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In the era of the digital revolution, museums and cultural sites are facing important challenges. The question is how to take advantage of technological innovation to bring the visitor into close contact with heritage. Digital cultural mediation projects are part of this approach and offer avenues for proposing interactive and attractive content to a new audience that is familiar with digital tools.

What is digital cultural mediation?

Cultural mediation consists of establishing spaces for dialogue between the participants in a cultural experience, the artists and the cultural organization. It aims to stimulate public participation in cultural life in order to encourage forms of personal and collective appropriation.

Digital cultural mediation is defined as a set of digital technologies and computer supports implemented in physical or virtual places to meet the objectives of cultural mediation. It is important to distinguish between the use of digital technology to create traditional presentation objects such as digitized guidebooks in PDF format or audio guides and forms that exploit digital technology to create an interactive interface between the user and the cultural content. 

In this second case, it is an aid to the visit. These digital mediation devices are developed through computer programming using networks and software applications such as websites, mobile applications and social networks, and different media forms (image, video, text and audio).

What are the challenges of digital cultural mediation?

The development of information and communication technology (ICT) is a major challenge for cultural institutions. Digital mediation is increasingly appreciated and used by a wide category of the public, including single people, elderly couples, young people and teenagers. Multimedia tools complement the traditional text-based narrative. This leads us to ask some fundamental questions:

• How to enhance cultural content through digital devices?
• How can digital technology be used to serve the visitor and the educational discourse?
• What impact will digital mediation have on the visitor's experience of a museum or other cultural site?

The difference between teaching and cultural mediation

Museums and cultural sites are ideal places for learning and discovering historical and artistic heritage. Teaching through cultural visits provides useful information for learners to better understand museum collections or works of art. This is in addition to transmissions based on static documents or the intervention of a guide-lecturer to create a friendly atmosphere between the visitor and the cultural environment.

Cultural mediation aims to make the educational experience more dynamic and active by acting on emotions and feelings. Cultural mediation activities should:

• Accompany the visitor throughout the learning process;
• Reinforce the visitor's motivation to learn by himself;
• Stimulate critical thinking;
• Create a pleasure of learning;
• Adapt to the various expectations of visitors.

How to implement cultural mediation in museums?

From cultural mediation to digital mediation

In order to strengthen the links between the public and the cultural space, it is important to make the visitor's journey more attractive and immersive. Static observation of a work of art or cultural heritage can lead to a form of passivity despite the presence of content written on a label or the distribution of audio guides.

Digital mediation is at the service of cultural mediation. It fully engages the visitor through interactive screens, QR codes, NFC technology and applications that engage users to explore, search, compare, feel, act and express themselves. Digital mediation practices offer an excellent opportunity to activate perceptual memory.

Digital mediation in museums

Cultural mediation devices are evolving to take advantage of technological development. They can be classified into two types:

• Mobile tools that accompany visitors throughout their visit (web applications, NFC technology, etc.);
• Fixed tools installed such as tactile tables, lighting devices, video projections, etc.);

Digital mediation also includes fun activities such as games to animate the visit of children or virtual logbooks to keep n unforgettable memory of the visit. There are many ways to create a new experience in a museum. The common interest is to help the public to appropriate the work, the place and to explore its history. Augmented reality (AR) is one of the most popular modern digital devices. However, there are many other effective techniques for achieving these goals.

Discover the historical context of heritage in augmented reality

AR makes it possible to restore missing elements of historical heritage and make them visible in 3D. This facilitates the understanding of the significance of physical monuments (buildings, collections of objects, works of art, archives, etc.) as well as aspects of intangible heritage (languages, ways of life, skills, beliefs, customs, etc.).

Revealing the secrets of a work of art with augmented reality

Through applications designed for digital arts, AR allows the visitor to discover a work of art in depth by focusing on its size, the identity of its characters, its artistic complexity and its symbol. It is a unique audiovisual experience that immerses the visitor in the universe of the artwork.

Phygital marketing in museums

What kind of organizations benefit from digital cultural mediation?

Digital cultural mediation is integrated in different places and sectors of activity. It serves as a tool for social inclusion and for integrating the arts into public environments to make them more enjoyable. 

