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Making Destinations Pinteresting
A fairly new startup social media platform has the Internet going nuts. Still in its “invitation only” stage, Pinterest has become the latest craze in the cyber world, driving more traffic than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined. Pinterest, a photo-sharing website, serves as a curator or “virtual pin board” for collecting, capturing and organizing theme-based images from the web.
Arguably the hottest social media platform of the year thus far, Pinterest’s most popular images fall into the lifestyle, food and event categories – consequently causing marketers to find ways to ease their brands into a phenomenon that’s undoubtedly about to soar to bigger heights.
In the short time that Pinterest has been alive, I’ve personally come across a ton of “pin-addicts”, folks that spend countless hours pinning and repining visions and ideas that will probably remain figments of their imaginations. Not to mention the ladies who have their weddings planned out in their entirety yet haven’t been on a date in months. Nonetheless, Pinterest has gained quite a bit of popularity and the marketer in me wondered how brands could utilize this new space – and specifically for Aria, destinations.
Pinterest goes beyond a simple bookmarking tool; it is a collection of all things inspirational and a roadmap for what people envision their lives to look like – thus leaving the opportunity for travel destinations virtually limitless. A destination could have a pinboard for all of the elements that make said destination original. Columbus, Ohio, for example, did a great job at this. They have about 15 boards each relating to a different category that makes Columbus, Columbus. Categories such as “food scene,” “staying in Columbus,” “Columbus Drinks,” “Columbus Weddings” and “Columbus Foodtrucks” to name a few, are packed with photos that capture the city’s originality.
Pinterest allows consumers and marketers alike to stray away from the word copy and sell a product or destination based solely on photographs – which can truly capture a destination’s unique personality. And what better way to plan a trip than having photos of the things you want to do conveniently organized based on category? I’ll wait.
Pinterest also offers a great sense of virality, which could be huge for brands. When someone comes across a unique or compelling photo or idea, they have two options, to “repin” or to “like” it. Repining automatically shares that photo with all of that person’s followers, who too, get the option to repin and the cycle continues. You can also link your account to other social networks, so repining can also mean sharing the photo with your Facebook friends or your Twitter followers.
Though it’s tough to tell whether or not a destination’s photos will do more than compel a person to visit, it is in my opinion, a great branding tool, as it may inspire folks who in turn have the potential to inspire their followers. While there are few destinations that have leveraged this tool well enough to draw significant attention, I don’t think it will be long before others jump on board and start experimenting in other notable ways. It should be a pinteresting experience.
Tagged: branding, destination marketing, Experience Design, interactive, Photography, Pinterest, social media, tourismNo Comments ( but hey, there's still room for more )
Aria and Triangle Studios partner to bring mobile solutions to America’s tourism industry
Intuitive smartphone app for iPhone and Android becomes a personal tour guide for any destination
DALLAS, February 14, 2012 — Aria, a Dallas-based interactive agency specializing in destination marketing, today announced a new partnership with Triangle Studios that will bring customized mobile applications to tourism destinations throughout Texas and America. Triangle Studios, with offices in both the United States and the Netherlands, is a world-recognized leader in mobile application development.
Each smartphone app created for destinations is designed to showcase tailored information, and guide visitors to each area’s particular points of interest, including where to eat, where to sleep and what to do.
“We recognize that the best information companion when experiencing a destination is the mobile device you’re already carrying. We wanted to bring a solution to market that is both feature-rich and reasonably priced for destinations of all sizes,” said Ryan Thompson, Founder and CEO of Aria. “With the Triangle partnership, we have a proven mobile application on multiple platforms that incorporates cutting edge functionality, including couponing, itineraries, and augmented reality using GPS and imagery. Today, only the largest destinations can afford to build such custom features. Our solution makes it available out of the box, at price points starting south of $10,000.”
Major features of the fully customizable app include:
- Itineraries and checklists for visitors based on interest
- Entertainment directories that list events to experience, activities to do, or restaurant reviews
- Map integration for quick and easy directions using Google Maps Navigation
- Augmented reality using GPS to allow a 3D experience right on your mobile screen
- Social media integration
- Partner advertising with deep analytics and measurement tools to prove performance and engagement
“Early versions of the app were immediately popular for tourism. Partnering with Aria allows us to reach a broad destination marketing audience, allowing Triangle Studios to keep focusing on the latest developments in hardware and technology, making sure we offer the best solutions for our clients,” said Remco de Rooij, CEO at Triangle Studios.
Versions of the app are available now for destinations like McKinney, TX and the islands of Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire and St. Maarten where unique features like currency converters, offline maps and RSS feeds were built-in, native to the app, and are updated by tourism officials easily and frequently from any internet-connected computer.
J.R. Atkins, Chief Client Strategist at Aria, will be leading the effort to bring the app to market and shares in the excitement of the increased opportunities for interaction between traveler and destination. “Mobile apps are revolutionizing travel, bringing together location and event information with the latest technology and creating a truly unique experience.”
Visit http://aria.co/mobile for more information and to learn how this new technology can be applied to your destination.
Aria is a Dallas-based, results-focused digital marketing agency.
Multiple award-winning design firm Aria is a Dallas-based, results-oriented digital marketing agency.
