CLEVELAND
(July 16, 2016) - Destination
Cleveland, the convention and visitors bureau of Greater Cleveland,
launched its new mobile application today to provide an enhanced and
interactive digital experience for visitors to Cleveland and Northeast Ohio
during the Republican National Convention. The app can be found under the name
Destination Cleveland in the App Store and on Google Play.
The new app features detailed information about the
region's visitor attractions; an event calendar filtered by event type and
visitor interest(s); a map identifying restaurants, hospitality venues and
attractions; articles from ThisisCleveland.com;
tourism videos and access to Destination Cleveland's social media channels
along with the ThisisCLE.com blog.
"Our goal in building the app was twofold: We wanted to provide
visitors with different media formats they can use to learn about attractions
and events in Cleveland once they arrive, as well as provide an additional
marketing service for future meeting planners in Cleveland," said Colette
Jones, vice president of marketing, Destination Cleveland. "The exciting element
is that Destination Cleveland's app, paired with industry-leading software and
hardware, will eventually allow users to customize their trip based on their
location, actions and interests."
INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY
Beacon and proximity-based technology, such as
geo-fencing, have also been incorporated into the application to enhance the
leisure visitor experience. Beacons have been installed at several locations
throughout the city which will prompt passersby with messaging to engage with
the Cleveland brand via #ThisisCLE. In the future, the app will push messaging
to a user's mobile device about nearby locations in one's immediate
surroundings.
Also at a later date, Destination Cleveland is planning
to provide enhanced technology through the app for those who are attending
meetings and conventions in Cleveland. Customized schedule information and
other pertinent event details will be housed in a meeting-specific section of
the app and will still allow users to access the destination-related
information.
PARTNERS
The Cleveland mobile app is the result of collaboration between
Destination Cleveland and leading digital experts from several innovative
companies.
Local digital strategy experts, Mike Conley, vice
president of digital for the Cleveland
Cavaliers, and Jason Therrien, president of thunder::tech, and his team guided the
effort in tandem with Eventbase, the
leading mobile technology platform for premium events, to create the app. Based
in Vancouver, Eventbase was the app developer for several premier events
including SXSW, Comic-Con International, Sundance Film Festival and the London
and Vancouver Olympics. The Destination Cleveland app is the first app that
Eventbase has created for a destination marketing organization.
Leading mobile engagement platform companies Gimbal and Urban
Airship are providing the beacon and proximity-based technology. Gimbal, a
location intelligence platform, provided beacons, hardware and integration
support for the app while Urban Airship provided the mobile engagement platform
to send location-targeted push notifications and rich in-app messages to users.
In addition, inTouch, a
Cleveland-based start-up software development company, is sharing its existing
beacon network with Destination Cleveland.
"The collaboration and contributions of each of our app
development partners were instrumental in our effort to create a tool that
people will want to download and use regularly," Jones continued. "Our goal is
to continue developing this initial release in a way that will further
integrate our online presence at ThisisCleveland.com into the app."
To download the app, visit www.thisiscleveland.com/app.
To learn more about Destination Cleveland or to keep
up-to-date on new developments and activities, please visit www.thisiscleveland.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
###
ABOUT DESTINATION CLEVELAND: Destination Cleveland is Cleveland's
convention and visitors bureau. This private non-profit organization's mission
is to drive economic impact and stimulate community vitality for Greater
Cleveland through leisure and business travel. Cleveland welcomes nearly 17
million visitors annually. For more information, visit www.thisiscleveland.com.