The 2023 Moab JAMboree

Written By TORI DUHAIME

How multi-brand experiences provide more than reviews.

JAM clients typically all have one thing in common, the desire to enhance outdoor experiences. In some cases, a gifted PR box and thoughtfully crafted press release sent to the right individuals is enough to inspire meaningful coverage. That said, there’s nothing like really putting a product through the wringer, and that’s what the Moab JAMboree is all about. In October 2023, we invited seven media guests to Field Station in Moab, UT for two full days of desert romping with Glerups, LifeStraw, Mystery Ranch, Nomadix, OtterBox, Oyster Coolers, and guest Bronco Off-Roadeo.

Why do immersive multi-brand events work?

Sure, we could send out a PR box, but nothing tests a product quite like an adventure.

With a group of nearly 25 people in attendance, including the JAM team, media guests, and brand representatives, events such as these are no small feat to prepare. We curate the participating brands as much as our guest list to ensure an experience that is not only enjoyable for all but one that allows stories to unfold organically and make for compelling reflections on our clients.

  • Bringing people together in a remote, epic location like Moab sets the tone for an amazing time and facilitates a fully-present state of mind. For many, this was their first trip to the area and the landscape kept a captive audience with open minds.

  • Curated activations highlight each brand with informed conversations, brand identity integration, and most importantly - practical use. Whether it was safely drinking straight out of a stagnant water pond with LifeStraw or being kept warm by a Nomadix blanket under the night sky, the brands were highlighted in moments of true utility, intertwined with laughter and memories.

  • Relationship building developed through these events that cannot be achieved via email. Brand representatives and their vibrant personalities help attendees put a face to a brand name, and offer insights and immediate points of feedback when a question pops up organically. These kismet moments are the bread and butter of JAM’s public relations efforts and make these partnerships uniquely successful.

  • We create incredible experiences that foster stewardship of outdoor spaces. Having informed guides, team members, and brand representatives helps us encourage others to embrace public lands advocacy and reinforces our shared commitment to an equitable and sustainable industry.

Learn how we activated each brand and built lasting memories through our itinerary below.

The Itinerary

Thoughtfully crafted by JAM event coordinator, Emily Crowley, in tandem with JAM team members, Julie Atherton, July Zaleski, Hazel Rogerson, Heather Villanueva, and Tori Duhaime.

Tuesday and Wednesday: The not-so-calm before-the-storm

JAM team members arrived early to begin preparations including a generous spread of gear from our participating brands that welcomed attendees upon arrival in their respective Field Station rooms. Each guest was provided: 

Thursday: Welcome to Moab, let’s start with the stars!

Our guests, both media and brand representatives began to arrive in the afternoon and were welcomed to Field Station with gorgeous weather. We transformed Julie’s hotel room into a speakeasy featuring Field Station mugs, a variety of beverages chilled by the Oyster Tempo Cooler, and juices provided by Fresh Victor for mixing the perfect desert bevy. We kicked off the weekend with a welcome statement from Julie and dinner by Confluence Catering, which included a delicious taco bar set outside in the hotel’s courtyard.


That evening, we departed for Dead Horse Point State Park where we were welcomed by Bailee and Macy from Stargazing Zion for an evening of educational astronomy. We bundled up under Nomadix Puffer Blankets, which were perfect for the chilly desert evening. We utilized the Sky Safari app, thanks to OtterBox, to map the stars when we weren’t enthralled by the Milky Way dancing above us.

Thursday’s Highlights: 

  • Upon picking up our first round of guests, a thru-hiker, Acadius, hitched a ride into town with us so he could resupply from Field Station’s gear shop. He helped set the mood for an adventurous weekend.

  • We were blown away by the plethora of information our stargazing guides were able to provide, making the night sky even more enthralling than it already was.

Friday: “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads!”

The JAM team embarked on an adventure-packed day, commencing with a delightful and hearty breakfast sourced from Moab Garage before our departure at 9 AM from the hotel. Our destination: the Bronco Off-Roadeo Moab headquarters. Welcoming us was Jamie, our seasoned driving instructor. Prior to hitting the rugged terrain, Aaron, the representative from LifeStraw, provided an insightful briefing on the proper utilization of the Peak Series system, ensuring our preparedness for the desert excursion.

