Multilingual Audio Systems: Meet Your Best Friend, GPS Triggered Video

We listened to our customers when they said – give us GPS triggered video!

So what is it about video anyway? Does video have a place in city sightseeing? We resisted this notion of video on sightseeing tours for a very long time.

No one will watch. No one cares. No sharing, no screens!

Times have changed. And so have we.

The overall aim of any sightseeing tour is to provide memorable, engaging guest experiences. The key is to use short videos in a way that moves people, providing more in-depth connections to your stories and your tours.

The Value of a One Minute Video

1.8 Million Words; That’s the value of a one minute video according to Forrester Research.

With tours commoditized – think of destinations where several sightseeing companies are offering the same city tour sold solely on price – enhanced storytelling with video creates new opportunities for immersive content.

Companies investing in engaging multilingual audio experiences, rolling out their traditional offerings wrapped in episodes of personal passenger entertainment see this new medium as a crucial next step.

Leaders of sightseeing companies are breaking away from a commodity mindset. During a recent discussion with a leading London, UK sightseeing organization, the CEO said: “Our future is in providing the Disney experience.”

The introduction of video on sightseeing buses offers passengers supporting layers of meaningful engagement. Axonn Research reported that “seven in ten people view brands in a more positive light after watching interesting video content from them.”

With video production costs decreasing, it’s becoming more affordable to produce content while low-cost broll (supplemental or alternative footage) is available on several stock websites like iStockphoto, Shutterstock and Adobe.

For some companies, GPS triggered video is the next step in staging a themed, compelling sightseeing experience. We recommend using short videos to enhance your tours, layering in value-added messages that support your overarching theme. Your goal is to create memorable visits by stimulating all of the senses, or as many as you can.

Creating a Better Understanding of Your Narrative

With video being the number one medium for consumer entertainment, it offers a compelling opportunity to evoke emotions. Take history for example. By including historical images and video, passengers can more vividly imagine what it was like to be at the Martin Luther King speech. “I have a dream,” during his March on Washington.

Consider people who lived a century ago. Or an underwater shipwreck 100 feet below the ocean surface. These are the opportunities for video enhancement in sightseeing.

And then there’s video marketing. 85% of businesses regard video as an essential part of their marketing strategy according to wyzowl. With cross promotions everywhere, you can cross promote your tour products or run joint ventures with destination partners. Forming a marketing alliance gives you better brand awareness to accelerate your ticket sales. But finding partners that are a natural fit while strengthening your credibility are critical considerations before you venture into new programs.

Multimedia Sightseeing Experiences

With the introduction of a video feature on Navilution Evo, a GPS multilingual audio system, sightseeing operators are investing in video production for the upcoming season, including:

• Historical images and video to supplement audio stories
• Hop-on, hop-off next stop announcements
• Cross-promotional and joint venture marketing
• Closed captioning and subtitling, (displaying text on a video screen), to provide additional interpretive information.
• Sign language tours 

If you’re thinking about video, consider the memorable events and experiences you want to create. Your whole business really depends on the experience you’re providing to your guests.