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Road Trip: IRELAND app
Overview
Cultural Roadmapp Enterprises Limited is a travel technology startup company on a mission to reinvent the road trip. Its flagship product, a hands-free GPS-triggered audio tour app, allows users to experience the depth of local culture through immersive audio content such as exclusive interviews, music, poetry, narration, and so much more as they drive through iconic routes worldwide.
Their first initiative, created on the STQRY platform, is an app called Road Trip: IRELAND. It includes a series of GPS-triggered audio tours exploring seven counties along Ireland’s 1500-mile Wild Atlantic Way driving route, starting with County Clare. Nothing quite like this audio tour for motorists existed previously.
Having recently earned prestigious international, Irish, and American media awards, Cultural Roadmapp will expand its offerings in the near future with plans for exciting literary and popular culture audio tour apps for Europe and the U.K.
The Challenge
The Cultural Roadmapp team wanted to create a more authentic and immersive road trip experience and showcase all that Ireland has to offer. When the company’s Founder/CEO Deborah Schull and president Dr. Leah Bernini Cronin conceptualized the Cultural Roadmapp audio tour, they knew a GPS-enabled app would allow them to build out their idea.
Instead of making random stops along a route, visiting different sites and possibly missing out on some of the most interesting landmarks and stories of the
area, a road trip audio tour could highlight the best aspects of the area that visitors crave when traveling. Instead of just seeing the sights, they could also listen to folklore, learn the history, and truly experience the culture.
“We wanted to offer world travelers an experience like no other—a unique immersion into the culture and heritage along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way driving route, inspired directly by the people, literature, and music of the island,” said Schull.
The Cultural Roadmapp team could easily handle the content piece of the app. Schull is an award-winning audio tour script writer, creating tours for clients such as the Reagan Library, Smithsonian Institution, and New York Botanical Garden in her career history. Cronin is an ethnographer and musician trained in Ireland. Schull and Cronin also had a personal connection to the area itself after living in Ireland for years.
“We take seriously our role in not only providing entertainment and inspiration, but also in helping to preserve Ireland’s cultural heritage by recording the oral histories and music/literary performances around which the audio tours revolve,” said Dr Cronin. “We were honored that this contribution was recognized by the Irish Traditional Music Archive, which invited us to house our 200+ hours of audio recordings in its national repository in Dublin.”
The rich history of Ireland combined with Schull’s and Cronin’s expertise was a recipe for success. All they were missing was the supporting app technology and distribution. “The culture and heritage along this touring route (the longest in the world) is prodigious and incredibly rich. Yet, no existing driving app focuses on the Wild Atlantic Way or on its cultural heritage,” said Schull.
The Solution
The STQRY team was able to help Cultural Roadmapp create the road trip audio tour experience they were envisioning with their technology and customer support. With GPS triggers, in-app recommendations for stops en route, and expertly curated content, Cultural Roadmapp’s Road Trip: IRELAND app has been a huge asset for explorers of the area.
“The app has an abundance of helpful and user-friendly features,” said Schull. “One of the most standout features is the hands-free GPS technology, which immediately transports listeners to the depths of authentic Irish culture. This feature is key, as one can admire the landscape while listening to the audio content.”
The app connects to location-triggered geo alerts that play the audio tour over the vehicle’s sound system to create an intimate and engaging experience from the comfort of the user’s own car.
Aside from local interviews, literary reads, humor, music, and other illuminating audio content, the app includes personally curated recommendations on places to go and a fun scavenger hunt for hidden gems along the route. All of these extra features allow the user to create a uniquely personalized experience, whether they’re traveling alone, on a romantic getaway, or with family and friends. The app has also created a safe experience for travelers exploring the area during the pandemic—an advantage that Cultural Roadmapp didn’t anticipate, but is undoubtedly useful nonetheless. “In this age of COVID, the fact that one can experience culturally immersive travel while maintaining social distancing is a unique benefit,” said Schull.
This idea speaks to the larger value of digital experiences as we move into a post-COVID world. Travel in the future may look very different, with a higher emphasis on a more personalized, socially distant, and safe experience (just like the Road Trip: IRELAND app).
— Deborah Schull, Founder/CEO, Cultural RoadmappOne of the most standout features is the hands-free GPS technology, which immediately transports listeners to the depths of authentic Irish culture. This feature is key, as one can admire the landscape while listening to the audio content.
The Result
After the success of Road Trip: IRELAND, Cultural Roadmapp plans to take this audio experience to travelers on iconic driving routes worldwide in the coming years. “Developing our four-part series of audio tours for Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way driving route has given us a prototype that we can now confidently use as a model for our future app productions,” said Schull.
This expansion is already in production. The series’ second tour, Cork & Kerry, is set to launch in Summer 2021. They also have Galway & Mayo and Sligo & Donegal tours coming in 2022, and plan to re-launch the Clare tour this Spring.
Road Trip: IRELAND’s immersive app experience has earned Cultural Roadmapp acclaim from all over the world, including awards such as Ireland’s Digital Media Award (Best Use of Mobile), America’s Interpretive Media Award (Digital Media), and the international Travel & Hospitality Award (Best Cultural Tour Operator - Ireland).
This praise extends to the app’s user base as well. “Users of our audio tour app for motorists have been unanimously enthusiastic, and particularly appreciative of the way it lets them immerse themselves in original, exclusive, unvarnished cultural content,” said Schull.
Road tripper and app user Frank O. admired the union of modern technology with historical knowledge of the area. “Amazing and enchanting content combined with a visionary application of technology.” User Ian M. echoed this sentiment saying, “Fantastic idea and great implementation. A really creative and helpful way to help travelers get the ‘real Ireland’ beyond the touristy areas.”
Schull was grateful for STQRY’s support throughout the initial app build and beyond. “As a small, bootstrapped startup, we are learning the technology as we go,” she said. “We have had only positive experiences working with STQRY and its prior iterations; our contacts at the company have always been there for us to answer questions and advise on best practices...We’re glad they are constantly enhancing the platform.”
If you’re visiting Ireland any time soon, download the Road Trip: IRELAND app and experience the “real Ireland” as you drive through this enchanting country.
Key App Features:
GPS-Enabled Content, Autoplay Audio, Multimedia Content, Advanced Mapping
Key App Functionality:
Interpretation (audio guide, tours), Driving Tours, Self-guided Tours, Online and Offline Capabilities, Educational Resource
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