Jamie, with his wealth of off-road driving experience, introduced us to a fleet of eight Ford Broncos of diverse models. Sharing his expertise, he fostered trust in his leadership before assigning each of us to our respective vehicles, with media guests taking the wheel. Along a BLM-designated trail, the off-road course progressively posed greater challenges, allowing us to pause and acquire skills and knowledge about the vehicles, empowering us to make informed and secure driving decisions based on the task at hand. The famed G.O.A.T. (Goes Over Any Terrain) mode swiftly became a universally favored point of reference.

Our midday break unfolded atop a plateau, where we relished sandwiches and beverages kept refreshingly cool by the Oyster Tempo Cooler. LifeStraw gravity filters facilitated water bottle refills, while the breathtaking vista of the desert, juxtaposed against the snow-capped La Sal Mountains in the distance, captivated our senses.

Resuming our journey on paved roads, Jamie guided us to the trailhead of the renowned Fisher Towers. We embarked on a partial hike, pausing to delve deeper into the Bronco Off-Roadeo program—a unique educational initiative designed for Ford Bronco owners to comprehend their vehicle's capabilities and engage in off-roading safely. Before retracing our steps, Dan from Mystery Ranch shared insights into the history, impact goals, and patented tri-zip format of the esteemed pack company.

Upon our return to Field Station, Glerups had set up recovery foot soaks by the firepit. Reflecting on the day's adventures, JAM team member July highlighted the merits of these cozy wool slippers from Denmark as the ideal recovery footwear. Their natural temperature regulation and odor protection made them a fitting choice after an active day. Following the foot soak, we adorned our outdoor Glerups and proceeded to Proper Burger for dinner, where Jared from Field Station expounded on the intentional development of Field Station's ethos—a commitment to building community and supporting the adventures of outdoor enthusiasts, both travelers and locals alike.Friday: “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads!”

The JAM team embarked on an adventure-packed day, commencing with a delightful and hearty breakfast sourced from Moab Garage before our departure at 9 AM from the hotel. Our destination: the Bronco Off-Roadeo Moab headquarters. Welcoming us was Jamie, our seasoned driving instructor. Prior to hitting the rugged terrain, Aaron, the representative from LifeStraw, provided an insightful briefing on the proper utilization of the Peak Series system, ensuring our preparedness for the desert excursion.

Jamie, with his wealth of off-road driving experience, introduced us to a fleet of eight Ford Broncos of diverse models. Sharing his expertise, he fostered trust in his leadership before assigning each of us to our respective vehicles, with media guests taking the wheel. Along a BLM-designated trail, the off-road course progressively posed greater challenges, allowing us to pause and acquire skills and knowledge about the vehicles, empowering us to make informed and secure driving decisions based on the task at hand. The famed G.O.A.T. (Goes Over Any Terrain) mode swiftly became a universally favored point of reference.

Our midday break unfolded atop a plateau, where we relished sandwiches and beverages kept refreshingly cool by the Oyster Tempo Cooler. LifeStraw gravity filters facilitated water bottle refills, while the breathtaking vista of the desert, juxtaposed against the snow-capped La Sal Mountains in the distance, captivated our senses.

Resuming our journey on paved roads, Jamie guided us to the trailhead of the renowned Fisher Towers. We embarked on a partial hike, pausing to delve deeper into the Bronco Off-Roadeo program—a unique educational initiative designed for Ford Bronco owners to comprehend their vehicle's capabilities and engage in off-roading safely. Before retracing our steps, Dan from Mystery Ranch shared insights into the history, impact goals, and patented tri-zip format of the esteemed pack company.

Upon our return to Field Station, Glerups had set up recovery foot soaks by the firepit. Reflecting on the day's adventures, JAM team member July highlighted the merits of these cozy wool slippers from Denmark as the ideal recovery footwear. Their natural temperature regulation and odor protection made them a fitting choice after an active day. Following the foot soak, we adorned our outdoor Glerups and proceeded to Proper Burger for dinner, where Jared from Field Station expounded on the intentional development of Field Station's ethos—a commitment to building community and supporting the adventures of outdoor enthusiasts, both travelers and locals alike.

Friday’s Highlights:

  • Jamie instilled a sticker reward system for properly answering questions throughout his driving lessons. It kept the spirits high and a little reward went a long way while learning something so daunting.

  • The views were hard to beat on this day from the drive along the Colorado River to the never-ending vantage points atop each Mesa. We often heard our guests (and ourselves) exclaim disbelief in their views.

