Why is Art and Geofencing an amazing idea and why should cultural institutions seriously start thinking of embracing it?
Recently, I noticed that several museums and theatres in The Netherlands have started embracing geofencing technology to promote galleries or shows. I think it’s a great idea that clearly shows how art and technology can work together for the benefit of both.
In cities like Amsterdam where there are thousands of events happening, how do you keep track of everything that’s happening? I think the only way is to try and embrace the changes that come even when talking about new technologies as well. From a marketing perspective, I think becoming more personal and relevant to your customer is what actually attracts more these days.
Stendelijk Library, Amsterdam
How can cultural institutions take their service to the next level with geofencing?
In the following paragraphs I will shortly discuss how cultural institutions can benefit from the new technological advantages like geofences and beacons.
Museums can have a real advantage by using the beacons notifications in order to create a virtual guide through the building. Imagine walking around in the museum and receiving relevant information right when you are in front of a certain painting. visitors could be updated on the spot about what they are looking at , who is the artist of that piece and other information.
Art galleries are sometimes hard to spot, especially in the small streets of Amsterdam. A location based mobile notification would help increase the foot traffic to the gallery. Invitations to come inside including discounts and opening hours would create a bridge between an art lover and a gallery. I think it would be a good idea for galleries create an app on which the majority of them are listed.
Theatres and opera houses are the ones that can benefit most . Not only they already have working apps with schedules of the upcoming shows but some of them are already using geofencing technologies. geofencing can increase their sales and boost awareness of their showswith expiring location based offers and discounts like this : “Buy tickets for Carmina Burana within 1 hour and get 10% discounts”.
Concert halls are also on my list of cultural places which can definitely use the geofencing services. In the Netherlands some of them already have working apps like TivoliVrendenburg in Utrecht or Paradiso Amsterdam. location based notifications could notify their passing customers about upcoming events, discounts or even run campaigns for a period of time.
The Yale University Art Gallery
The art and the young
Using new technologies in combination with art will firstly attract more of the younger generation. As we already know the younger people are all into new technologies and social media. They grew up with them and are used to technologies. According to studies made, millennials are social creatures which enjoy going to events with friends, prefer going to events where people are around the same age group and lastly are very interested in attending events when they are offered discounts or happy hours.
Not only that youngsters will be attracted but I think this location based marketing will enable a lot of impulse buying of tickets and shows. I personally would be really interested to check out a theatre nearby if they send me a message with a discount for tickets. I would immediately call a bunch of friends who might be interested in joining me and then I would probably proceed and buy the tickets.
The app usage would also increase as people would be notified when around and they would be triggered to use the app more.
According to Eventbrite, Millennials are less likely to attend art events if they don’t have an online presence or they cannot buy tickets online. So going online and combined with location based notifications would definitely attract more clients.
Rembrandt, De Nachtwacht, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Bottom line
Embrace changes, try new technologies and enjoy the outcomes . Do you have an art venue or a concert hall, then you probably should start thinking of ways to integrate new technologies such as geofencing or beacons into your business.
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What is geofencing & why I need it in my app?Download the Ultimate Guide to Geofencing for Mobile Marketing to find out more about geofencing and beacons and why to use them in your app. |
