How The Travel Industry Can Embrace Mobile as a Competitive Advantage
The success of Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) in a connected mobile world hinges on their ability to continuously assert their brand as the primary source of trusted, engaging, targeted and actionable information about unique experiences. So why aren’t they?
As Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) were busy putting the finishing touches on glossy brochures, preparing press trips and setting up pavilions at yet another travel show, along came a bunch of bespectacled tech troublemakers disrupting the entire market. That may be a bit of an exaggeration – not all sport glasses – but they certainly cast the first stones in the battle for mobile travelers.
This summer, social travel and destination guide apps have arrived in droves, and they pose a perilous challenge to the traditional destination-marketing model. The influence of a shared Instagram photo, Facebook like, Foursquare check-in, Groupon daily deal purchase, tweet, TripAdvisor review, Pinterest pin or blog post is spreading to the far reaches of the world. When that quaint little gem of a neighbourhood cafe down the block is overrun with busloads of rowdy tourists because some schmuck tweeted about their amazing cupcakes, well it’s suddenly hard to ignore the effect of user-generated content.
The Times They Are a Changin’
Going Viral 'Gangnam Style'
“Gangnam Style" by South Korean rapper Psy was released on July 15, 2012, as the lead single of his sixth studio album PSY 6 (Six Rules), Part 1. On September 20, 2012, it was recognized by Guinness World Records as the most "liked" video in YouTube history, and the music video had been viewed over 530 million times on You Tube as of October 25, 2012, ranking it the site's 5th most watched video and most watched ‘K-pop’ video.
"Gangnam Style" has been praised for its catchy beat and Psy's amusing dance moves in the music video and during live performances, which have since been ‘performed’ by numerous political leaders and featured at various locations such as Saturday Night Live, Dodger Stadium, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and in television commercials. The song has been nominated for Best Video at the upcoming 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards, to be held next month in Germany.
Responsive Design or should that be Adapt Now Design?
Be responsive to your customer's needs...
In a world where people have ever demanding expectations of a digitized experience, it would seem like more than common sense to ensure your brand is delivering an experience that adapts to their chosen browsing device. Enter the dragon!
What is responsive design?
Responsive Web Design (RWD) is an approach to web design in which a site is crafted to provide an optimal viewing experience—easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling—across a wide range of devices (from desktop computer monitors to mobile phones).
Why responsive?
Over the past 12 months we've seen a huge increase in visitors using mobile or tablet devices both on our own website, the larger point being that we are experiencing massive growth in mobile and tablet and browsing and this is not a trend that is going to go away anytime soon. These users are consuming your content right now.
The fast maturing mobile-commerce sector now offers the greatest opportunity for increased sales as customers abandon slow and unwieldly sites in favour of slick, easy to navigate portals that put user experience first and product information center stage.
Telluride Mountainfilm fest comes to Squamish March 8
VentureWeb presents an epic night of adventure story telling in support of Squamish Search & Rescue.
One of America’s longest-running film festivals, the Mountainfilm in Telluride Festival (Mountainfilm), will stop in Squamish for one night of epic adventure story telling through film, Thursday, March 8, 2012 at the Eagle Eye Theatre.
Mountainfilm is being presented by VentureWeb as a fundraiser for Squamish Search & Rescue (SSAR). Dating back to 1979, Mountainfilm is dedicated to educating and inspiring audiences about issues that matter, cultures worth exploring, environments worth preserving and conversations worth sustaining. Through the years, in and out of trends and fads, Mountainfilm has always been best described by one unchanging word: inspiring.
“The films chosen to be shown in Squamish on March 8 will thrill a local audience and truly inspire, just as they inspired me when I first saw them at Moutainfilm in Telluride,” says James Morris, of VentureWeb. “The films are diverse and a great fit for the Squamish/Whistler community. The night will celebrate the spirit of adventure and will also generate valuable funds for SSAR. It’s going to be a great night with a film to suit all adventurous tastes!”
