NEW! Group Tour Technology |

CultureConnect is the only mobile app company to offer group tour technology!

CultureConnect announces the first Group Tour technology with social distancing solutions! Whether you’re seeking a Group Tour solution during COVID-19 or you’re planning long-term, our Group Tour technology can serve your organization’s needs for guide or docent-led group tours.

WHAT IS GROUP TOUR TECHNOLOGY?

Group Tour technology enables tour guides to lead group tours and communicate with tour attendees through a handheld device (and headphones).

Traditional Group Tour technology has many limitations: expensive hardware to procure, manage and maintain; groups have to stay in close proximity for signals to work; no multimedia capabilities; and an inflexible, single use-case technology.

CultureConnect’s Group Tour technology solves these challenges:

No hardware required – visitors use their own devices. No cleaning, charging, or device maintenance required.
Wifi-based technology – no bluetooth or other special signal technology required.
No proximity requirements – visitors can maintain social distancing and be as far apart from others as desired.
Rich content – group tours can be added to an existing CultureConnect mobile guide that offers a wide array of interactive features and multimedia options.
Flexible use cases – gate content, monetize, use onsite or virtually, create unlimited tours, easily manage from anywhere on the CultureConnect backend.

HOW DOES THIS WORK?

Group Tour Technology is a brand new feature that can be activated in existing mobile guides built on the CultureConnect platform
If you’re new to CultureConnect, simply choose to launch a Group Tour app or expand to make use of our robust Mobile Guide features
Launch multiple Group Tour experiences simultaneously – our app can keep up with your busy group tour schedule and expanding programming
Easily launch, edit, duplicate, and unpublish Group Tours
Tour leaders can track the number of attendees and time their presentations.
Tour leaders have personalized access codes to ensure easy log-in to the correct guided tours.
No complicated set up for visitors – they simply select the tour they want to join.
Gated Content features help your team manage who has access to the app and group tours. Gated Content features help make it easy to continue to monetize premium content and guided tours.

We’re rethinking established technologies to serve the museum sector in a new way that traditional hardware providers simply cannot adopt into their legacy systems.

WHY IS THIS SO REVOLUTIONARY?

Historically, Group Tour technology was offered by hardware companies, rather than software companies like CultureConnect. Group Tour hardware systems have sanitation requirements and signal limitations, both of which have been heightened by the impact of COVID and the need for social distancing.

CultureConnect’s new approach to Group Tours adapts a wifi-based (or data connection-based) technology that works seamlessly with any smartphone. Our solution means that visitors can use their own device and easily maintain safe social distancing. This new Group Tour technology is designed to manage the worst case scenario but flexible enough to serve your Group Tour program in the long-term. When COVID is behind us, you can easily transition this technology to offer your visitors loaned devices as well as BYOD options.

While our team is offering an innovative solution to museums, we’re leveraging a tried and true technology (WebRTC). Bringing WebRTC into the CultureConnect platform means we’re rethinking established technologies and maximizing their power to serve the museum sector in a new way that traditional hardware providers simply cannot adopt into their legacy systems.

When do I use a traditional Mobile Guide Tour vs. a Group Tour?

Mobile Guide Tours (Image: Left) are for self-guided exploration and interactivity. They emphasize multi-modal interpretation (text, audio, video, images, 3d objects etc) as well as personal discovery based on thematic interests, way-finding maps, or pre-planned tour paths.

Group Tours (Image: Right) are for docent-led or guide-led tours for groups of visitors. There is a single leader speaking through a headset to all the other attendees in sync. This is usually for groups in busy or loud environments where sound may not carry or for large groups or groups that spread out on a trail or gallery.

With the CultureConnect platform, you now have the opportunity to launch either experience and even combine them. Tour leaders can lead groups but also point them to content pages in the mobile guide to empower visitors to get a closer look at objects, way-finding tools, interactive modules to collect feedback.

OTHER FAQS

How does this work if my institution wants to offer a mix of BYOD and loan-able devices?

You’re welcome to build a program that serves your organization’s unique needs. In addition to prompting visitors to access your app on their own phone or tablet, you can still opt to maintain an inventory of loanable devices. Simply purchase loanable hardware including the device, cases, reusable or disposable headphones, and a charging station. Pre-load the CultureConnect app on each device and your program is ready-to-go.

How do we restrict content to specific groups (e.g. members, ticket holders) or to only those who paid admission?

We have several options for restricting or gating content. Organizations on the CultureConnect platform can choose to gate their full mobile guide, specific tours, and even specific pages which means you maintain authority over who has access to your content and who doesn’t. A technical summary on content gating is available on our knowledge base with a blog post coming soon.

We want users to mainly listen to the guide and look at the exhibits, but sometimes we want users on a Group Tour to have access to other content (images, translations etc). Is that possible?

Yes, you can navigate throughout the mobile guide while listening to the tour guide. Create tours or content pages that users can navigate to on their own while on the tour. This offers excellent opportunities for exploring hi-res images related to the tour, providing feedback through interactive modules, and access way-finding tools.

Do I have to download an app for this to work?

No. The web app version of your CultureConnect apps make this fast and easy for onboarding visitors so you can get the tour going!

How much does this cost?

Reach out to us here or at hello [at] cultureconnectme.com

Existing customers can contact us at support [at] cultureconnectme.com