An iBeacon can be hidden everywhere and still does its job, notifying the user of interesting information nearby. A GPS geofence does its job wonderfully informing the user what's near to discover. Both techniques are fine but they have a huge downside: they are invisible. Potential new users just don't see them. Thus, they do not know that something is there to help them or to discover great spots in their proximity. GPS and beacons are only helpful to those who are already in.
Mobile information systems need to be highly visible in order to attract new users. Most of our customers use smart labels as they are a wonderful fit for tourism destinations:
- They allow a branding extension into the public space with the tourism region's or company's corporate design.
- They educate users on how to use the system, what to expect and why to use the system at all.
- They are carrying access technologies with them: QR codes and NFC tags.
As an example, you see the one from our side-project pingeb.org.
"Visibility is important but we also need to stand out", that's basically what the tourism board of Zell am See-Kaprun thought when they planned their guided tour through the town. With almost 2.5 Million overnight stays, Zell am See-Kaprun is one of Austria's top tourism destinations.
Zell am See is not only known for its outstanding tourism destination (glaciers and lakes) but also for its heritage as home of the Porsche family. While the car design bureau has been moved a while ago to Germany, the famous Porsche Design comes still from Zell am See. The tourism board took the chance and asked for a unique design for "smart labels" that are a natural fit to its old town.
It did not take long until they came up with some drawings ...
... and visualizations.
We at xamoom were amazed about these drafts and were eagerly awaiting the grand opening in September 2018.
The project was conducted by a number of companies:
Customer: Zell am See-Kaprun
Idea and concept: Saint Elmo's Tourismusmarketing GmbH/Martin Schobert & Stefan Heinisch
Content: Contentkumpanei.com
Technology partner: xamoom
We love this project and are incredibly proud of having delivered just a tiny bit of the project. If it wasn't for the great design and the amazing storytelling of the content ... it would be just a few labels next to the street-side.
If you ever come close to Zell am See, please go to the old town, walk around and get to know great stories told by great local personalities. Here's a gallery of how it actually looks now.
