Scotiabank’s sponsorship of Toronto’s Nuit Blanche downtown art festival this weekend is expanding into the mobile realm this year with the launch of the new Night Nav app.
Developed jointly by Toronto-based tech companies POIFriend and Simply Good Technologies, the new app uses image capture technology synched with the GPS feature built into many smartphones to provide maps and other info to Nuit Blanche goers. Promoted throughout event advertising (including print and OOH), it has been downloaded 2,000 times since it launched last week.
Available from the official event site, the app features title sponsors’ Scotiabank and City of Toronto branding prominently. Both logos are featured on the landing page and throughout most of the page views. It also includes the Scotiabank Voter’s Choice tool, which allows people to vote on their favourite installation.
Getting behind the app dovetailed well with Scotiabank’s sponsorship goals, Scotiabank SVP marketing John Doig tells MiC. ‘The Night Nav application demonstrates that we are constantly seeking to enhance our customers’ experience of the event,’ he says. ‘This new technology is an integral aspect of Scotiabank’s sponsorship goals of helping make events like Scotiabank Nuit Blanche and contemporary art more accessible to the public.’
Users can take advantage of the app by taking a photo of Nuit Blanche-specific signage, located at each project, info booth and on the event map. The user can then use it to get directions, get more info about each piece or recommend it to friends.
Although the app was developed with wider promotional uses in mind, POIFriend CEO and co-founder Bill McLean tells MiC, it was realized that it would be a perfect fit for a multiple-location event like Nuit Blanche, so the two companies pitched Scotiabank on the idea, which then brought it to the City of Toronto. ‘Scotiabank Nuit Blanche was a perfect opportunity because there’s such a strong location basis and there’s such a strong ability to, in real time, change your decision making as to what you want to participate in,’ he explains.
