- Mobile Apps Set to be Marketing Game Changer - Black Hills, Badlands and Lakes Association rolls out app for mobile travelers - Business travel apps that are worth a look - New venue could transform Deadwood
Mobile Apps Set to be Marketing Game Changer One of South Dakota’s media buying experts is raising the flag on where marketers should be looking to reach their customers and driving home the fact that the growth of mobile applications and smartphones is a game changer for South Dakota businesses. he rapid adoption of iPhones, Droids and tablets like the iPad are not just driving incredible growth in the development and deployment of apps, they are fueling a dynamic behavioral change in the way we seek out and find our information,” says Korena Keys of Key Media Solutions. “Historically, this is an extremely fast period of change that presents both challenges and tremendous opportunity for marketers.” Keys is not alone in that thought. A new report from Forrester Research introduces their in depth study with the headline “Mobile Phone And Tablet Apps Unlock New Round Of Innovation And Change.” The research firm forecasts that the development of this mobile “app Internet” with hybrid local and cloud-supported applications will not only foster huge levels of innovation but also open up new services opportunities around the creation and management of these B2C, B2B, and B2E apps. Keys notes that this growth opportunity will be even more dramatic in South Dakota where the iPhone has just been introduced to the market along with the rapid adoption iPad and other tablet technologies.
T
CONSIDER THESE STATISTICS: 10.6 billion apps were downloaded in 2010 and are predicted to grow to 76 billion by 2014 Forrester Research predicts that by 2015, smartphone sales will grow from $4.5 billion to $29.4 billion and smart tablet sales will grow from $1.1 billion to $8.1 billion
Smartphones outsold PC’s for the first time in Q4 2010 Gartner expects over 500 million smartphones will be sold in 2012. For Keys, these trends also signal a critical change in behavior by consumers and their expectations of how, when and why they are accessing the information they want. To meet these behavioral changes driven by devices and apps, marketers will need to address their online offerings and how they drive consumers to their online and mobile app presence. To effectively take advantage of the ‘always onalways with’ nature of these new devices, Keys recommends that businesses need to diversify their media mix. She notes that apps are just one piece of that marketing puzzle that will become a very critical piece of that mix in the very near future. Online: www.keymediasolutions.com PBSD SDPB 1
South Dakota
Black Hills, Badlands & Lakes Association Rolls out App for Mobile Travelers Shortly after being appointed as the new President and CEO of the Black Hills, Badlands & Lakes Association, Nort Johnson began thinking of what he could do to build upon the organization’s past success and bring new ideas to the table. iven the influence that technology has had in the marketing of tourism destinations, developing an app that prospective and current visitors could use while they were actually in the area, is one of the ideas that grabbed his and the association’s attention. “In thinking about how people get the travel information they are looking for, what types of technology they are using and where they are using those devices, the choice to develop an app for the mobile device market became pretty clear,” says Johnson. “The two biggest factors in the process were, will it help our millions of visitors get the most out of their experience and does it bring value to our members.” Johnson explains that there are some things that made great sense in having an app developed to fit the marketing needs for the Black Hills, Badlands & Lakes Association members. He points to the success that other travel apps have had in the marketplace as well as looking at how people access technology once they are traveling. “When people are vacationing, they aren’t tethered to the same computer that they made their original plans on, and they might not even have access to go online while they are out and active,” Johnson reflected. “What they will have with them all of the time is their mobile phone or iPad. So what we want to do is make those ‘what do you want to do next?’ and ‘how do we get there?’ questions easy to access and answer no matter where they
G “
NORT JOHNSON President/ CEO, Black Hills Badlands & Lakes Association
