One of the clients of Guide ID is the Rijksmuseum Twenthe. The audio tours for the Podcatcher are developed by Josien Beltman. She started working as a member of the educational staff and a tour guide in 2008. Josien was given the task of selecting the audio tour supplier.

The Rijksmuseum Twenthe had already decided that there had to be an audio tour. A good choice, if you ask Josien. “A device with a small screen is also very nice,” she says, “but the danger of this is that attention will drift away from the main task.” The Podcatcher makes a combination of looking and listening possible.
Josien chose the Podcatcher. Over the years, Josien has developed a great many tours. “My first tours consisted simply of a piece of text”, she explains. But the Podcatcher can do more. For example, with the Podcatcher it is possible to create a menu for the visitors. The Podcatcher gives visitors more in-depth information on a piece in the exhibition with a push of a button.

This is why Josien decided to take a different approach to the audio tour for the Abstract USA exhibition. She started this audio tour with a brief introduction with the most important points. This is a menu for visitors who require more information. The scan system also makes it possible for people to decide whether they want to view an exhibit or not. “The Podcatcher gives users freedom of choice!” according to Josien.

Currently, Josien is working on the audio tour for the Ladies & Gentlemen exhibition. In this exhibition the Rijksmuseum Twente presents British portraits from the 18th century. Josien is bubbling with ideas for this audio tour. The idea is to allow the ladies and gentlemen in the exhibition to speak for themselves. “We let the characters tell their own stories!” explains Josien. And the choices enable visitors to decide whether they want to hear more from this person. Thanks to the flexibility of the Podcatcher and the creativity of Josien this once again promises to be a pleasure for the eyes and the ears! See you in the Rijksmuseum!

The more complex the device, the greater the risk of faults. This is also the case for an audio tour. Simplicity is a must for optimum functionality. That is what typifies the Podcatcher. The Podcatcher is known for its simplicity.

Loose wires, knots in the headphone cable and complicated option menus – none of this promotes comfort during an audio tour. After all, the idea is for visitors to be able to experience the exhibition without disturbance, without being distracted by technology or devices. A satisfaction survey amongst visitors of the Singer Laren revealed that the Podcatcher meets the wishes of the visitors.

Simplicity for visitors
The Podcatcher system is very simple. IDentifiers are placed next to each of the exhibits. Scanning these activates the playback of the audio segment.

You use the Podcatcher in the same way as a mobile Phone, to your ear. Earplugs or earphones are not necessary. A major advantage according to the visitors. They regard audio tours with headphones as unhygienic and unpractical. In contrast, the Podcatcher allows you to interact with visitors, so that you are not isolated from your partner. And this is very convenient, because a visit to a museum is frequently a trip that you want to experience together.

Simplicity for reception desk staff
Besides the visitors, the museum staff also benefit from a simple audio tour. Everything must run smoothly at the distribution point. If the system is too complicated the reception desk staff become concerned about handing something out that they do not understand. A short and concise explanation of the operation of the audio tour is a must. In addition, it is essential that the distribution involves the minimum number of actions. This will prevent long queues and enables reception desk staff to enjoy issuing the tour.

In terms of an audio “less is more”. A simple audio tour promotes comfort for both visitors and reception desk staff.

A new year, new opportunities and new plans. 2012 is a year in which museums are being challenged to find new sources of income. The 200 million Euro that the Cabinet is fishing out of the culture purse must be found elsewhere.

These cuts have greatly encouraged museums to think in commercial terms. After all, money has to be earned. Guide ID understands the situation of the museums and has therefore created a special price model for them...

No financial investment, but there is extra income.
It works as follows. You write the texts and we provide the voice, the studio recordings and sufficient Podcatchers. You then actively rent the audio tour out at the ticket kiosk. We subsequently divide the proceeds of the renting operation. It is that simple!

The tour can be expanded later. You can add more languages, or a special children’s tour, such as in the World Museum. The content can be changed 24/7 with the online Tour Editor. There is also permanent access to the online analytics, with which you can monitor the behaviour of your visitors.

Added value for your visitors
An audio tour adds value to your museum. Visitor research has revealed that an audio tour is essential for visitors. The same research showed that the Podcatcher is ideally suited to the wishes of the visitors.

Visitors are prepared to pay for an audio tour! Would you like to boost your income? Call us in order to discuss the possibilities.

To start, we wish you a wonderful 2012! And good resolutions are part of a New Year. The good resolution of Guide ID is to continue to improve ourselves. Our mission “convenience for everyone” is therefore as follows for 2012: EVEN MORE convenience for an EVEN LARGER public...

