Marketing Britain digitally: Durham Lumiere app

By Steve Keenan

Yesterday, a new web app went live which allows you to select images, add effects, music and then project them on to a 3D model of Durham Cathedral.

The app, for This is Durham, is designed to help promote the Lumiere on November 14-17, when enormous-scale images are projected onto the real cathedral, and 26 other installations across the city. Held every two years since 2009, the last attracted 150,000 people.

So the Lumiere is a Big Deal. And in its third incarnation, the app has been developed to help promote the event digitally, the latest in a raft of tourism innovation starting to be seen across Britain.

It’s been a while but the concept of Marketing Britain through digital and social media innovation is taking a foothold across the country. And I get the feeling that there is going to be so much more to come.

Visit Isle of Wight joined in this summer, teaming up with 20th Century Fox and the BBC to create a Walking with Dinosaurs trail, whereby walkers can download augmented reality dinosaurs on tablets and smartphones.

The trail was launched to celebrate the countdown to a film, Walking With Dinosaurs: The 3D Movie, based on the TV series - due to for release on December 20.

The Durham app was developed by Gateshead agency R-evolution, and was inspired by Tokyo City Symphony - a 3D web app that also plays with images projected on to a scale map of the city.

Durham allows images from the county, the 2011 Lumiere or a design agency in Middlesbrough to be selected, then coupled with effects and five different music styles to create individual lumieres. Then ‘creators’ are invited to share their work on social media channels Facebook, G+ and Twitter.

In a neat twist, the lumieres get ‘liked’ on Facebook - and the most liked get on to a shortlist, which are then judged and a prize awarded. It doesn’t take too much of a leap of imagination to see how, in future, user-generated content (UGC) could be used in the app. Or indeed, projected onto Durham Cathedral itself.

Everybody would win. This is Durham gets usage of UGC, residents have the satisfaction and pride of their images being projected onto buildings across the city and lots of email addresses get snapped up talk directly to residents in future. Oh, and the app gets wide exposure through social and more people visit Durham to see the show, and stay a little longer to spend money.

Vive la revolution, say I. Marketing Britain digitally and socially has tons of potential, apps not withstanding. Video, Instgrammers, blogtrips… it’s only just begun.

* Visit Durham, Visit Cornwall, Visit England and i-Crossing (Visit Wales) will be taking part in a Marketing Britain Digitally seminar at World Travel Market on Tuesday November 5 at 3.45pm - entry free to registered show visitors.

Steve Keenan, moderator of the seminar, is co-founder of Travel Perspective, an editorially led consultancy that advises the travel and tourism industry on how best to tell a story in print, digital and social.