Case Study: Snowbird iPhone App

There is an app for that.

Today, let’s take the conversation mobile and look at the Snowbird iPhone App.  Again, a special request from one of our readers who happens to work with the development shop (Welikesmall) behind the application.

Yes, we know everyone is currently building or thinking about building an iPhone app.  However we were drawn to this example because of what was not included in the app, rather than what was.

How about some background from the PR pitch:

We did some serious thinking about how real skiers would use an iPhone app to tap into what is going on at the mountain, says Thomas Cooke, Executive Producer at Welikesmall. Since we are all real skiers and riders at Welikesmall and familiar with the Snowbird brand, this was a dream project for us, to make an app we’d all want to use every day during the ski season.

At this point, we already had a good feeling about what we would see in the app.  Notice what was said…how real skiers would use an iPhone app…we’d all want to use every day…and that phrases such as ‘we built this for ad revenue,’ ‘we built this for branding’ or ‘we built this to be cool’ were left out.

If you want to build a successful app, or for that matter any product, you need to start your thinking with the consumer, not the bottom line.  Welikesmall did that and it shows in the app.

On top of that, the app is free.  Again, thinking about the consumer.

Overall, the app is quite aesthetically pleasing, easy to navigation and simple in it’s labeling structure.  The basic navigation gives you easy access to the sections and content you are looking for…Snow, Go, Show and Extras.

So, what is in the app?  Useful information that is needed while on the mountain or in the village.  Snow fall totals, weather forecast, trail status, twitter feeds from the mountain staff, webcams and a very nice photo uploader.  And that is just a start, there are a few more highlights here and there, but you get the idea, we don’t need to review the design of every component.

Although, we do love the ‘days skied’ function, but I don’t think we will make it to 71.

More importantly, let’s discuss what is not in the app.  Gimmicks and games are left out…no need for some snowboarding ‘avoid the rocks’ game in the app, you are already on a mountain.  Unnecessary content such as endless marketing copy about how great the snow is.  Upfront and obvious advertising that is intrusive to the user experience.  In short, everything that makes so many apps so unsuccessful.

In the end, the Snowbird app is a great branding and marketing extension for the resort, because it delivers a great user experience without trying to deliver a hard marketing message.  They have focused on the core needs of the consumer and built an app around those needs, instead of forcing content where it does not fit.

Truly a great iPhone app template for the rest of our ski resort counterparts.

5 out of 5 birds from the Travel 2.0 team.

(moto, did we miss anything?  Feel free to give us the behind-the-scenes on the development in the comments.)

Travel Trends – Utah, Miami, Social Media Measurement

Well kiss my grits, that is a beehive.

Utah Rolls Out a New Look – Our neighbors to the West have introduced a new, and fully-functioning version, of Utah.travel…just in time for the ski season push in the Beehive State.  I know, beehive…look it up.  After using a heavily modified splash page, for what seemed like years, the team at the Utah Office of Tourism has built upon their unique look and introduced a very eye-pleasing and brand accurate site.  Here is what we like, or at least find intriguing:

• What appears to be a strong tie to the online (nxtbook) Official Visitors Guide in lieu of traditional website listings.  While we love this idea, we are also concerned about the paradox that it creates…going online to find listings, only to be sent to an online version of a printed book whose value and usability is declining as an actual printed version.  Yeah, crazy.
• The appearance and overall feel.  It feels like Utah.  Kudos.
• The weather icon and options.  Love that look, although, we think MSNBC had it first.
• Social Media integration.  Although it feels like the default for any ‘new’ site, you still have to admire the integration with Flickr and YouTube.  And, to a lesser extent, Twitter and Facebook.
• Testimonials from other sites.  Finally!  Someone else has heard the calls from the mountain top and responded.  We have talked about it before, travelers don’t trust DMOs and CVBs.  The answer, put testimonials from TripAdvisor and Virtual Tourist right on the freaking homepage.  Simple, but brilliant.

Overall, good job Utah.  We wanted a little more content, but can appreciate the strides you made in this update.  B+

http://www.utah.travel/

Miami Gets a Facelift…Literally – In speaking with a local colleague of mine recently, he pointed out the current version of the Miami site.  After regaling me with the story, I was intrigued.  Surely, this cannot be true….oh, but it is.  On the surface, the ‘new’ Miami (and Beaches) site looks good.  Great imagery, clean navigation…plus, I see some social links.  Good stuff.  But, as with so many things in Miami, the beauty is only skin deep.  One click, try ‘Visitors‘ for fun, takes you to an unfamiliar and haunting location of cluttered navigation, bright colors and too much information squeezed into a size 1 dress.

