Halifax-based Via Web Media specializes in media-based marketing applications for business and industry; through its innovative products and services, it has recently helped Ye Old Argyler Lodge, near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, win a prestigious Tourism Industry Association of Nova Scotia Crystal Award in the category of Innovative and Strategic Use of Technology to benefit the business and the tourism industry as a whole.

Called in to improve and streamline the website for the inn, in operation for three years and competing in a tough sector, Via Web Media owner, Josh Hansen, took a three-pronged approach: revamping to create a website that readily facilitates the detailed exploration of the inn and its accoutrements; setting up a fool-proof, easy-to-use on-line reservations system; and setting up an e-mail newsletter that ensures the inn maintains on-going contact with every guest, making repeat business a high priority.

View the website and online reservation system by clicking here.

Via Web media produces promotional videos, 360-degree virtual tours (high-resolution panoramics), and creates websites and e-mail newsletters that enable businesses to develop new customers and keep them for the long term. The services can apply to any business, but work especially well in the framework of organizations that want to find and hold the leading edge of competitive marketing strategies. Finding new clientele is one aspect of this, but on-going communication helps to ensure customers stay as customers, reducing the cost of constantly marketing for new business.

The tourism industry is a key aspect of this service because the guesswork is taken out of finding suitable accommodations. A self-proclaimed four-star accommodation may not be what the guest expected upon arrival, at which point it is often too late to secure a room elsewhere, and late cancellation fees would apply. By the Via Web Media virtual tour, potential guests can see exactly what they are buying and plan their trip according to room availability. The style of an inn or bed-and-breakfast can been seen with clarity, and a decision becomes simple and final.

The work that Josh Hansen performed for Ye Old Argyler Lodge directly resulted in the award, and stands as a fine example of the correlation between Via Web Media's efforts and the results that its clients are achieving. The panoramic exterior views of the inn, in tandem with detailed views of all six guest rooms, plus dining facilities, leaves customers with a clear understanding of what they are getting from a stay at the Argyler.

Although many of Via Web media's clients are in the tourism industry in Nova Scotia (including the maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Oceanmist Cottages in Lockeport, the Fundy Restaurant in Digby, and the Lydia Davidson Theatre), its web-based services would suit companies in many sectors across the country, especially those with facilities that would benefit from potential customers being able to preview them. Residential and commercial real estate, hotels, inns and conference facilities, theatres and performance venues, art galleries and museums, retail operations from grocery stores to department stores to specialty boutiques, and even travel hubs, such as airports and train terminals. The opportunities for businesses to benefit from the Via Web Media style of marketing are virtually, limitless.

For more information or to conduct an interview, please contact Josh Hansen, Via Web Media, 902-307-0711.

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