Uncategorized Archives

19 12, 2019

Spark Engagement With Gamification

Tags: app, gamification, guide app, lerum live, quiz, trends|

Adding a quiz to your app is a great way to get visitors enthused and offer something that appeals to young and old. As well as this, it’s a way of sparking an interest in what’s around you. With the right incentive (getting an answer right) we are more likely to engage!

We are not surprised an increasing number of customers are asking about the quiz feature and wanting to gamify their apps. As a result the last month has seen some significant improvements to the quiz both in terms of UI and UX.

Basically, this is how it works:

Add a quiz to a guide, one multiple choice question per location
Choose whether to get the answer straight away or […]

28 11, 2019

We crossed the Atlantic to visit Attraction Experts at Expo IAAPA

Tags: attention economy, IAAPA, storytelling, tourism, trends|

Keeping up to speed with new trends and insights is both important and fun! This autumn OnSpotStory crossed the Atlantic to visit the biggest event for the attractions industry: IAPPA Expo in Orlando.

IAAPA is the leading global conference and fair for attractions, giving its visitors the possibility to meet industry leading suppliers and producers all under the same roof. We got plenty of inspiration at IAAPA and had the opportunity to discover exciting future trends that can be useful both creatively and for content work ahead of us.

Impressive Storytelling Using Modern Neuroscience at The Spy Museum

The overall focus of the fair was how to deliver groundbreaking content and entertainment that meet the demands of customer today […]

5 11, 2019

Personalization – The biggest trend within tourism?

Tags: attention economy, guide app, personalization, tailor, tourism, travel, trends|

Today’s visitors expect a personalized experience. When coming to new places, visitors are increasingly seeking out what is unique and tailored, be it a longer vacation or a daytrip. One of the reasons is that we live in an attention economy – a society in which we are constantly navigating an abundance of impressions and information. Naturally, our attention is limited and we use it to filter what is important. To stand out it is therefore essential to offer a tailored approach to visitors, displaying high quality, enthusiasm and a technological know-how.

Personalization – What is it and how to do it?

Most people don’t want to waste time running around hunting out tourist attractions or restaurants when they come to a […]

6 09, 2019

Navigate the artworks at Göteborg International Biennial with new app!

Tags: app, art, art app, biennial, exhibition, gibca, göteborg, gothenburg, guide app, history|

The Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art (GIBCA) is here! We are happy to have a small part in GIBCA this year, creating the pinkest, most art-packed OnSpotStory app to date ?

The biennial team have done a really great job making the app fit their unique graphic profile, using custom map markers, fonts and colours throughout the design.

Get your art on

The app offers tours of each of the biennial’s exhibitions with information about artists and their works. The event calendar feature is used for the programme of the biennial, keeping visitors up to date with art events such as film screenings and workshops.

Can your phone become a […]

12 06, 2019

Marvelous Sunne Launches New Guide App

Tags: app, audio guide, event calendar, history, selma lagerlöf, stories, storytelling, sunne, tourism|

Sunne, Marvelous Sunne, is located right in the middle of Värmland, a landscape full of contrasts. Culture and the tradition of storytelling are strong in Sunne. This is where the author and Nobel laureate Selma Lagerlöf lived and worked, and her legacy remains strong.

The new OnSpotStory app ‘Sagolika Sunne’ (Marvelous Sunne) offers several tours, packed with inspiring stories. Get to know Selma Lagerlöf’s Sunne, find your way to some of Sunne’s gems and experience Mårbacka estate, the country house where Selma Lagerlöf lived for much of her life.

–We are investing in a guide app so that visitors can find ‘the marvelous’. We are making history accessible through every smartphone, where visitors can easily engage in the […]

22 05, 2019

Search, and you will find…

Tags: app, feature, function, search, tech|

We have built a search function for the app! Users type what they are looking for into the search field and results appear below in a list. They can then click on a result and go straight into that location or tour.

Want to know more about the search function and how to get it on your app? Contact us.

13 03, 2019

Case: The Viking Museum – Vikingaliv

Tags: app, audio guide, film, languages, museum, tourism, viking museum, vikingaliv, web app|

Vikingaliv is an experience museum in Stockholm dedicated to the Viking Age and experiencing it in a fast, modern and interesting way.