In recent months, Guide ID has devoted a great deal of work to its own iPhone App. The point of departure was what you can expect from us – convenience for everyone!

An App is a small application that you can install on your smartphone. Our App activates content by means of QR codes. The barcode system was developed in Japan many years ago. It was discovered that it was so handy that it is used for a multitude of purposes all over the world today. For example, it is an ideal system for use in museums.

The QR codes are placed next to the works of art. It is an extremely user-friendly and simple system. As with the Podcatcher, all you need to do is scan. The App on the smartphone then translates the bar code and plays the relevant section of the audio tour. Extra content in the form of photos can also be offered with this App.

One central system for flexible content
Using the App makes the audio tour even more attractive for an even larger public! And it all stays simple for museums. The Podcatcher and the App are supplied with content by a single system. There is one tour editor with which the content for both the Podcatcher and the App is developed.

We are launching the iPhone App in the first quarter of 2012, so that museum visitors can enjoy an audio tour through their own headphones. Naturally, for visitors without a smartphone there is still always the Podcatcher. After all, Guide ID delivers convenience for everyone!

We look forward to a surprising, innovative and comfortable 2012!

From 13 January 2012 the Kröller-Müller museum presents a new audio tour, written and recorded by Nico Dijkshoorn (in Dutch).

The tour will be added to the regular tour (Podcatcher) and is guaranteed to offer a fresh new perspective on art and on famous pieces from the collection. Humorous, sometimes abrasive, but also surprisingly personal and always with a conspicuous eye for detail.

Sweet Summer Nights
The idea originated during the Sweet Summer Nights of 2010. Nico Dijkshoorn recited some of his own work but also spontaneously poeticized on a number of artworks in his field of vision. The Kröller-Müller museum and Nico Dijkshoorn remained in contact after the festival evening and eventually it was decided to make a personal audio tour, with poems and short texts, for 25 works on permanent display.

Nico Dijkshoorn and the Kröller-Müller museum
Nico Dijkshoorn is a celebrated columnist for publications incl. Voetbal International, HUMO and Metro and is resident poet for De Wereld Draait Door. The collaboration dovetails nicely with the Kröller-Müller museum’s vision, which aims to show that art is inspirational, provocative and intriguing.

The poems and texts can be combined with the regular (art historical) tour, whereby you can constantly choose between the different forms of information.

From 13 January 2012 all go visit the Kröller-Müller museum!

The Podcatcher plays an important role in providing information to young museum visitors. Esther van Pamelen, head of education at the Wereldmuseum, explains how she uses the Podcatcher as an educational tool.

In the Wereldmuseum, important lessons are taught about ancient and modern cultures. You can admire objects that seem to come from a completely different world. Extra information is a must. The Wereldmuseum uses the Podcatcher to tell the young visitors the story behind these special and exotic objects.

A separate tour for every age group
There is an audio tour especially for the very youngest. They are guided on their tour by the friendly spirit of the museum. ‘I am a spirit’, says the voice in the Podcatcher, ‘so you cannot see me. But you can hear me’. This audio tour is used primarily by families. This means that mum and dad and the children can all thoroughly enjoy the Wereldmuseum.

The audio tour for teenagers is used mainly for school visits to the museum. Two tours have been developed for teenagers. A version for the top level of the VMBO and the bottom level of the HAVO/VWO, and one for the top level of the HAVO/VWO. These take account of the attention span of the teenagers. This is generally somewhat longer amongst HAVO students than amongst VMBO students. This is why the audio tour for the latter group consists of short and simple texts. The objects that are covered by the audio tour are selected on the basis of visual attractiveness. “Although a great story in an audio tour can even make a pebble an enormously important object”, according to Esther van Pamelen.

The text on the Podcatcher is spoken by a young person. The students are given information on the objects in the exhibition by their contemporary. This story is followed by a number of multiple choice questions. Answering these questions helps the students to remember what they have just been told.

What do the students and teachers think?
What students think about the Podcatcher is often a mystery. ‘Visitors in that age group frequently say that they do not like museums anyway. They are not “cool”’, jokes Esther. In any case, the teachers are extremely enthusiastic about the Podcatcher!

Many teachers are only aware of the old fashioned audio tours, with headphones, with which students would wander around the museum in isolation and that made it impossible to talk to them. That is not the case with the Podcatcher. ‘The teacher does not constantly have to be waving, signalling ‘Hallo! I am talking to you!.’ The Podcatcher works just like a mobile phone!’, explains Esther, 'and that makes it ideal for educational purposes!’

