Guide by Cell enhances visitor engagement in cultural institutions through mobile technology, solving issues like declining attendance and traditional audio tour limitations. By allowing patrons to use their smartphones for interactive audio tours and augmented reality, they create memorable experiences while increasing donations and feedback opportunities. The company has serviced 4,000 clients globally, including notable institutions like Bruce Museum and Monterey Bay Aquarium.

1. Visitors All Learn Differently
Mobile Helps Them Choose Their Own Path
Tuesday, March 19

2. About Guide by Cell
● Cloud-based, no downloads
● 14 years in business
● No company in U.S. offers our
unique approach & tools
● 4,000 clients in 10 countries
○ Bruce Museum
○ Monterey Bay Aquarium

3. What problem does
Guide by Cell
solve?

4. We help solve the problem of
visitor engagement
● Attendance down or flat
● Competition for visitors attention
● No one wants to use a bulky tape deck
for an audio tour
● Using traditional fundraising methods

5. We know how to
increase engagement
● Encourage patrons to use their cell phones at the
museum by offering an audio tour
● Provide added content with a smartphone tour
● Invite visitors interaction with Augmented Reality and
GPS wayfinding
● Create text messaging games and interactions
● Increase donation with our mobile fundraising tools

6. Secret Ingredients
● Visitors use their own phone to dial in to an
audio tour
● Create a mobile web page for every exhibit
with more information than can fit on a
traditional wall sign

7. Our Speakers
David Asheim
Founder/CEO
Guide by Cell
Mary Ann Lendenmann
Volunteer Program Manager/
New Media Developer
Bruce Museum

9. Facts about
Bruce Museum
● An art and natural history museum in Greenwich, Connecticut
● Educates visitors about through art and natural history exhibits that
include a live marine animal touch tank

10. How are you using
mobile?
To provide the general public with more
detail about the exhibits that they are expecting

11. Mobile
Helping cultural institutions use phones
to create memorable experiences
Take the
Bruce Museum Tour
DIAL 203-653-6722, Press 4#

12. Cellphone Tour
● Prompted by numbered signs
by each exhibit, the user calls in
audio line for the museum
● Can select audio stop by
number or progress from stop
to stop
● Past audio tours have included
interviews with museum staff,
the artist for that exhibit, or
history about the exhibit

13. How did you market tour?

14. Average Age of
Visitors
● Are patrons families? Seniors? Younger crowd?
● How do clientele demographics impact what is
displayed in the museum?

15. Do visitors
like it?
● How much usage do you get on your audio tour?
● What kind of feedback have you received?

16. Different
Learning Styles
● Not every museum visitor learns best by
joining a docent-led museum tour
● Some learn better as individuals, going at
their own pace

17. Greenwich High
School Exhibit

18. Greenwich High
School Exhibit

19. Easy to Set up
"No more intimidating than using a
phone even for those who fear
computers and keyboards”

20. How did you
fund the audio guide?

21. Reports
What can you learn from
your visitors?

22. Audio Reports

23. Audio Reports

24. Audio Reports

25. Others uses
of our services

26. Smartphone Tour
● Visitor texts a keyword into a
shortcode and is sent a link to
a mobile web site
● The mobile site can hold any
kind of content - Audio,
Video, Forms, Polls, PDFs, etc.

27. Marketing
● Membership sign up - encourage
visitors to sign up for email list or
receive a text with a link to a form
● Promote events or special deals
● Post visit curator auto-calling

28. Development
Screencast -
Fundraising
Thermometer for
live events

29. Development
● Mobile Give - Allow donors to
give in amounts from $5-$25
which is taken directly from their
phone bill

30. Text Chat
● When patrons text in a keyword to a
shortcode, they can opt in to receive text
messages from the museum throughout
the day
● Visitors can also text in questions about
an exhibit or general information about
the the museum

31. Feedback/Survey
● Patrons can call in to an audio
line to leave feedback about
their visit
● If a visitor has opted in for
text messaging during their
visit, you can send them a text
at the end of the day with link
to a mobile survey

32. Scavenger Hunt
● Set up a list of clues (often based on a
particular theme)
● Visitor texts in to receive their first clue and
search around the museum for the answer
● When they text in the answer, they receive
their next clue

33. Employee Communication
SMS alerts to all
docents with
important
information

34. Augmented Reality
● Augmented Reality is a new
technology which can unlock
hidden content by simply
pointing your cell phone at an
exhibit
● When the cell phone recognizes
the target (exhibit), it reveals a
layer of content which sits on top
of the image
● This content-on-demand can
display video, audio, interactive
timelines, games or animation

35. Pros/Cons of AR

36. Various AR
Services

37. Thank You
David Asheim
dave@guidebycell.com
Mary Ann Lendenmann