As an example, here is a list of organizations that benefit from digital cultural mediation:

• Cultural institutions: libraries, cultural centres, art galleries, etc;
• Museums and heritage institutions: museums, historic castles, cathedrals, archaeological sites, etc;
• Schools;
• Parks and public places;
• Circuits and tourist routes;
• And so on.

Examples of innovative digital cultural mediation tools

Many cultural venues around the world have invested in innovative digital cultural mediation tools to make their visit memorable and unique:

• QR codes and NFC chips to access the content of the city of Le Mans and learn more about its historical heritage;
• The "Our Territory, Our Identities" digital platform" digital platform digital platform, co-created with five school boards to showcase cultural objects and collections from the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ). The platform is mainly intended for teachers;
• Mobile applications like the American Museum of Natural History in New York;
• A 3D video game designed to make young people discover the Egyptian collections in the Royal Museum of Mariemont in Belgium;
• The interactive holograms of the Museum of Illusion in Madrid;
• The Escapes games of the Henri Dupuis Museum in Saint-Omer, the Mucem in Marseille or the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam;
• The Histopad used to visit the Palace of the Popes in Avignon, the Chambord castle and the Conciergerie in Paris. The tool is wonderful to project yourself into medieval life by moving the tablet in the majestic rooms of the castles;
• Virtual visits of the Louvre Lens thanks to the Uby robot;
• The immersive sound trail at the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte in Maincy, Paris
• The visit of the Hôtel de la Marine through the Confident connected headset with binaural sound technology, Paris;
• The immersive 4D films of the Cité du Volcan on Reunion Island, a French department in the Indian Ocean;
• The rediscovery of Vermeer's artistic painting The Girl with the Pearl (1665) using X-rays to reveal details of the original design of the work;
• An entirely digital exhibition created by the Arab World Institute to resurrect the thousand-year-old sites of Palmyra, Aleppo (Syria) and Mosul (Iraq) and explore the history of the Middle East.

Other digital cultural mediation devices

NFC technology

Proximity communication technology allows data to be exchanged between two devices, such as an interactive kiosk and a mobile phone, using a small chip. NFC technology offers access to contactless content via an Internet connection and in complete security.

QR codes

The QR code is a type of two-dimensional barcode. It can be read on a mobile device to quickly trigger an action such as visiting a website, displaying a phone number or making a payment, among others. 

Video mapping

Video mapping is a technique that consists of projecting light onto static objects to create an optical illusion. Video projection on monuments is the best known form of video mapping.

Virtual reality 

Virtual reality is a technology that uses a dedicated headset to immerse oneself in audiovisual content in 3D and with a 360° perspective that simulates reality.

Do you have a digital cultural mediation project in mind?

MySmartJourney is a digital platform specialized in the creation of digital cultural mediation projects. We use simple and interactive technological devices to make your visitors' journey enjoyable, entertaining and useful. Our goal is to provide visitors with a memorable experience and to encourage them to revisit and share your cultural site.

Discover the platform

Nowadays, the digital customer journey has become complex and difficult to trace. However, it is important to be able to trace the path taken by your prospects in order to offer them a positive visitor experience.

What is a digital customer journey?

The digital customer journey refers to an individual's journey through multiple touchpoints within your organization (e.g., website, mobile app, social media) that will ultimately result in a conversion event. 

Every company can use a customer's browsing history, transactions and contacts with the brand to understand their behavior. This allows them to create personalized offers, to better accompany the Internet user, but also to improve his buying experience and to set up a more adapted after-sales service.

The influence of digital on the customer journey

The advent of the digital world has changed the customer journey by adding new features, creating new steps and greatly altering customer behavior. The emergence of television commercials and websites have complemented the services offered by physical stores, newspapers and catalogues. 

With the rise of social media, instant messaging and apps, the digitization of the customer journey has completely changed the game. The digital journey has become more complex, bringing together a multitude of digital channels that allow them to discover the products and services offered by your company.

What are the stages of the digital customer journey?

The digital customer journey goes through three fundamental stages: 

• The discovery phase
• The evaluation phase
• The selection phase

1. The discovery phase

This first phase represents the discovery of a problem or the awareness of a need for the Internet user. The needs differ from one customer to another, but invite them to do research. It is therefore essential for your brand, organization or institution to stand out from the first searches by offering the answers they are looking for.