Besides the Wereldmuseum there are other museums that use the Podcatcher for education. If you would like to know which museums these are, please call...

More and more museums choose to develop an audio tour themselves. Would you like to do so too, then read the following tips to improve the results...

Tip 1: Target the largest audience.
The audio tour has the greatest chance of success if it targets the largest audience. For example, suppose you have 30,000 annual visitors, of which 5,000 are children and 25,000 are adults. Of the adults, 80% speaks English, the other 20% a different language. You should start with an audio tour targeting your English speaking adult visitors, increasing the chance many visitors will take the audio tour. You can always expand the number of languages at a later time, or add a children's tour.

Tip 2: Use short texts.Visitors like to stay in control of the audio tour. Therefore it is better to have a 30 seconds introduction followed by several options than one tedious 2 minute text. Write your texts in the present tense. This will result in a lively text and makes the visitor more involved in the story. Make sure the story has a direct relation with the object you are describing. The interaction between the physical object, the exhibition and the audio tour should provide a unique experience.

Tip 3: Use professional voice artists.
Using professional voice artists has multiple advantages. The voice artist has experience in choosing the right tone of voice, making the audio tour lively from beginning to end. If you use a celebrity's voice more visitors are inclined to take the audio tour and it will make their experience more intense.

Tip 4: Keep it simple and easy
If cashiers find handing out the audio tour too complicated, all your effort is lost because they will not hand out the audio tour to your visitors. That is why you have to make it easy for cashiers. Visitors should be able to operate the audio tour without extensive explanations. The audio tour must enhance the experience and may not create distraction.

Tip 5: Make sure it just works.
Nothing is more frustrating than having visitors come back with defective equipment. Make sure you choose robust equipment, not consumer MP3-players or mobile phones. Those are often fragile and quickly break down in a public environment. Empty batteries or unintuitive controls also frustrate your visitors, which is the last thing you want.

These are only 5 tips. For more, just call us...

The visitors of musea, zoo’s and castles, are the end users of the Podcatcher. That is why their opinion is important for Guide ID. Therefore a survey has been carried out at Singer museum (Laren, NL) and the Wereldmuseum (Rotterdam, NL). The outcome: people are very pleased with the Podcatcher!

“The Podcatcher increases the delight of visiting a museum!” according to a gentleman at Singer Laren. He and others point out the benefits of the absence of earphones. “Usually, my wife and I both walk around with earphones in our ears. Isolated, and both in our own world. The Podcatcher makes interaction possible.”

Ease of Use
The survey research focused on the physical features of the Podcatcher, such as ease of use, the weight and the design. The Podcatcher is seen as very user friendly. The easy method of scanning the IDentifiers is mentioned a lot. “The possibility to choose your own route, is excellent”, tells a couple at the Wereldmuseum (Rotterdam, NL). One seems not always aware of the weight of the Podcatcher: “..this device is simply as light as a feather”, according to a female visitor. Especially for the elderly, this is a very relevant advantage. Although design does not seem to be a pre, one points at the fine looks of the Podcatcher. The custom design of the museums is seen as a beautiful addition.

How to improve?
What should be changed about the Podcatcher? An elderly woman pointed out that the sound should be louder. She was not able to fully hear the audio tour at the exhibition. Showing her the volume button solved her problem. Henceforth, Guide ID aims to improve communication about this feature, in order to prevent a situation like this.

A woman at Singer museum (Laren, NL) doubts the hygiene of the Podcacther. “Everybody holds the device to their ear.” In order to guarantee the hygiene, Guide ID provides a tissue-box with the Podcatcher. This can be used to clean the devices.

Focus on the object on display, not the device
Most visitors use the mobile tour simply to get additional information. The Podcatcher seems to perfectly fit this desire. The lack of a screen is not seen as a shortcoming. “Without a screen, I am able to focus on the actual art. I’d rather see movies and pictures at home, behind my own computer”, according to many respondents.

The public is very pleased with the Podcatcher. Knowing this, we, Guide ID, are very pleased as well.

It is time for Guide ID to start a blog. More often, we are in conference with customers or prospects about the lock, stocks and barrels in our branch. About the possibilities, the threats, the do’s and the dont’s. We started this blog to share the mind of Guide ID and her customers.

A new article will be published, every Monday. This might concern new possibilities among the Podcatcher platform, the usage of smartphones, advices of customers about educative tours or simply a comment on relevant news articles on the web.

We wish you happy reading!