Case Study — Digital on a Dime
With travelers turning more and more to their mobile devices to find travel experiences, visitors’ guides should be just as functional as their phones. Here’s how Southernmost Illinois Tourism Bureau created a digital visitors’ guide that engages tourists with stories, images, audio and video with the added benefit of wayfinding to its attractions…and didn’t break the bank.
PROBLEM: REACHING TODAY’S DIGITAL TRAVELER
As the world of travel becomes increasingly digital and mobile, a majority of tourists turn first to their mobile devices when researching and making travel decisions. Like most CVBs, Southernmost Illinois Tourism Bureau recognized the need to connect with this growing segment of the travel market, but didn’t have the dollars to invest in their own mobile app and wasn’t willing to forego traditional media in favor of experimenting with new media. Time and resources were also limited because just one full-time staff person runs the show.
Their challenge was to find a digital strategy that made the most of their existing assets while minimizing cost and labor.
SOLUTION: A LOW-COST, HIGH ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY
To meet this challenge, Southernmost Illinois partnered with VAMONDE, a digital network for cultural tourism providing free digital marketing tools explicitly built for cities and cultural institutions. Using old-fashioned storytelling and new technology, they created the Southern Illinois Channel on VAMONDE’S national network. It features a series of six digital stories (so far): Shawnee Wine Trail; The Cache River Wetlands — Illinois Hidden Bayou; Beer and BBQ: Murphysboro, BBQ Capital of Illinois, Hike Near Harrisburg: Gateway to Shawnee National Forest; Makanda, Gateway to Giant City and Outdoor Adventure and Illinois Craft Beer Here!
“This easy-to-use tool offers a new way to tell our stories and help visitors find experiences based on their interests, and the area they are visiting. Ready-made technology, with step by step instructions, allows us to easily publish and edit content, as well as share on social channels,” said Carol Hoffman, Executive Director of Southernmost Illinois CVB
In building the narratives, they redeployed content previously developed for blog posts, media releases, YouTube and the web into evergreen experiences. Photos, audio, and video brought to life the breathtaking natural beauty of their area, recreational opportunities for outdoor adventurers, and drew attention to additional partner attractions and events that would encourage visitors to lengthen their stay or visit again.
Hike Near Harrisburg showcases the area’s biggest attraction, Shawnee National Forest, with stories about the trails, rock formations and Instagrammable sights along the way. The Shawnee Hills Wine Trail, created to attract romantic escapes and girlfriend getaways, brings visitors to 11 unique award-winning wineries in one of the Midwest’s most established wine regions. Makanda, Gateway to Giant City and Outdoor Adventure engages additional tourism partners with its focus on outdoor recreation, local history with your meal, a unique hippie town and ways to enjoy a tour on horseback or via zip line. In Beer & BBQ: Murphysboro — BBQ Capital of Illinois, they expand a popular weekend event into a year-round guide to some of the best food the area offers. If visitors have already seen the Shawnee National Forest, they’ll be equally surprised and impressed by The Cache River Wetlands: Illinois’ Hidden Bayou, which takes them on a tour of a unique and unexpected ecosystem more associated with Louisiana than Southern Illinois. Southern Illinois Beer Here! explores five prime locations to imbibe a variety of craft brews made with care and locally sourced ingredients.
IMPACT/RESULTS
With an investment of $0 and a modest amount of time writing and organizing content, Southernmost Illinois CVB achieved the mobile presence they were seeking. The Southern Illinois Channel serves as a virtual, mobile magazine with rich, multimedia stories and built-in digital benefits. These include location-aware wayfinding, calls to action that link immediately to their partners’ websites (where travelers can perform transactions like making reservations, renting a canoe or arranging a guided trail ride), and streamlined social sharing to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The individual stories act as self-guided tours, allowing visitors the flexibility to explore on their schedule, an option digital travelers appreciate. The channel eliminates the need to download a map while traveling or remember to bring along a brochure. Analytics provide insight on which destinations tourists visit and which of the stories perform best. This feedback lets them tweak their content and itineraries and edit adventures to take advantage of specific events and seasonal experiences.
In just the first week of sharing their latest story on Facebook, there were 298 views of the adventure. Using tools within VAMONDE, their ROI, benefits, and desired outcomes will grow along with the digital travel market. Moreover, the impact will increase over time with additional social sharing of the channel and its contents.
The Southern Illinois Channel is a digital visitors’ guide that helps today’s travelers visualize and understand that the Southernmost Illinois region is more than just Shawnee National Forest, its most well-known attraction. The combination of beauty, adventure, food, libations, and eclectic destinations make it the perfect place for their next road trip.
For more information or to schedule a demo, check out info.vamonde.com.
