In Indianapolis, Visit Indy—the city’s CVB—debuted a highly interactive and information-packed tech tool that planners considering the city should have on their radar.
And while the Indy Touch table, with its 65-inch monitor, might not have the portability of a smart phone or tablet, it definitely has the capability to help planners before and during an Indy event. The high-tech table displays dynamic city maps enhanced by a wealth of info on attractions, dining, meeting venues and much more.
“The Indy Touch machine is housed in our offices at the Indiana Convention Center, but we plan to use it at trade shows and on sales trips to cities like Chicago and D.C., as well as during site visits, pre-cons and other relevant events around the city,” says Lisa Wallace, communications manager, conventions and meetings. “There are many applications for planners in both the sales and services phases of planning their meetings.”
Among the ways Wallace suggests planners use the dynamic high-tech tool are connecting with Visit Indy at the trade shows they attend and/or the sales missions they undertake; on site visits to Indianapolis, where it can quickly review the day’s activities and locations of relevant hotels, meeting space, event venues, dining options and entertainment; or integrating the machine into an Indy event for attendees to experience, though there is a hard cost for shipping in those instances.
She adds that Indy Touch allows for customized information on its more than 480 “hotspots” to be selected and then placed into a virtual “shopping cart,” where it can be e-mailed to the planner. The techie tool also showcases 10 videos on the city’s gamut of cultural neighborhoods and meeting spaces—which can be used in marketing collateral for any planners seeking to drive attendance to an event in the city.
