With app-like design + universal accessibility, visitsaltlake.mobi takes mobile destination marketing to a new level

TUCSON, October 14, 2010 - In collaboration with technology partner mobiManage and the Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau, Simpleview has launched the forerunner of next-generation destination websites for mobile devices at http://m.visitsaltlake.com/, a site that combines the enhanced design and usability of an app with the universal accessibility of mobile web.

Destination marketing professionals are invited to a hands-on demo of m.visitsaltlake.com at the Simpleview booth at the Western Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus (WACVB) annual conference in Salt Lake City, October 15.

Ease + Enhanced Experience
Offering listings for local businesses, event calendars and destination news, Simpleview's mobile sites automatically draw from Simpleview CRM or Simpleview CMS so that clients never have to manage separate content or data.

m.visitsaltlake.com builds on Simpleview's winning formula for basic mobile websites with the richer design and advanced functionality of a mobile app. However, because the site is still built for and accessed via the mobile web, it works on any phone with a web browser, regardless of brand, carrier or operating system.

Filters & Features
The enhanced site gives travelers all the must-have info for visiting Salt Lake City -- Things to Do, Eat & Drink, Places to Stay, Calendar of Events and Hot Deals & Discounts -- layered with features to help visitors find information faster and more conveniently.

For example, within Things to Do, visitors can select from the most popular categories at a glance -- Arts, Attractions, Shopping and Sports & Rec -- or touch/click to expand an array of more than 40 categories. Visitors can also filter by area as another way to find the most relevant information quickly.

All options are optimized for touchscreen phones, giving the site an app-like ease of use, but users without a touchscreen phone can navigate the site menus, buttons and options with standard thumb controls.

The Mobile Future
Today more than 20% of internet use is via mobile devices, and experts project that mobile internet use will overtake desktop and laptop use by 2015. In 2009, CEO Ryan George saw the opportunity for DMOs to lead the technology curve in this arena.

He formed a partnership with mobiManage, offered all simpleview CRM and CMS customers a free basic mobile site and launched the first fully .mobi-compliant CRM/CMS integration for the destination marketing industry.

"Our goal is always to offer DMOs the technology they need to attract and serve visitors," said George. "There's no better way to offer up-to-date information to people already on the ground at their destination. The trick was making it happen without creating more work for DMOs and making it available to any phone user. Our integration with mobiManage solves those challenges completely."

Since first announcing the new product offering in 2009, Simpleview has created and launched more than 60 mobile sites for destinations across the country.

Options for Accessibility
Today, Simpleview offers a full range of mobile marketing solutions, including basic mobile sites with a simple, classic design and app-like, multi-device sites such as visitsaltlake.mobi. The next tier adds device-specific features, which allows DMOs to maintain the accessibility of mobile web but also take advantage of specific phone features. simpleview also offers apps developed for the most popular smartphone devices and operating systems: iPhone, Android phones and Blackberries.

About Simpleview
Simpleview helps destination marketing organizations (DMOs) succeed on every front, from convention sales to tourism marketing and day-to-day operations. The company offers integrated products and services including the industry's most advanced CRM and CMS platforms, powerful forecasting and reporting tools, dynamic websites, sites for mobile web, search engine optimization and interactive marketing. Founded in 1991, simpleview employs 70+ people with offices in Tucson, Dallas and San Diego serving 165+ domestic and international destination marketing organizations.

About mobiManage
mobiManage is one of the leading providers of mobile development and application services. With over five years of mobile experience and one of the first .mobi-certified development teams in the U.S., mobiManage offers clients an effective, professional suite of managed mobile services for premium, market-focused mobile sites and services that are .mobi-certified at an affordable price without compromising customer brand or market identity.

About the Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau
The Salt Lake Convention & Visitors Bureau is a private, non-profit corporation responsible for the promotion of Salt Lake as a convention and travel destination. The SLCVB's mission is to improve the area economy by attracting and providing support to conventions, leisure travelers and visitors. Salt Lake is a unique fusion of metropolitan city and quaint mountain town; the towering Wasatch Mountains that embrace Salt Lake offer a dramatic backdrop to the vibrancy and activities of downtown. For more information on all that Salt Lake has to offer, go to http://www.visitsaltlake.com/visit/.

Media Contact:
Cara Frank
Director of Marketing & Communications, Simpleview, Inc.
520-575-1151
cfrank@simpleviewinc.com