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PCTC developing state's first tourism podcast - By Buzzy Hassrick
This document was published online on Wednesday, April 05, 2006
A “podcast” about Cody Country and Yellowstone Park could be available soon to visitors who click on the Park County Travel Council's Web site.
It would be the first of its kind in Wyoming.
The narrative, backed by music and still images, will debut at the Governor's Hospitality and Tourism Conference on April 24. That's the plan of PCTC Marketing Director Claudia Wade and the committee, which includes council member Ham Bryan.
PCTC, which had funded the basics for the Web site, recently budgeted money to upgrade it.
“This is the bells and whistles year,” Wade said.
The podcast idea arose during PCTC's retreat in September 2005. Video and audio podcast messages are received on iPods - handheld devices that play digital music and video files.
Bryan spotted the growing interest in podcasts and thought one might work here.
“For a little town like Cody, why not jump in?” he added.
Podcasts appeal to the more affluent crowd, the so-called “early adoptors” who are the first to get the latest in electronics, Bryan said. Podcasts are multiplying, he added.
“There are a gazillion out there,” he said, though he found only one about a location, Glacier Park. “This whole thing is in its infancy.
“For us, it's additional publicity.”
“It's a convenience thing - bringing information to visitors that's conducive to their time,” Wade added. “It's cutting edge.”
As envisioned by the committee, the first podcast will introduce visitors to “Cody and Cody's back yard, Yellowstone,” she said.
“It's like a radio commercial” with still pictures, Wade said. “A podcast is a commercial selling something.
“In our case we're selling a vacation.”
Once the podcast is completed, PCTC will submit it to Apple Computers - which owns iTunes and manufactures iPods - to assure it contains nothing inappropriate, Wade said.
PCTC Web site visitors then can click on the icon and download the podcast for free or find it under podcast directories, Wade said. People can listen anytime, while they commute or exercise on a treadmill.
The audience would probably be a younger, more mobile demographic, she added.
“Ninety-nine percent of podcasts are free,” Bryan said.
People can download individual podcasts or subscribe, which automatically downloads them to their iPod, he said.
“It's important to have a good start,” Bryan added. “It's important to have a well-produced podcast.
For its initial product, the committee has written a script that musician Wendy Corr will narrate. It'll run about three minutes and will be produced be at the Big Horn Radio Network studios.
A new podcast could be introduced at least monthly, though the committee already has generated enough ideas for weekly updates, Wade said.
“We easily came up with 52 subjects,” she said, such as geothermal activity, wildlife, rodeo and guest ranches.
A message at the end of podcast could plug upcoming events, Bryan said. He added that the product should be both entertaining and informative.
“We want it to be clever, not hokey, and to have a Western feel,” Wade added.
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