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The
Invasion of the Pods
Taken
from the Summer 2006 issue of the ZEITGEIST Client Newsletter
OK...we’re way past the tipping point on iPods.
Clearly the most “must-have” tech toy of the age with over
50 million sold, it’s now becoming a tool for savvy destination
marketers.
 Now,
for those of you that have a built in bias against Apple,
you need to take a deep breath. This isn’t about whether their
elegant operating system is better than Windows. It’s about a
cultural icon product that your high-end customer probably has (or will
shortly). Thus, how will tourism make a resonant connection with the
iPod?
For smart hoteliers, it’s already started. Louisville’s
exceptionally hip 21C
is located within a set of former warehouses that features an iPod in
every room. But, it’s not just an iPod, as each unit is pre-programmed
with the guest’s favorite music (which was discovered in a pre-visit
call to inquire about transportation needs, the-ater tickets, restaurant
reservations...and, even favorite musical artists). And, it’s
not just major metros like Louisville, as we enjoyed the hotel owner’s
eclectic musical tastes during our visit to his iPod equipped Lindsay
Place in Lock
Haven (PA).
For smart DMOs, the iPod is the perfect vehicle for walking and driving
tours. Where DMOs like the Oak
Park (IL) CVB once loaded audio tours on PDAs (you can
hear more on these tours from CEO Rich Carollo on the DMOU
Teleseminar,
"The New Wave of Destination Tech Tours",
the cost of a bottom-line iPod
Shuffle (which is all you’d really need) makes stocking
20 units available for check-out at your visitors center a less than
$1500 investment for the hardware.
And, of course, while not requiring an iPod, the explosive growth in
Podcasting
provides a unique way to “own” a consumer’s mind for
longer than most will spend on your website or reading through your
collateral. The Galveston
Island (TX) CVB has created over 40 audio and video podcasts
over the past year and has even created destination maps to load onto
the new video iPods.
As we’ve
been suggesting in our presentations on marketing, audio is the perfect
medium for today’s time impoverished consumer. Through the iTunes
store and our own websites, the distribution technology has finally
presented itself to allow DMOs to inexpensively enter into this arena.
From posting monthly or seasonal audio updates to lure visitors to your
destination to creating those very same walking tours without having
to invest in iPod hardware, the Podcast opportunity is huge. Dublin
Tourism has recently started posting ”iWalks”
on iTunes and on their own site.
Just like the pods in classic Invasion
of the Body Snatchers, the introduction of pods into
our marketing tool kits has just begun. Smart marketers will find a
way to rapidly marshal this technology for their destinations.
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