They wanted a mobile guide solution that was easy to get started with and would match their graphic profile. In addition to this it was important to find a long-term solution that would cater to an international audience as they have many tourists visiting from abroad.

Check out the case film we did together with Vikingaliv to learn more about the collaboration!

26 02, 2019

Get Your Map On

Tags: app, customization, design, illustration, mapbox, maps|

We don’t have favourites. Well, that’s a lie- of course we do. And when it comes to personalised maps, we really like Coastal Past’s illustrations.

Maps – What’s the Story?

If you have an own (native) app, you have the option of customising your map or using a Mapbox link. Using a Mapbox link means you have an existing map “base”. You can, however, choose what information the map should include, such as names of places and types of roads. Also, you have the option of changing colours and icons.

If you want to really brand your […]

29 01, 2019

Speaking Memories – The Last Witnesses of the Holocaust

Tags: audio, audio guide, exhibition, historiska, history, museum, museum archives|

We are very honoured to have the tiniest of parts in the new exhibition Speaking Memories – The Last Witnesses of the Holocaust – at the Swedish History Museum. The exhibition is, in the words of the museum, “dedicated to those who were there. Those who have personal memories and experience from the Holocaust. Those who survived”.

Speaking Memories is portraits, testimonies, videos, an interactive installation as well as an audio guide in which you can listen to testimonies from some of the survivors. The exhibition is on until September 2019.

Listen here.
The majority of the testimonies are in Swedish.

4 12, 2018

Selma Lagerlöf’s Sunne is getting an app

Tags: app, audio guide, event calendar, guide app, stories, sunne|

We are excited that Sunne kommun has decided to get an app. Sagolika Sunne sees this technology as a helping hand for visitors to find their way to the many gems it has to offer. Sunne is Selma Lagerlöf’s home region and there’s plenty to see and discover in the area. The app will make it easier for visitors to experience Sunne by implementing e.g. an event calendar and incorporating exciting stories about the region’s culture and nature.

The app will be launched in the spring of 2019. We look forward to getting to know Sunne and Selma better!

1 11, 2018

Event feature up and running

Our new, foxy events feature has been implemented in Läckö-Kinnekulle’s app – check it out on the App Store for iOS or Google Play for Android. In Läckö-Kinnekulle’s case a software-function is in place, regularly updating and syncing the app calendar with an existing calendar on their website, via VästSverige.com’s api.

An event calendar is a great way to keep visitors in the know and tell them about events. Via push notifications, which they can choose to enable, users are reminded about upcoming events.

Want to know more about this feature? Get in touch with us.

23 10, 2018

OnSpotStory in USA

Tags: audio guide, museum, onspotstory plus, USA, web app|

We look forward to working with three new museums in USA. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and National Museum of the Pacific War are using our PLUS units. OnSpotStory PLUS is an all-inclusive solution that replaces the traditional audio guide device with a modern smartphone. The museum can lend or rent the device to visitors and has the choice of using Tourmate cases for protection.

In addition to this, Rosenbruch Wildlife Museum has a new web app up and running.

Check it out here.

18 09, 2018

Get to know your visitors

Tags: app, audio guide, data, museum, statistics, trends|

How many visitors are using your app? What language is getting the most hits? Which guide is most popular and how long do visitors stay on one guide location?

We know that this information is valuable to our customers and have therefore redesigned our statistics for both new and existing customers. When you become an OnSpotStory customer you receive a Google Data Studio link that enables you to get a detailed overview of how your app is used. The document is continually updated and can be re-visited whenever you like, you set the timeframe 😉

The statistics include:

Number of visits and length of visit
Visits per guide
Visits per location
Visits per language
Operating system
Visitor country of origin

27 08, 2018

Audio guide for young and old at Stockholm Cathedral

Tags: audio guide, payment, stockholm, stories, storkyrkan, tourism|

Located in the heart of the Old Town, Stockholm Cathedral receives many tourists as well as local visitors. The staff noted visitors had an appetite for learning more about the medieval church and wanted to offer an easy way to access information in several different languages. The solution? A web app. Starting out with three tours in Swedish and English the audio guide provides insight into the building of the cathedral, the Protestant Reformation in Sweden and a battle between church and crown.