This help can be in the form of blogs, e-books, analysis reports, tutorials, etc. These publications offer the user a clear and detailed answer and allow them to better target their research. On the other hand, it allows your brand to stand out by showing that you understand the needs of your audience and by offering them free and accessible resources.

Market your on-site experience

2. The evaluation phase 

The second phase consists of conducting several searches. This way, the Internet user has a better idea of the products and services available on the market. This allows him to compare the various offers based on the opinions of other customers, the services, etc. But also by going on site to confirm his intuitions or the information he has gathered beforehand. At this stage, the customer journey becomes phygitalized and offers new contact points through digital applications, guides or paper documents.

At the same time, any company that wants to showcase its services at this stage must create engaging and unique content as well as share customer testimonials both on the web and in the locations where the experience is offered. The content should be both educational and entertaining to show your expertise to your customers.

3. The selection phase

At this point, the Internet user has armed himself with all the necessary information and now knows exactly what he needs. The customer's choice depends on the efforts made by each brand to highlight the benefits of its product or services. 

This can be done by offering a demo of the solution, a period to test the product, or by offering a warranty period. The most important thing during this stage is to be able to meet the expectations of the target audience and to respond specifically to their concerns. It is therefore necessary to create high value-added content that stands out from competitors. 

Why analyze the digital customer journey?

Analyzing the digital customer journey allows us to better understand their needs and identify their behavior in order to provide them with content adapted to their searches. This mapping also allows us to note all the friction points experienced by the Internet user in order to improve his experience. 

On the other hand, a good analysis of the customer journey helps any company to detect its weak points as well as the levers of its marketing and to make the necessary modifications to be more effective and profitable. This analysis involves the collection of various information on Internet users, such as: 

• Sales data 
• Navigation data on the website or on the web application
• Data from social networks
• Responses to customer satisfaction surveys
• The possible loyalty of the customer to your brand
• Etc.

Guide to digital cultural mediation 

3 tips to optimize your digital customer journey

1. Build on teamwork

The digital customer journey is constantly changing, and to ensure that you respond to these changes effectively, it is critical to engage all members of your team. Adapting to trends, staying operational at all times and delivering the best performance while being attentive to the specific needs of your customers is necessary to optimize your customer journey.

Each department of the company receives different feedback from the customer, between the purchase process, satisfaction surveys and interactions on social networks. Gathering all this data and sharing the answers received between the different teams allows tracing a clear digital journey, to detect the points to improve and the levers to optimize. Constant teamwork allows you to unify your brand image with your customers.

2. Create a personalized interactive customer experience

When you have in-depth customer journey analysis, you can build a clear profile of your personas and ensure that you deliver a personalized experience. This gives you a clear picture of your buyers, including age, preferences, geolocation, interests, behavior, buying process and impressions of the experience. When customers feel that the journey they are offered is personalized, they identify more with your brand and tend to become more loyal.

3. Be present through the different communication channels

The digital customer journey passes through various channels and supports that serve to answer the questions and requirements of the Internet user. It is therefore important to be present in all these channels in order to make the customer's path more fluid. An omnichannel digital strategy guarantees an interactive, harmonious and attractive experience.

6 ways to make your destination stand out

3 examples of digital customer journeys

1. Customer journey for visitors to a cultural or historical site

Thanks to MySmartJourney, historical sites as well as museums and art galleries can create a fun digital journey by engaging visitors with rich and varied multimedia content. These contents are highlighted and accessible to all tourists or travelers thanks to NFC technologies and QR codes. A memorable and unique experience for each visitor guarantees their loyalty to your content as well as their active participation in your marketing strategy by sharing the memories of their visit on social networks. 

How museums benefit from QR and NFC technologies 

2. An unforgettable experience for travelers 

Travelers are often thirsty for new experiences and want to make the most of their trip. Therefore, a great digital journey requires a deep understanding of travelers. This analysis allows you to offer personalized services through your platform, direct them to the right tourist attractions and facilitate their journey.

