Travel Blogging 2.0: The ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ RTW Trip

A couple days ago, this TravelPod post reminded me of something …

A few months back, I sat quietly pondering all the potential ways – illicit and otherwise – to fund a lifetime of travel. The key was to be creative, to truly think outside the box backpack. Not getting a second job; not selling drugs lollipops to school children (again); and certainly not begging for my first job back at the WalMart shoe department (again).

Then it came to me. Not with a saintly vision or any hark (or is it harp?) angels singing, but rather as a big bright eco-friendly light bulb over my head. I got it: corporate sponsorship. Like Globe Roamer TV meets MillionDollarHomepage.com meets a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book.

Huh? I can hear the venture capitalists among my readership scrambling now: tell me more!

Imagine this: you set up a simple website where companies, people, whomever, can bid on (a) where you’re going next, (b) what stupid trick you’ll do when you get there and (3) how specifically you’ll promote the bidder’s product or company. Highest bidder gets to choose, perhaps from various places and stunts that you select. Or if you’re feeling particularly foolhardy, you could give them free reign. Maybe you skydive naked holding a giant flag for Trojan condoms with some tagline about safety worked cleverly into the bit. Or you dress up like a bear and run with the bulls in Pamplona advertising ETrade in someway (that’s a stock market joke by the way and a mighty clever one if I say so myself).

It was a fleeting concept – one that I quickly jotted down and rehashed in my mind for hours trying to work out the kinks. As I’m wont to do, I eventually figured out all of the ways that it wouldn’t work and quietly brushed it under the rug of forgotten entrepreneurial ideas that will never indefinitely fund my travel dreams. As you can imagine, there’s a lot of dust under that rug.

I realized it wasn’t for me because I’m not someone who enjoys being the center of attention. I can put semi-coherent sentences together on paper. I can make a witty, sarcastic retort with friends. And I can whip up a fantastic (I mean hold on to your drawers!) frozen peanut butter pie. But host my own online travel show? For like a year? Not happening. And do wild and crazy stunts for little to no profit, like swim with piranha or BASE jump off the Eiffel Tower in a GoldenPalace.com speedo? Very not happenin’.

So why bring it up again? Because I think it’d be a phenomenal idea for someone else. And I’d love to read about it and live vicariously through that certain someone.

Never mind how you couldn’t possibly plan a less fulfilling trip with a gun to your head. Or that, in essence, you’d be selling your entire dictated journey to corporate America. Purely from a business standpoint, what do you think? Am I nuts? Could this be the next great internet/travel “thing”? Stride gum is paying Matt (of Where the Hell Is … Matt? fame) to travel ’round the world and dance like … well to dance like me after a few mojitos if I’m being honest. So I have to imagine that there are enough companies out there who’d be chompin’ at the bit to jump on board with this.

Anyone with me? I’ll gladly accept beer royalties if you rip my idea.

Founding Editor
  1. I could never do it, I wouldn’t want the added responsibility of being some corporate puppet throughout my RTW trip, but YES I agree absolutely it could and probably will be done by someone in the future.

    It would require working out a good business plan ahead of time, and pitching it to dozens of different companies BEFORE you leave, or else you would probably get stuck without any sponsors for the first 5-6 months of the trip as the idea caught on. If you get sponsors ahead of time, they are taking a risk along with you, and even if the idea doesn’t catch on, at least you are paying for it all on your own.

    Great idea though, I hope someone puts it into action!

    Even you Mike!

  2. Mike –

    Last year I came across a guy who incorporated a sponsorship aspect to his travels. He basically invited people to donate money in exchange for a small act. The one paid example I saw was a photo of him next to a clock for $20. Apparently a woman celebrated her anniversary in that city awhile back, and wanted to reconnect.

    I’ve shamelessly adopted the idea for my trip, though I think blowing it up to the corporate level you mentioned is far beyond me.

    I do believe there is merit in trying to involve readers in our adventures. TravMonkey.com started to do that with polls dictating which Australian city he worked in, which hostel he stayed at, etc.

  3. The other problem with sponsorship etc to fund your travels is that it becomes a real pain in the backside quickly. I’ve done a fair few travel trips as a journalist and while it seems glamorous it’s exhausting too, because you are not travelling on your agenda, you are travelling on someone else’s agenda who wants value for the money they’re spending on you. That makes it completely different to just doing your own thing, even if you are completely broke while doing it.

    That said, I’m cage diving with great white sharks in a week’s time, so anyone who wants their corporate logo held up to Jaws’ mouth a few inches from my face is welcome to get in touch… Actually, maybe I should do that to advertise my own blog… aha!

  4. Rob: Yeah, I’m definitely not of a sound enough business mind to put a corporate sponsored CYOA RTW trip into action. It seems like something you’d really have to pour your heart and soul into and pray that it works. My RTW trip is intended to free me of all that corporate drek and responsibility.

    Dave: You need to be shameless about funding your travels, selling advertising on your blog, etc. if traveling is truly your dream. At some point, when the time’s right, I intend to start advertising into my blog.

    My idea partially stemmed from TravMonkey’s posts, although he does it on a very small scale.

  5. I’m cage diving with great white sharks in a week’s time, so anyone who wants their corporate logo held up to Jaws’ mouth a few inches from my face is welcome to get in touch.

    – Chris Mitchell

    Chris, I’ll provide you with some link love if you agree to tattoo the Vagabondish logo onto the face of a 20-footer. Because I’m a good guy, I’ll even provide the ink. Whadaya say? Fair trade?

  6. Damn it, Ian. I really thought I was the first. I was patting myself on the back all weekend until you posted that link!

  7. Hey guys! Ha ha, that travel pod post is me.

    And no – no corporate sponsorship yet. I think I’m more interested in having an epic year with people telling me where to go and what to do while I’m backpacking everywhere.

    Maybe in time. But not right now. I think it’s important to focus on the fun first, and the sponsorship later.

    ‘flattered that you’re talking about me :P

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let's Make Sure You're Human ... * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.

Subscribe to Our 'Under the Radar' Newsletter
If you love travel, you're gonna love this!