Brilliant Tours
Our Brilliant Tours strengthens our company culture and boosts employee morals to survive yet another year. Here is a look at where we've left our marks!
PS: Check your passport expiry!
Copenhagen 2014 - The first rally
Our first proper tour was back when we were named Peanuts.
We took on Copenhagen along with our Stavanger office, and together we laid both strategic plans, exchanged tech knowledge and shared our experiences.
Social highlights included a dinner show at Wallmans Salonger, a Segway tour of the city, and a fierce 6 stop rebus race across the city, where teams competed against each other to solve image tasks in the best fashion possible!
"Palma" 2015 - Let's call it that
Have you ever booked a trip to Palma de Mallorca, only to find that you've actually booked a trip to MAGALUF?! Well, that's what happened in 2015, when we split the bill and chartered a plane along with our Stavanger Office and and a pizza company and placed our trust and fate in the travel agency to show us a good time.
Despite the initial shock, the Magaluf area of Palma wasn't bad at all! We held our own summer games on the beach, where teams competed in multiple sports, such as building the largest spaghetti & marshmallow structure, swimming relay, and speed-popping balloons.
Savalen 2016 - Fun in the snow
2016 was a year that hit a bit different, and when our other offices couldn't prioritize the annual culture building trip, we decided in true Top Gear spirit to carry on without them. In sympathy with them, we chose to do things a bit more lower key, visiting the beautify resort of Savalen, Norway.
We enjoyed teamwork and the traditional company meeting led by our CEO, followed by quality time in the hotel SPA. We got to try cabin life as well, staying in two neighboring cabins with plenty of space for team-cooking!
Tallinn 2017 - Worlds greatest pool party
The beautiful Estonian capitol was host of our 2017 trip. A busy year and late planning led to the trip being held the first weekend of November, and this was the year we decided that future trips should be no later than September!
Tallinn had lots of medieval history to offer, and many small, cozy restaurants. It was a challenge to find and book restaurants which could host our group all together, and did you know that the #1 restaurant on TripAdvisor only seats 8 guests?
The work related end of this trip was photoshoots in the spa hotel's pool area after hours. We did both portrait photos, as well as fun group photos to make our presentations and marketing stand out. So, when you see those water-themed photos in PowerPoint presentations; Yes, there were taken in Estonia. In a spa hotel. At night. Legendary!
Nice 2018 - Five year anniversary
2018 marked our 5-year anniversary, and we had just landed on our own feet and rebranded ourselves to Brilliant. What better way to celebrate than heading to the French Riviera and enjoying ourselves?
We stayed at a hotel right on the beach and enjoyed beach life together after kicking off the trip having a look down memory lane to what we had become. We wined and dined like kings and queens, and got to see the city from our group Segway tour, and got lots of shopping done. Some even rented motorcycles and took off to Monaco for the afternoon! We all realized we were finding the proper way of doing the Brilliant tour, just as we also were sorting things out and heading in the right direction as a company. In Nice we found the template of future greatness!
Calpe 2019 - Innovating business and pleasure
The beautiful coastal town of Calpe, just north of Alicante, was the destination of 2019. The first weekend of September, a warm, summer climate, and even more brilliant people on the trip - what more could you ask for? We worked on our innovation processes and laid plans for business development, before hitting the beach like we learned in Nice.
The beautiful Ifach rock was a great hiking destination overlooking the town and the Mediterranean sea, only being surpassed by the taste of champagne and the view from the sky bar as we celebrated into the sunset.
2020 & 2021 - Leangen Test Station
In 2020 and 2021 we followed the global megatrend of social distancing, in an attempt to avoid the covid-19 virus. This meant that we had to find a new approach to doing stuff together.
In our competitive spirit, we fought long and hard to not be the first one infected. We took turns doing vehicle tours through the Leangen test station, experiencing strict infection control, and exploring nasal cavities.
The academic syllabus of the trip was becoming experts in virology - how it infects, how to avoid it, and how to run a business through storms of governmental regulations, home office, and the occasional positive test.
2023 - 10 year anniversary
Our 10th Brilliant Tour was the best one yet! We took off to the south of France, to the beautiful bay of Juan-Les-Pins, just south of Nice and Antibes.
We rented a motoryacht which we spent the entire Saturday on, anchoring up at the Lerins islands and the red rocks of esterel. Equpped with water toys, amazing food and an open bar, we celebrated the first 10 years of our company´s success, and enjoying the fruits of our labor and strengthening bonds between us!