Phygital marketing as a strategy to connect travelers

3. An exceptional journey through the city's parks

To provide visitors with a sensory experience, you can develop games and scavenger hunts that link the virtual world to the physical world. Creating a digital journey that encourages the user to connect with their environment provides an unforgettable and personalized experience for each user. It's a guarantee of quality that optimizes customer engagement and promotes loyalty.

Tool for creating digital paths

MySmartJourney is a digital journey creation tool that includes various features to personalize your customer journey. With our platform, you can develop a phygital marketing strategy to boost your visitors' engagement. 

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MySmartJourney is a digital content management platform that provides a simple and intuitive solution for creating interactive multimedia experiences in public spaces. It can be used to enhance the customer experience, provide statistics on visitor behavior, boost visibility on social networks and manage queues, among other things. Our tool is fast and easy to use, all in a low cost per visitor formula.

Our goal is to make the user's experience as memorable as possible thanks to the various tools and functionalities of our platform that are specific to the animation of a public place. Contactless technology can be deployed on all devices, allowing you to let your imagination run wild in order to invent experiences and create memorable links with your customers or visitors.

What is the Selfie Booth?

The Selfie Booth is aMySmartJourney initiative that allows the user to create souvenir photos and share them on social networks. In an innovative and dynamic way, this feature encourages the tourism and cultural manager to actively participate in the design of the visitor journey. They can personalize the memory that the visitor will keep of his experience, thanks to this photo souvenir.

The Selfie Booth offers the visitor the possibility to personalize their photo by adding a watermark of the organization's logo and stickers. They can share their photo on their personal Facebook page as a testimony of their experience or as a souvenir.

With the rise of information and communication technology, it is important for cultural and tourism institutions to develop their customer journey in order to feed the evolving needs of their audience, seasons, political pressures. 

Guide to digital cultural mediation

What is the advantage of the Selfie Booth feature for businesses?

The Selfie Booth feature allows companies to provide customers with a variety of personalization options specific to their brand. When users of a company's website or visitors to a museum or even a national park use this feature, they are helping to create the company's brand image and participate in the collective marketing effort.

Thanks to the Selfie Booth, each user has the opportunity to create a personalized and unique photo that will mark the experience with your brand or institution. This memory can then be shared through various social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

This publication, accompanied by a caption and a hashtag, will link to a direct promotion of the experience, thus encouraging more people to try your experience. Thus, the user is no longer just a passive consumer, but becomes an important pillar in the marketing strategy by giving visibility to the company through its networks.

Whether it's a museum, an art gallery, a hotel or a city park, this feature maximizes visitor engagement and optimizes satisfaction. The Selfie Booth also fits perfectly into a phygital marketing approach that promotes brand loyalty while giving a real and entertaining dimension to the digital journey.

Phygital marketing as a strategy to connect travelers

Does the Selfie Booth save pictures?

The Selfie Booth is a tool that can be used in many ways. Users can choose to save the photos, upload them to their mobile devices or share them through various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. 

How museums benefit from QR and NFC technologies

How do I create a memory with the Selfie Booth?

To create a memory on the Selfie Booth, simply access the appropriate link through the QR Codes and NFC tokens provided and use this tool to upload a photo or take a new one. Once the photo is taken, you can make various modifications to incorporate stickers to create a special look. These photos, once shared on social networks, include a link to the MySmartJourney platform showing a free advertisement from the client.

Test the Selfie Booth

Personalize your photos with MySmartJourney

MySmartJourney offers the ability to create interactive experiences for art galleries, historical sites, museums, hotels, etc. to enhance their customer journey. We provide our clients with several features, such as the Selfie Booth, which allows you to create personalized photos. 

It is a simple-to-use tool that allows you to take or upload photos and then make the appropriate changes to create memorable souvenirs. Merging the physical world with the digital world becomes child's play, but above all an accessible tool to entertain, educate and amuse your visitors and customers.

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In January 2022, in Quebec City, MySmartJourney received $100,000, the first Excellence Grant offered by the Mt Lab's Tourism Innovation Program.

This grant, made possible by the $10 million fund granted by the Ministry of Tourism, "aims to strengthen young innovative companies with high growth potential in tourism that have shown strong signs of success and to offer additional support to help them improve their product or service," said the Mt Lab.