are at any given time.” Globally, travelers are downloading apps at continuing record levels. This is credited largely to the fact that travelers want information at their fingertips when they are on the go, ranging from GPS tools, what to do, restaurant finders, airline and hotel booking services, up to finding the cheapest places to fuel up. “What really makes these apps exciting is that travelers can get so much more out of their experience by having the information at their fingertips- anytime and anywhere,” says Johnson. “The opportunity and the challenge for travel destinations are in making sure that you have the information available when and where your travelers want to know something fast.” The Black Hills, Badlands & Lakes Association members are also benefiting from the new app with the new ability to update their information quickly and give real time information on the latest deals in lodging, events and specials. Looking ahead, Johnson notes that “From a business standpoint, this app and the rapid adoption of the devices that use them are a very real breakthrough for travelers and the travel industry, but this is just the start of what our industry can do and we are looking forward to continuing our push in the mobile app marketing arena.” The app will be available for download from the iTunes store or from the association’s website. Online: www.blackhillsbadlands.com PBSD
Business travel apps that are worth a look With over 70% of business travelers packing a smart phone, apps can make getting there and back easier. Tripit – Itinerary manager LogMeIn – Access your computer anywhere Skype – Free unlimited Skype – Skype calls Expensify – Track your expenses Google Translate – Foreign language made easy 2 SDPB
May 2011
GasBuddy – Find cheapest gas on the go TripAdvisor – Find reviewed travel information ORBITZ – Book and track on the road FlightTrack – real-time flight info, terminal maps AroundMe – Find businesses near you
)
)
?9958 67' G:2 :7 G:27 +:<9?;G +:;5!)'7!;$ :7 !; 4"' 97:+'55 :& )'1'L:9!;$ ?99L!+?4!:;5 !;4';)') &:7 25' =G +:;52<'75 ?;) +L!';45 1!? 5<?74 9":;'5 ?;) 4?=L'458 ."' <'?;5 ?;) 59'') =G J"!+" 4"'5' 97:)2+45 ?7' ?++'55') ?;) =G ":J <?;G 25'75 <?M'5 4"' 9:4';4!?L !;&7!;$'<';4 :& ?; ?99L!+?4!:; :7 app ? 54?7M 7'?L!4G@ ."' E;4'LL'+42?L 07:9'74G ?44:7;'G5 ?4 -::)5 I2LL'7 ?7' 97'9?7') &:7 4"' ;'H4 47';) !; +:<<2;!+?4!:; ?;) !;4'7?+4!1!4G@@@?;) 4"' L!;$:@
Troy Leonard .7?)'<?7M5
Jeff Proehl 0?4';45
Tim Shattuck D!4!$?4!:;
Bill Beck D!4!$?4!:;
Carey Miller 3:9G7!$"45
Sander Morehead E;4'7;'4
Ryan Snell D!+';5!;$
#>%@((#@(ON> C JJJ@J::)5&2LL'7@+:<
B *>,, -::)5A I2LL'7A /"2L4F K /<!4" 0@3@
#"+#(1#.&#
-
&,//1%/#.%
-
1.%#!(1%2
-
'$&&#''
-
*$)01%2
South Dakota
New venue could transform Deadwood Deadwood Mountain Grand, a $46 million entertainment, lodging and gaming resort being built from a historic gold mining plant in downtown Deadwood, SD, will open in July. The new resort will feature a 98-room hotel, a modern casino, an upscale restaurant, a 325-space parking garage and a 2,500-seat music-andentertainment venue. eadwood Mountain Grand is the first foray into big-name entertainment for this gaming city – where slot machines, poker and blackjack have been legal for 22 years. The entertainment hall, spread out beneath the rustic beams of the original mining plant, will be large enough to host national music acts. And its partners, including “Big” Kenny Alphin of the country music duo Big & Rich and Nashville artist manager Marc Oswald, have invested a lot in the facility’s staging, light and sound systems. The building itself, with the unfortunate moniker of “Slime Plant,” has stood on the hill overlooking downtown Deadwood since 1906. For seven decades, the plant’s giant presses sopped pure gold from a slurry of water and ore from the Homestake Gold Mine in nearby Lead, SD. The plant stopped processing ore in the early 1970s, and for years it served as the Lawrence County Maintenance Shop. But local historic preservationists were keen to save this building. It was the last large reminder of the Deadwood’s gold mining heritage. After some false starts by other groups, TenTexKota, a group of investors from Tennessee and South Dakota, stepped in to take over the project in 2007. The Deadwood Historic Preservation office partnered with developers to replace the building’s aging exterior with a sheet-metal façade that protects its historic look. In addition, the partners have incorporated some of the plant’s history into the new venue. There will be displays of mining equipment and old photos that tell the story of Deadwood’s early days. Given the excitement and expectation of the new facility, Deadwood Mountain Grand has also installed a webcam where people can watch the progress as the new center undergoes construction. Online: www.deadwoodmountaingrand.com, www.deadwood.com.
D
PBSD
This artist’s rendering shows what the Deadwood Mountain Grand will look like in July when it opens its doors.
4 SDPB
May 2011