  • Our server at dinner resembled Sean Penn’s famed character Jeff Spicoli from the film Fast Times at Ridgemont High to an uncanny degree, from his look to his voice. “Awesome! Totally awesome!”

Saturday: Early bird gets the Eclipse!

With a 5 AM departure time, we filed into the vans, snuggled up in Nomadix blankets, donned our Glerups, and made our way two hours west toward Hanksville, UT. We were greeted by Stargazing Zion once again for a viewing party of the solar eclipse in totality. One Oyster Tempo Cooler managed to keep our breakfast burritos from South Mountain Provisions perfectly warm on the drive while another kept beverages cool. For about two hours we frolicked in the changing light, viewed the eclipse’s stages through several different telescopes set up for us, and learned about the intricacies of a solar eclipse.

When the moon bid the sun farewell, we made our way down the road with Moab Cliffs and Canyons to embark on a canyoneering adventure. After traversing the edge of a slot canyon, we dropped down and found a single puddle where media guest, Ian, put his LifeStraw to the ultimate test and drank directly from the puddle. Aaron from LifeStraw also filled his water bottle to demonstrate firsthand LifeStraw’s truly remarkable filtration capabilities.

We then wiggled our way to the main event: two rappels, the first about 50 feet, the second 100 feet. Our guides did an incredible job supporting each individual in taking on this challenge. We watched as everyone gained trust and confidence in themselves while cheering one another on.

As we hiked out through all sorts of tight spaces and dynamic situations, we felt our clothes and our packs take quite the beating from the rough sandstone, only to find our Mystery Ranch Catalyst Packs unscathed and our phones incredibly well-protected thanks to OtterBox’s protective casing.

Everyone loaded back up in the vans on an absolute high from the bonding created amidst the day’s challenge, and we made the long drive back to Moab where a delicious pot of chicken tortilla soup and various toppings were waiting for us. Our final evening was spent in Field Station’s hot tub, relaxing under the stars in the courtyard.

Saturday’s Highlights:

  • Watching everyone’s faces light up with the most overwhelming joy while witnessing the Eclipse was magical. There was awe, there was joy, there was overwhelm, and there was lots of laughter.

  • The confidence and support garnered from our canyoneering experience was a testament to the people who joined us including the brand reps, journalists, JAM team members, and guides alike. Everyone came open to pushing themselves to learn new things.

  • Showers at the end of a day after romping through the sandy desert are always a highlight.

Sunday: Farewells

Sunday morning featured a leisurely breakfast with coffee and an abundance of tater tots from Field Station’s Little Station cafe. We reflected on our new friendships, guests awaited their departure time, and we bid one another farewell until the next JAMboree.

What our guests had to say:

“I enjoyed the entire adventure! It truly was one of the best press trips I’ve been on. All the different activities challenged me in so many ways, and I came back better for it. And bonus, made new fun adventure friends and got to road test some really great brands. Additionally, I am grateful for our return to experiential events, as a media outlet. There are kismet moments from these experiences that you can’t get from a traditional business trip.”

— Krista Simmons, Sunset 

“Gratitude for this invite would be an understatement. This was my first JAM event and the team went above and beyond to make sure I received products I could actively test, photograph, and thoroughly review following the trip. I greatly appreciated the attention to detail and conversations with the brand representatives in attendance.”

— Ian Graber-Stiehl, Freelance

Thank you!

A huge thank you to our sponsoring brands for this event and all our media guests who made the trip out including Mike Kim, Rae Whitte, Rima Suqi, Ian Graber-Stiehl, Krista Simmons, Rick Stella, and Camryn Privette. 

Thank you to Taylor Davis, Stephen Wojciechowski and Jared Pearce of Field Station for hosting us all at the perfect Moab base camp. 

Thank you Kristen Tatti of Otterbox, Dan Dahl of Mystery Ranch, Aaron Cupps or LifeStraw, and Jamie from Bronco Off-Roadeo for your enthusiasm and education on behalf of your respective brands.

Last but not least, thank you to the JAM team members who made this event possible, Julie Atherton, July Zaleski, Hazel Rogerson, Heather Villanueva, Emily Crowley, Tori Duhaime, and supporting member Lilly Harris as well as the rest of the JAM team who kept everything running smoothly back at their home bases.

TORI DUHAIME
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