Case Studies

 

Interactive destination marketing a reality

Beek specialises in making interactive destination a reality through 3D interactive destination guides promoting New Zealand regions, businesses, communities and facilities to visitors, making interactive destination marketing a reality.

Imagine you're going on a holiday to somewhere new and you want to stay in a nice area, where you can easily get to the places you want to visit. You look online and find a hotel listing site which has an interactive guide, showing you around the rooms, pool, and restaurant and even allows you to view the menu.  This is what Beek specialises in, making interactive destination marketing a reality through 3D guides promoting New Zealand regions, businesses, communities and facilities to visitors. 

Ben Knill, Director of Beek, first used the technology in the UK for real estate and other projects. “When I came to New Zealand I realised how important the tourism industry was and a few people mentioned that a common problem is helping visitors understand what destinations are like. I thought that what tourism operators need is a tool that helps them work together with tourism organisations in showing a visitor what a great experience they can have if they decide to come here. Hence we started Beek,”  he says.  
 
‘Beek Interactive Guide’ enables potential visitors explore a destination before they arrive. “You start exploring, and can quickly view the rooms, restaurant and pool. You can hear the concierge telling you the hotel story, you can pick up the menus, there’s video of people talking and having a good time all around you,” says Ben.  “You can use the guide book to find what shops and cafes are nearby; also to see what other attractions are close. You might find the beach is 10 minutes walk, looks clean and tidy and there’s a good local gallery with a great collection on at the time you're there.”
 
Beek it isn’t a website for visitors to come to and find destinations, hotels and restaurants, it’s a collaborative destination guide distributed via operator websites, partner websites, social media and very soon a mobile app. “We combine this concept with technology similar to Google Streetview, and include lots of video, sound, voice, pictures, information and other services to help the visitor gain a sense of experience,” says Ben.
 
Beek is a part of Wellington’s business incubator Creative HQ. “I first found out about Creative HQ from the Grow Wellington website, I wrote a massive business plan and came to meet the Grow Wellington team. They told me to stop thinking only about New Zealand, to think big and write a plan that can be scaled. I went away and came up with a new plan, and here we are,” says Ben.
 
Ben started in the Creative HQ programme in November 2009 and has developed a unique strategy around marketing destinations collaboratively and helping operators demonstrate the experience they offer a visitor. “Creative HQ has been awesome; I've met a huge network of people that would have taken me ages if I'd tried to do it on my own. I also learnt more relevant stuff about business in the first 6 months than I did on a 3 year business degree!” Says Ben.
 
Beek is currently helping over 70 operators in Wellington collaborate in attracting visitors including Interislander, Wellington Airport, Cable Car, Te Papa, Carter Observatory, St James Theatre, Intercontinental, Bolton, CQ hotels and many other attractions, restaurants, bars and public spaces.  In the process of expanding outside of Wellington, Beek has begun helping operators in Marlborough and the Wairarapa and is looking to expand to Auckland and Queenstown over the coming year.
 
Beek isn’t planning on slowing down anytime soon and are currently in the midst of releasing some exciting new features. They are working on a comprehensive reporting and guide administration tool, a Beek mobile player and offline app and they’re also getting into gaming. “Beek games including amazing races, treasure hunts and where’s Wally. We’re working with partners to make games that can be shared on social media and capture email addresses, or offer prizes and rewards,” says Ben.  They’re only just touching the surface of what Beek is capable of and are excited to continue to grow the capability of the product.