At the heart of the tourism revival

Heavily impacted by the COVID pandemic, the tourism industry is going through a period of crisis that requires profound transformations. How to respect sanitary measures without degrading the visitor experience? How to deal with the shortage of manpower? How do you attract visitors and get the word out when you are a destination?

These constraints that are forcing the industry to reinvent itself, MySmartJourney saw them as an opportunity. The startup born in 2018 challenged itself to understand the new constraints of its industry to evolve its service offering and provide a unique combination: a solution that addresses more economic and health constraints while providing an enhanced experience for visitors.

What is MySmartJourney?

The MySmartJourney platform is a simple tool for delivering multimedia information in public places. It serves as an interactive signage, docking station, audio tour or relay to reservation systems. Visitors can instantly access the content with their cell phone. 

The platform is used by several clients such as the Quebec City airport, the Huron-Wendat museum or the Monville hotel to rethink and automate service processes while enriching the user experience by offering more simplicity and efficiency. 

Over 100 projects

The solution is also used in over 100 tourism projects to create compelling interactive multimedia experiences that surprise and engage visitors. At the heart of the platform is a library of features that creators can combine to design their tour scenarios: audio, video, augmented reality, quizzes, photobooths, etc. And all this with a contactless experience that respects health constraints. 

In a context of strong uncertainty, the MySmartJourney solution meets the industry's need to implement quick solutions, to experiment, to test things, to be able to easily improve or abandon them and this, at a lower cost. To adapt to a crisis, flexibility is a must. 

"We observe that the easier, more adaptable and flexible our technology is to use, the more our clients take it to innovate", says Isabelle Lopez, founder and president. 

What is MySmartJourney's next objective?

Develop the French market

"We have the ambition to become a global reference in interactive communication in public spaces," she says. The company proved to the jury its potential for growth and innovation, as well as its desire to grow further.

MySmartJourney began investing this major sum to develop the French market, which remains the world's leading tourist destination. "Since the beginning, we wanted to establish ourselves in France, especially since we already have two clients there, the Écomusée de Saint-Nazaire and the city of Le Mans. Now, we plan to open an office there and to seek a market share.

Innovate to improve

The Tourism Innovation Program is made possible by a $10 million fund from the Ministry of Tourism. As announced in May 2021, this new financial program "aims to democratize innovation for the entire tourism industry in Quebec and to accelerate the realization of structuring projects to enhance the quality of the offer of tourism businesses. 

The president of MySmartJourney, Isabelle Lopez, was delighted with this initiative, which came to support 18 other Quebec businesses at the beginning of 2022. "This fund provides a vital boost to growing companies that are agents of positive change; with this program, the Quebec government is sending a clear message about the importance it places on innovation at the heart of our industry," she concluded. 

What are the benefits of the excellence grant?

Thanks to the grant, MySmartJourney was able to conduct several commercial missions in France and Europe. Among the events in which the company was able to participate are the Hacking de l'Hôtel de Ville, IFTM Top Résa, PiXii in France and the Kikk festival in Belgium. 

The exchange also gave the company the opportunity to meet with players from tourist offices, museums and cultural organizations who are now familiar with MySmartJourney's value proposition. 

At the 24h of Le Mans, the technology was used to enhance the mythical race, offer more information on the program and popularize the technical terms. In La Rochelle, during the PiXii Festival in the spring, the solution was deployed to accompany visitors during their waiting time before participating in the experiences. 

And since July 2022, Destination Rennes has become a client of the company.

Thanks to this grant, Isabelle Lopez was able to validate the relevance and usefulness of the solution on the French market.

So much progress accomplished

We offer a recap of Sophie Ginoux's article, released on November 16, 2021 on the Panier bleu’s blog.

In recent years, consumers and food retailers have been looking for more transparency from producers. New issues are being put forward in the food chain sector, around product quality, the environment and production ethics.

New concerns about transparency

What are the existing controls in the food sector?

There are currently two controls on imported and made in Canada products.

Regulatory control

Regulatory control is in the form of a license, issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. It applies to all importers, producers and processors in Canada. It not only ensures food safety, but also tracks harmful products and recalls them if necessary.

The normative control

The normative control is implemented in some large food banners: Costco, Metro, Loblaw. It is a certification given by an external auditor before the arrival in the big stores.