With more than a decade in business, their agile team of strategists, communication architects, creatives, technologists and marketers specialize in producing sound, results-oriented, right-tool-for-the-job, unforgettable brand experiences. http://ariaagency.com
About Triangle Studios
Originally founded in the Netherlands, Triangle Studios is a company that has its origin in the business of video game development. Since three years, the company has been working on designing and developing high quality, cutting-edge software applications for smartphones. http://triangle-studios.com
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Augmenting your destination
Augmented Reality (AR) is making wave and will soon make huge advancements to our lives through mobile devices. As Karri, our Marketing Communications Manager mentioned in her initial post, Augmented Reality to become your reality in 2012, augmented reality blurs the line between reality and computer-generated content by adding graphics and sound to the natural world as we know it.
As a conceptual entity, AR has been toyed with for quite some time. It’s only recently that developers have produced applications to make AR practical to the everyday consumer. We all know that in order to make any technological advancement both practical and relevant to a general consumer, it must have value. The lack of said value is probably the reason for AR’s obscurity in the past. However, more recently, tech-savvy developers and marketers alike have been working diligently to unveil the value in AR, further expanding the virtual boundaries.
AR can be applied to just about any concept coupled with a splash of creativity. As it pertains to travel and destination marketing, world browsing is perhaps the most significant use of AR, as it allows a traveler to explore their surroundings and view pertinent information about businesses or landmarks around them.
- The app Wikitude allows a user to point their smartphone at their surroundings and view a layer of icons that you’re able to customize. Such icons can represent things like Wikipedia articles detailing historic information, banks or coffee shops. I imagine applications of similar functionality being available in the near future, allowing you to visit a museum, for example, and having all relevant and historical information superimposed on your smartphone while pointing at a piece of art.
- Apps like Yelp, that allow users to find restaurants and read consumer-based reviews have adopted their own version of AR. Yelp’s “monocle” feature superimposes restaurant names and review ratings when you point your camera view in the direction of various restaurants in your area. Imagine the same idea being used for a shopping mall. You point your camera ahead of you and suddenly you know every store having a 50% off sale without taking a step inside or walking past their window display.
- ZipRealty Real Estate has a mobile app available on iPhone and Android devices that allows you to use AR to get information on their properties. The technology is available in about 30 US markets (including Dallas) and the app allows you to point to a property in their database and details such as price, square footage, etc. are overlaid onto your screen. I imagine a similar concept being applicable to hotels in the future. Imagine visiting a city (without prior hotel arrangements, of course) and being able to point your phone toward a hotel and having the availability, the price and even reviews superimposed on your screen without ever having to park and walk in.
Ultimately, the opportunities for destination marketing with AR are endless. Destinations have the power to become a “virtual attraction” as the number of tech-savvy travelers increase. AR has the ability to reshape the world as we know it – influencing major purchase decisions such as shopping, dining and lodging. Augmented reality has by no means reached its peak, but I predict that it won’t be long before the line between reality and “virtuality” is relatively seamless. This is definitely not a technology to ignore.
Tagged: destination marketing, Digital Marketing, interactive, mobile apps, technology, trendsNo Comments ( but hey, there's still room for more )
Aria helps connect kids from Town of Addison’s new George H.W. Bush School to a schoolboy named George
The Objective_
With the opening of the George H.W. Bush Elementary School in fall 2011, Addison city officials knew they wanted to make this division of Dallas Independent School District a truly exceptional, one-of-a-kind educational institution.
The school has a number of features that already make it exceptional: gigantic, vibrant murals that educate as well as decorate; an open, airy environment with floor to ceiling windows; solar skylight tubes that funnel light from the roof into the building’s halls to save energy; and kid-tended gardens to teach children about their world.
Yet the Town felt something was still missing. Mr. Bush had, perhaps, been the most experienced man ever to hold Office. They wanted more than a president’s name out front — they wanted to really honor him in a way that made his example meaningful to children.
For solutions they engaged long-time creative partner Aria, to do its homework and provide answers.
The Solution_
After extensive research, and with the cooperation of The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, Aria’s creative team brought a unique perspective and actionable ideas to the table.
We proposed using brightly colored childhood photos together with ideas that impacted Bush as a youth in order to connect him to the students — not as one more elder adult, but as one of them. Kindergarten through sixth graders would share the halls with a boy named George who played ball, did homework, and had fun just like them.
Some of the graphics proposed include, on a staircase landing, young George sitting on a stone wall; on the gymnasium walls will be George, as a young athlete, involved in various sports; and in the school library, a timeline showing him at various life stages from toddler to schoolboy, young naval aviator to family man and entrepreneur, President to adventurous skydiver.
In addition to these bold, brightly colored graphics, a 12 foot long shadowbox showcase, just inside the school’s entrance, will display photographs, souvenirs from his time in office, and memorabilia to include: a replica of his WWII flight jacket and a model of the torpedo bomber he flew, medals he was awarded after being shot down and rescued, a model of the aircraft carrier— CVN77— that bears his name, and other fascinating mementos.
The Results_
With the preliminary designs approved and the project ready to move forward, Town of Addison is now engaged in a fund-raising effort to realize this vision. It is hoped that work can begin as soon as summer 2012.
The project pays homage to Mr. Bush and life lessons learned that will help children understand presidents don’t spring full grown and ready for office… but begin life’s journeys as grade-schoolers who believe they can accomplish whatever they set their minds and hearts to.
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We’re hiring: Designer Career Opportunity
We’re looking for a full-time designer with a serious passion for crafting awesome digital, UI/UX, and print design.
You’re the creative force behind our output. You’ll be working on everything from branding, to website design, to mobile user interfaces, to advertising, to email marketing and social media. You’ll do it all, and get to work on a lot of different business, with a lot of different clients.
If you’re our new designer, Download the full job description (PDF) —
and then submit your info (resume, personality, likes, disposition).
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