Visit Vancouver App Wins International Award

Two Vancouver companies bring home international digital marketing award

The depth of creative talent in Vancouver was acknowledged in New York last week when Tourism Vancouver and creative agency SmashLAB took home an international award for digital marketing.

Tourism Vancouver has scored many coups with its way-out-there marketing (bringing the Olympics to Vancouver—now that was a Big Idea!). Now it has scored another by being named platinum winner for digital marketing excellence by the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI). HSMAI noted that Tourism Vancouver and other category winners “exemplified” innovation.

Tourism Vancouver’s entry was an eye-catching new iPad app developed for the organization by Vancouver creative agency SmashLAB, which also recently garnered attention for a knockout new website it designed for the Vancouver Aquarium last year.   

The Visit Vancouver application uses digital tours, photos and video alongside hotel information to help prospective visitors plan their stay in Vancouver. Upon arriving in the city, visitors can use it to find local cuisine, scan event listings and discover unique activities.

The application pulls content from Tourism Vancouver’s CMS and CRM, stores data for offline access and integrates with hotel reservation and ticket purchasing systems. It does this by using various custom application processing interface and data feeds.

For users, the app—which is free to download—provides a highly visual and intuitive user interface that shows off Vancouver as the exciting, multi-cultural and sophisticated urban experience that it is. The app is free to download.

While concern about losses in the film and game industry is warranted, SmashLAB’s latest digital design win illustrates that Vancouver’s role as an important player in the world of digital design shouldn’t be written off yet.

 

Tony Wanless is a content marketer and reinvention management consultant who helps entrepreneurial professionals.  | Twitter