Receiving payment with unique vouchers

To boost their earnings the cathedral has chosen a guide option with a payment function. Visitors purchase a unique code at the entrance for a small […]

6 08, 2018

Last week for Gladiators exhibition in Jönköping

Tags: audio, audio guide, exhibition, gladiator, guide app, jönköping, web app|

How did one become a gladiator? You still have another week (until august 12^th) to catch the travelling exhibition Gladiators – Heroes of the Colosseum in Jönköping and find out all about the era of gladiators.

This exciting and interactive exhibition will teach you about gladiatorial games, Colosseum and how it was to live at that time. Get fully immersed with the drama-packed audio guide produced by sound engineer Ulf Söderberg and hosted on the OnSpotStory web app platform.

The guide is available in English, Swedish and German.

11 07, 2018

New app at The Gotland Museum links stories with places

Tags: app, audio guide, gotland, museum, onspotstory plus, stories|

The Gotland Museum is the Mecca of Gotland’s cultural history. The museum recently launched a new app to complement their exhibitions. Henrik Ramberg, the Project Manager, tells us about their app aspirations: “We hope to lift stories and objects that for various reasons have ended up in the dark. An ambition we have is to link the stories with the physical locations on the island where the stories and objects come from”.

Add-on:

The Gotland Museum will have 10 OnSpotStory PLUS units to offer visitors. These are all-inclusive solutions that replace the traditional audio guide device with a modern smartphone that you can lend or rent to your visitors.

Download the app on App Store or […]

22 05, 2018

Something for everyone at Läckö-Kinnekulle

Tags: api, app, calendar, destination, läckö-kinnekulle, nature|

The destination Läckö-Kinnekulle is located in Skaraborg between Sweden’s two biggest lakes Vänern and Vättern. The area has plenty of beautiful nature to offer, especially for cycling, hiking and paddling. They’ve decided to let tourists explore this fascinating landscape with a new app, starting out with three tours: Kållandsö and Kinnekulle by car, and a city walk around Lidköping.

Keeping visitors in the know with an events calendar

The Läckö-Kinnekulle app will include an events calendar, a great way of informing visitors about what is happening in the area. We will create a software-function that regularly updates and syncs the calendar in the app from their EPI. The software will get data via an API from Läckö-Kinnekulle’s EPI […]

16 04, 2018

Holistic thinking at Medelhavsmuseet

Tags: app, audio guide, medelhavsmuseet, museum, storytelling, UX, video|

Friday afternoon offered not only sunshine and Cypriote antiquities, but a good meeting with Mathias Bergendahl at Medelhavsmuseet. The museum is in the process of taking their digital and marketing strategy to the next level. They want to offer visitors an experience with a low threshold, where the different information channels – signs, website, audioguide etc. – interact sensibly and seamlessly, from the first image that meets you as you come into the museum.

Having seen an increase of 33% visitors in the last quarter, the museum is doing something right. Mathias puts it down to a new marketing strategy, coordinated together with the program and exhibition departments. Investing in moving image material, making well-produced films about the museums, […]

11 04, 2018

A Tale of Two Trends

Tags: app, attention economy, customisation, museums, selfie, social media, trends|

1. Custom is King

Museums and tourist destinations continue to offer visitors options that tailor the visit to specific needs and desires. From what we see, customisation will continue to be in high demand. The attention economy we find ourselves in makes us increasingly choosy and our expectations on any experience continue to grow ever higher.

When entering a museum or tourist destination, visitors may encounter certain annoyances such as long queues, being short on time, a mobile phone running out of battery, needing the toilet, not knowing where to start etc. These situations can be overwhelming and digital tools have a clear role in providing assistance, for example via an app in your phone or an audio guide device handed to […]

23 03, 2018

To Beacon or not to Beacon?

Tags: beacon, beacons, bluetooth, indoor navigation, technology, UX|

The idea of improving indoor navigation is a great one and we believe it can assist visitors, improve their experience as well as bypass frustration. Many a time museum-visitors most frequent concern is “Where am I?” or “How do I get to X?” – a concern visitor-centered places want to, and can, respond to.

At our latest seminar, in Lidköping on March 16th, the question of beacons was once again brought up. The interest in this technology never really went away, rather it’s almost as if the small receptors were silently buzzing in the background for museums and other visitor-centered organisations.