provide you a booklet of creative ideas and samples but we highly encourage creativity and unique ideas.
Players will scan a QR code to reach your custom designated page and will receive the clue or details of the task to be completed. Once completed your staff will provide the prize (freebie, discount, savings, extra punches on the loyalty card. giveaway, entry to a drawing, sample, etc.) and will also be directed back to the QR code page to register and vote.
Scavenger Hunt Voting
Scavenger hunt voting is a bit more in depth than the qualifying round vote. Players will be asked to rate the business on a scale of one to five across several topics and will be encouraged to provide additional details about their experiences and why they voted the way they did. This information will be shared with the businesses, but without identifying details of who said it, so the business can benefit from honest feedback.
Points will be added and averaged against the number of voters and the business in each category with the highest number will win the rank of number one.
#1 Prize - Business
Our overall goal is to help dogs in crisis, and the businesses who place first in each category are helping us do exactly that. We are committing a minimum of $1,000 per number one ranked business ($9,000 per theme) to donate directly into the community of the top ranked business.
We provide the funds, the business gets the credit and the impact marketing content that goes with it. We team up and utilize our network of connections and support to help them determine the best way to distribute it. Examples could be to donate directly to the municipal shelter, offset the expenses of a low cost spay / neuter clinic, pay down vet debt for locals, purchase food, supplies, or any other creative and unique solution that solves a real problem for the real people in the community.
It’s real impact, where it’s needed. Because who knows their community better than a local small business? These hubs of connections are invaluable to the communities they serve, and through this fun, engaging and impactful marketing opportunity they can make an ever greater one.
Player Prizes
We certainly haven’t forgotten about the players, because what fun are games without great prizes? It’s always free to play and there are two ways to win and both are easy! One $1,000 prize will be awarded to the person who casts the most votes during the qualifying round and the scavenger hunt. The second way is by random drawing, and every vote cast is an entry into the drawing that will be held at the end of the hunt. The drawing could include cash, prizes, and or gift cards, and the number of winners will vary from theme to theme.
Full details, terms and conditions for play, businesses, and prizes will be available before the qualifying round begins.