Jul. 21—SCRANTON — A city business's latest promotion is just ducky.
Noteology, 537 Wyoming Ave., hid 94 rubber ducks in Scranton and the Abingtons for a quacky scavenger hunt.
Founder and CEO Danielle Fleming and her employees came up with the idea to give the public something enjoyable to do. Going with rubber ducks, which typically make their home in bathtubs, made sense with the business selling bath-themed products.
"We thought, you know, summertime, it'd be something fun to do," she said.
Each named duck wears a small pair of sunglasses and a tag around its neck with instructions to take it back to Noteology's downtown location for a corresponding prize. Prizes, which include soap bars, lip balm, candles and perfumes, are listed on a board.
The scavenger hunt began Wednesday and will continue until Aug. 31 or when all the ducks are returned, Fleming said. As of Friday, 17 ducks had been returned to an inflatable "duck pool" in the store.
Clues about their locations are posted to the business's social media pages. They are hidden in well-known locations, including downtown Scranton and Clarks Summit, Nay Aug Park, the Everhart Museum, South Abington Park, the Steamtown National Historic Site and Hillside Park.
Doing so, Fleming said, highlights other businesses, community parks and attractions.
The shop's initiative is just another that aims to help small businesses thrive downtown. Scranton Tomorrow conducts seasonal programs to generate foot traffic and aid downtown businesses through Summer of Scranton, Fall Into Downtown and Light Up Downtown Scranton. The University of Scranton also conducts a yearly scavenger hunt to promote small businesses and acquaint students with the downtown and its history.
The small rubber ducks have been a hit with customers of all ages, Fleming said.
"Kids and adults are participating," she said. "People are loving it."
Kierstin Miller, who works retail and production, said people have had no trouble finding the ducks.
"It was really exciting to see people come and pick them up right after we set them down," she said.
The hunt has even inspired people to take different routes on their daily commutes, Assistant Manager Maddie Brown said.
"It's fun to hear that we're getting people that engaged," she said.
The names were taken from employees' family members, pets, popular culture and the business's products, such as Bergamot Bleu.
The hunt draws attention to Noteology, which moved to its current location from the corner of Biden Street and Wyoming Avenue last July.