Two certifications are present in Canada:

• Good Manufacturing Practice which is accessible to small food companies;
• Global Food Initiative, which allows complete traceability of the product, its ingredients and its packaging, and thus helps reduce fraud.

Why do you want more transparency for food products?

There are currently no regulations that guarantee zero risk in food. The scandals of recent years prove this. In 2019, European frozen products were sold as being made with beef, when in fact it was horse meat. Similarly, beef has been sold as veal. Finally, in Quebec itself, the Buttergate scandal uncovered the use of palmitic acid in cow feed on 22% of Quebec dairy farms.

What is the current state of this transparency and traceability in the food sector?

In the current state, transparency and traceability in the food sector are minimal. The label and the packaging of the majority of the products give only succinct information, such as

• the name of the product,
• the name and address of the company that produced, processed or distributed it,
• its net weight,
• a list of ingredients,
• a table of nutritional values,
• the mention of allergens,
• a production and expiration date,
• sometimes a label - Product of Quebec or Ocean Wise

But this information does not allow us to know the country of origin of the product nor its different ingredients. It also does not provide information on how it was manufactured, where it was moved or if it was cut off from the cold chain during its transformation process.

The need for a new mode of communication

An opening towards transparency in the food industry

In response to this growing consumer demand, companies are beginning to open up to greater transparency; giving buyers more information about their products through websites or QR codes.

Information made available to consumers

In Canada, several producers have chosen to develop a website on which various information is provided.

• The Fédération des producteurs d'œufs du Québec uses a coding system for eggs directly on the shell. This code, once entered on their website, allows to know the origin of the product. A similar system exists in France. A code, written directly on the shell, allows to know the origin of the egg and its farming method (organic, free-range, battery).
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• The Regroupement des pêcheurs professionnels du sud de la Gaspésie attaches a medallion with a code to the lobsters, which makes it possible to find out who fished it, where, and even to have access to a video of the fisherman.
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A platform has also been developed to share information. Participating manufacturers can thus transmit more information on their products to Canadian consumers. Currently, nearly 4,000 products are listed on the platform, mainly health and beauty products. However, this is still a small number compared to the nearly 90,000 products listed in the United States.

• For more information

Accessing product information with a QR code or NFC chip

Increasingly present in our daily lives, QR codes are emerging as a viable solution to the need for transparency. Unlike websites that require a search to find all the information you want, QR codes bring the consumer directly to the product page, without having to do any additional research.

. “Their uses] are multiple!" confirms Isabelle Lopez of MySmartJourney. They can build customer loyalty by directing them to ideas for uses or recipes that will encourage them to repurchase the product. They also lend themselves to cross-selling; for example, we will propose a pairing of cheese purchased with a beer. Finally, the content accessed can vary according to the season or the time of day, or the meals that are consumed. They can even be integrated into an advertising campaign conducted by the company on several media. These are great tools to enhance a brand, its practices and its values."

The use of the QR code in the food sector

Some producers and manufacturers have already started using QR codes to increase contact with their consumers.

La Courgerie case study

In Lanaudière, La Courgerie and its Jardiniers gourmands have chosen to use QR codes for several reasons: mediation, information on products in the store, promotion and accompaniment to the home, and training for employees.

Les Virées Gourmandes Case Study

Another organization, Les Virées Gourmandes de la Montérégie, offers year-round limited edition boxes that allow people to discover the region's producers. QR codes are added to a magazine inside the box, and allow to refer to the different products and producers. But the organization has chosen to go further by integrating QR codes directly on the products, as this offers an exceptional penetration rate compared to other means of communication.

Connected packaging to improve the customer experience in the food industry

QR codes can also inform the buyer about the packaging used and the concept of sustainability. Published on May 4, 2022 on the Ministry of Economy and Innovation website, the article introduces the notion of sustainable packaging for consumer goods. In an intention of sustainable development, the packaging should be thought in the idea of being recyclable, preferably without plastic and low producers of greenhouse gases. A QR code would explain to the consumer the company's choices on packaging, but also how to recycle them.