After learning how not to create blinking text, the next lesson in website creation school is not to change the wireframe of your site from page to page.  Users don’t like it.

Perhaps this is simply a measured roll out of the new Miami site, to be honest we are not 100% sure.  We certainly do not want to punish Miami for what could be a planned execution.  However, in either case, they might want to add a full website update to the ‘to-do’ list.

Oh, and P.S.  What is up with the intro graphics on the ‘splash’ page?  They look great, but upon closer inspection, the reflection of the models sunglasses actually moves and changes.  Free design tip to anyone and everyone in marketing, graphic design and website development:  stop it with the reflection in the sunglasses trick.  We have seen it before and you can stop using it.  Thanks.

http://www.miamiandbeaches.com/

Social Media Measurement Lags Adoption – Is there anything bigger in the marketing and advertising world right now than social media?  Everyone is trying to get as many friends as possible to follow them on facetwitspace.  While this euphoria of social wonderment continues on the fourth floor, up in the executive suite they really want to see some numbers showing the success of these programs.  The old ‘it’s branding’ line is getting old.  Alas, according to recent stats, no one has a clue on how to measure all these tweets.

Despite widespread adoption of social media, measurement still lags. Only 16% of those polled said they currently measured ROI for their social media programs. More than four in 10 respondents did not even know whether the social tools they were using had ROI measurement capabilities.

http://www.emarketer.com/

Travel Trends – Utah’s Snow Spots, Twitter Research!, Online Travel Growth

Utah’s Snow Spots – Winter is my favorite season.  So, needless to say, I have been intrigued by the new Utah Office of Tourism spots highlighting their claim to great snow.  And, after seeing one of the spots on Eric Hoffman’s Resort Marketing blog, I did a little research.  A couple searches later, I found the ‘Greatest Snow on Earth’ YouTube channel, with all of the new commercials.  Congrats to Utah for using YouTube to begin distributing this content.  The only way any of your content or marketing materials will go ‘viral’ is if they are on a ‘viral’ site such as YouTube.  A very similar theory to the popular, ‘you have to play the lottery to win the lottery’ assumption.  Ah, words of wisdom.

My favorite video so far:
(Reading via email? Watch the video here)

Nice.

Which brings about another conversation on the spot itself.  In this case, Utah has decided to refrain from focusing on scenic shots of skiers or snowboards (for the most part), resorts, spas or sleigh rides and focus on what they believe is there differentiating factor from other destinations such as Colorado or Lake Tahoe, the quality and amount of snow.  It is a conversation that I have both internally and with other peers in the travel industry, do you show the expected scenic or attempt to convey your message via other, unexpected visuals.

For me, the spot works, but I already count Utah as my ski destination.  What do you think, do the new series of spots make you want to, or at least think about, traveling to Utah for your ski vacation?  Let us know in the comments section.
http://www.utah.travel/snowflake/
http://uk.youtube.com/user/greatestsnowonearth

Update: Great comment from our friend Moto on the creation of the campaign as well as the campaign site.  Check out the comments section for more.

Brand Perception on Twitter – We have talked a lot about Twitter in the recent months.  So much, that many of you are probably skipping this post.  However, we do have some new research that begins to paint a basic, but helpful picture of how brands on perceived on Twitter.  Credit to @warrenss and @researchguy for compelling the survey.  Highlights include:

1. Not surprisingly users Agree or Strongly Agree that brands should engage their customers on Twitter.
2. The majority also have a better impression of brands that use Twitter for customer service.
3. Proper use of Twitter however is paramount as almost 90% of users would frown upon poor or inappropriate brand use of Twitter.
4. Influencers: More than 70% of respondents have 100+ followers and almost 50% of respondents have posted more than 1,000 Tweets since they signed up for the service.

Read the full results, including some demographic data on the Know What’s Next blog.
http://sorgenfrei.wordpress.com/

How Much Will Online Travel Slow? – Stats from PhoCusWright via eMarketer on the online travel industry:

Online travel bookings will total $98.2 billion in 2008, up just 9% over 2007, according to PhoCusWright. The company said that some online travel providers would fare better than others, with rail sales growing by 28%, while hotel bookings would rise only 8%.

If the numbers prove true, this will be the first year of mere single-digit growth for US online leisure/unmanaged business travel. However, online growth will still be twice as high as that of the total travel market.

PhoCusWright said that reasons for online’s continued success included consumer comfort with online purchasing, perception of the Web as having the lowest prices and supplier disincentives for booking through other channels. The company also said sales from leisure/unmanaged business travel sites will represent 36% of the total market in 2008, up from 34% in 2007.

http://www.emarketer.com/