Digital mediation in 4 key points
When the experience is global: connected, physical and mobile
At a time when professionals understand the importance of experience in tourism, let's use the example of digital mediation provided by the Richelieu-Chinon greenway application to illustrate the challenges of such a tool in a touring context.
1- Create consistency between media
From mobile applications and digital mediation, to physical mediation such as on-site leaflets, via in situ oral mediation... from the tourist's point of view, content can come from all sides, and even more so in a context of itinerant tourism, which can multiply the number of players!
It's essential to align all content sources on the same editorial line, which is sometimes difficult to maintain when there are many players, many media and many sources.
Consistency between mediation media is essential, whether in terms of the information distributed or the design if it applies, everything must be interdependent so as not to lose the user.
2- The right UX design
In the case of the Richelieu-Chinon cycle route, we had to work on an experience design adapted to use on a bicycle. The designer must take into account the specific use of the interface and the context in which it will be used, whether on a sofa, in a museum, on a hike or in a group. The medium must be chosen and taken into account in the same way. All these different uses must have an impact on the UX design of the mobile application. Matching usage to design is a key element. Before thinking product, think usage.
3- Renew the rhythm of the experience
The itinerant context is a particular challenge for digital mediation. A lack of interest in mediation can set in as the points of interest and stations along the route change.
On the Richelieu-Chinon cycle route, each station tackles a different theme, renewing the interest of the experience (gastronomy, Rabelais, nature, etc.). The games have also been designed with a global logic in mind, taking care to renew the dynamic at each stage.
4- Analyze your data
A digital tourism experience generates a vast amount of data, which is a real asset to be exploited. Analyzing data means first and foremost knowing how to identify it. What type of data is it? In what format? Is it easily accessible? Once this first level has been achieved, performance indicators (KPIs) can be used to manage the project over time, and to make the best decisions when it comes to modifying the project (a game that is never finished, a falling rate of use in English, etc.). A digital mediation project must live on over time, and the data generated provides a wealth of information on the use of the application, which should be exploited.
About the Voie Verte Richelieu-Chinon
Located between Touraine and Poitou, the voie verte is a 19.5 km route between Richelieu and Chinon, designed exclusively for pedestrians and cyclists, and accessible to people with reduced mobility. This former railroad line has been rehabilitated as a connected route, where a mobile application, rich in functionalities (selfies with 3D characters, augmented reality, games, etc.) complements and enriches the physical mediation.