A relevant advertising tool

Secure and fast

In concrete terms, QR codes and NFC chips, combined with a powerful and versatile web platform, are reliable technologies to transmit information and reassure consumers. They are also a great training tool for employees, especially in a context of manpower shortage. They allow for the automation of certain consumer services, such as payment or returns. One service already offered in Asia is the ability for consumers to do their grocery shopping remotely while at work or on the go.

Personalization for customers

Using QR codes or NFC chips can also personalize the consumer experience. It is easy to integrate recipe ideas that encourage redemption, but also the discovery of products from partner producers.

The content accessed can also vary according to the season or time of day and offer a new experience to the customer at every moment. Offer contests and promotions at a specific time. But also integrate with advertising campaigns conducted by the company on several media.

What other tools are there to make products more transparent?

There are still many other tools to make the blockchain more transparent. Artificial intelligence can radically change the customer experience in stores, and automate certain processes. While in Europe, Blockchain technology consists in the decentralized and secured management of information, where each intermediary directly records the information related to its role.

Check out Isabelle Lopez's conference at the Living Lab

The accelerating digital transition in the tourism and cultural sector has opened the door to a whole new way of informing visitors in public places. Technology can offer a multitude of opportunities for you to reinvent the traditional guided tour to discover a city.

What is a digital tour?

A digital tour is a way to convey information about a site to visitors in a simple and effective way. With the help of videos and documents, a visitor can discover information about a site, the activities offered nearby and much more! This digital tool facilitates communication with different visitors and promotes your activities in an interactive way.

How to make a good digital tour for the general public?

If you intend to use a technological means to make your visitors discover a place in an interactive way, many possibilities are available to you. But attracting attention outside of a facility can be difficult! The question that arises is: How do you engage visitors online in an urban environment?

Focus on an accessible web application

A good web application can allow visitors to obtain information quickly and easily. For example, QR codes or NFC chips located in strategic places can help engage the user, who will have access to informative content instantly through his phone, without downloading an application.

Leave the choice to the user

Capturing the attention of visitors in a noisy, hectic and distracting environment like a city takes some work. Offering interactive content experiences that vary in length and allowing them to "skip parts" of the experience are a good way to keep participants engaged. Also, by imposing a pre-determined path, the visitor's interest in the content may fade. To stay in the mindset, freedom of movement is key. Here, the best thing is to disorganize the visit in order to better organize it.

Giving back control to the visitor during the digital journey

The Weasels of the Plateau

This is what MySmartJourney has done in the context of the project Les Fouines du Plateau, in collaboration with the Borough of Plateau Mont-Royal, an interactive walking tour for families.

The idea of this "disorganized" digital tour is to make visitors want to come back to the site and relive the experience from a different angle.

Aki project with the Sherbrooke History Museum

In the same vein, the Aki project, deployed by the Sherbrooke History Museum, offers Sherbrooke citizens and tourists the means to discover the history of the city's heritage buildings at their own pace. QR codes are installed on storefronts. They provide information, archival photos and quizzes along the streets.

Port of Québec Rally Project

Finally, the Port of Quebec invites walkers to participate in a historical rally. In the form of a stroll through the port, posters enriched with QR codes and NFC chips invite you to observe the places around you. A discovery without order, but a map has been integrated to the route for those who wish to do it all.

Offer light content

Here, the 90-second rule is the key! Grabbing the attention of passers-by and keeping it depends on the content offered. Starting with light, fun and dynamic information and then proposing more serious, but still interactive information can work in your favor. A technology that is heavy can quickly lose the user, and therefore, cause the abandonment of the experience. Given the traffic and urban distractions, a short, intense experience is better than a longer, less dynamic one.

Provide a concrete experience

According to Isabelle Lopez, CEO of MySmartJourney, "the screen should serve as a bounce-back point and an anchor to take one's gaze outside." With the Fouines du Plateau, the goal is to bring visitors to discover places and businesses in real time. The bounce-back effect is achieved through fairly direct content that appeals to the senses of visitors, in this case, families.

Thinking of creating a unique interactive tour in the city?

Using existing technology can be advantageous! In addition to saving time, using a proven tool will help you quickly identify your own needs. Among other things, this keeps the user active and engaged in the proposed experience. Also, bugs are rarer with existing platform models.

Creating an interactive walking tour in the city has never been easier!