Reach out and touch your visitors

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Reach out and touch your visitors.. with cell
phones

• Nevada Indian Commission Conference 2009
• April 27th
• Kimi Spencer, Director of Marketing
• Guide By Cell

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Past use of audio

• Pre 2006 rarely used
• Often too expensive
• Produce audio content 25,000
• Buy devices _at_ 600 each
• Hire staff to check-in/check-out
• Dont own content

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Trend towards using own device
Museum Provided
User Provided
Everything!
Cassette player
Phone/Web
CD Player
Cell Phone
Digital audio player
iPod
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What do visitors want?

• Visitors want
• A snippet of interesting information
• Where they are standing
• From real people
• As long as its
• Simple and easy
• Inexpensive
• Fun

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Along come cell phones
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Cell phone tours started four years ago
Art gallery -- photographs covering Utah theater
history
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Cell phones proliferating

• 233 million cell phone subscribers
• Minute usage up 20 in 2006
• Monthly bill down from 98 in 1988 to 50
• Text messaging doubled in 2007
• 500 cultural organizations using cell phones

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Why rapid growth?

• VISITORS
• Cost declines
• Functionality improved
• Social acceptance
• Cultural Organizations
• Easy and inexpensive way to get started with
  audio tours
• In-house production and control
• Web-based administration

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Visitor benefits with cell phones

• More educational enjoyable visit
• Familiarity with device
• No check-in and probably lower cost
• No hygiene issues
• Available 24/7
• Any language

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Cultural Organizations benefits

• Multiple ways to engage visitor
• Engaging increases satisfaction
• Record content over phone or upload
• Technology is ready and inexpensive
• Visitor feedback and demographic information

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How are visitors using phone For Audio

• Call to hear engaging audio
• (expert, celebrity, sound effect, interview,
  tribal members, other visitor comments)
• Leave feedback (cellblog)
• Vote for favorite

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How are visitors using phone For Texting

• Interact with the visitor (not static visit)
• Connect with them after visit
• Play a game
• Text a Question and Receive an Answer
• Many ways to use a cell phone that are not
  interpretative in nature

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Any language
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Cell phones and podcasting technologies merging

• Apples iPhone sets new bar, BUT

• The content is hosted remotely
• No infrastructure commitments
• All digital content, available anywhere
• Repurpose content
• And no inflexible investments
• Hosted, digital, proprietary ? can be repurposed
  on any future device

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Its not just a phone
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Check real-time data
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Digital Demographic data
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Many institutions use cell phone audio

• .

Crailo State Historic Site
Schuyler Mansion
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How Have Other Native American Tribes Utilized
Mobile Technology?
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Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki, Seminole Tribe from Florida

• Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki is a living village where elders
  make and sell crafts
• But the elders arent always present when
  visitors arrive 

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• Because the village is located ½ a mile from the
  museum, most tours are self-guided
• Mobile technology allows visitors to hear
  directly from the village elders whenever,
  wherever

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Clip From Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Tour
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Future Phones morphing as prices reduce
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Satellite coverage everywhere
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Videos and photos Visitors will create their
own tour
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Social networking
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Our findings

• 1 million calls from 500 organizations
• 5-25 of adults call
• Typical age group 18 to 65
• Visitors want multiple technology offerings
• Generates press
• Statistics valuable

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Contact Information
Kimi Spencer Director of Marketing Guide by
Cell www.guidebycell.com [phone]