PointAbout Launches DC Inauguration Application

From concept to fully executed application in 3 weeks!  Learn how we did it.

You can also Read the press coverage, from Wash Post, to TechCrunch, NY Times, ABC News, TIME Magazine & many more. 

PointAbout announced today a partnership with Qorvis Communications and Patton Boggs, LLP, along with support by Zagat Surveys, LLC to create an Inauguration Application for the 2009 Barak Obama Washington DC Inauguration.  

The application has been approved by Apple in the iTunes App Store and is currently available for download.

Below is a video of the Inauguration Application being demonstrated, along with screenshots.  Click here to download the application.

Here is a video of the application in use on the iPhone and BlackBerry Bold:

Our Navigating Washington inauguration application featured on the Washington, DC Government’s inauguration website:

From concept to fully executed application in 3 weeks! 

PointAbout, Qorvis, Patton Boggs and FortiusOne devised, executed and delivered a 2009 Inauguration Guide iPhone and BlackBerry application in an astounding 3 weeks from start to finish – a timeframe that would have been unthinkable with a fully native application.

Here are details on how we did it:

What

§  Qorvis and Patton Boggs created a free mobile Inauguration Guide application for multiple mobile devices.

§  The first iteration will work on iPhones, with a Blackberry version to follow later. We are also pursuing development of a version for Android (Google’s phone) in early 2009.

§   The application will provide GPS-enabled information about where inaugural galas and events are being held. It will deliver the basics in real time about where to eat, walking directions to the inauguration, what metro line to take and how to find a museum.

Services include:

•    Zagat Restaurant Guide
•    Metro train and bus schedules and alerts
•    Free Wi-Fi zone locations
•    Local weather, traffic, and news
•    ATM-bank search
•    Bars and nightclubs, powered by Zagat
•    Walking directions to the inauguration
•    Polling questions with geo-coded results shown on a heat-map
•    (This list will continue to be updated as we approach the inauguration)

Why

§  President-elect Barack Obama is going to usher in a new era of government—one that embraces technology and advanced communications. It is appropriate that Qorvis and Patton Boggs are contributing to the celebrations in this way.

§  We created this mobile app primarily for our clients and friends to ease their experience as they navigate Washington before, during and after the inauguration, which looks to be of unprecedented size this year.

§  Just as FortiusOne did with the Twitter Vote Report, they will be providing  the visual analytics which enable users to visualize and interact with real-time geo-aware polling results surrounding the inauguration.  

§  Everyone is Washington, DC is throwing a party, or hosting clients, family and friends for the inauguration. We wanted offer the public a useful and fast way to obtain information about inaugural events.

§  Qorvis and Patton Boggs help organizations and companies navigate the complexities and nuances of Washington—with regard to legal services, lobbying, public affairs, issue advocacy, media and public relations. This mobile app is just a reflection of the broader services we provide.

How

·      Qorvis and Patton Boggs have a lot of clients and friends coming to Washington, DC for the Presidential Inauguration. Given the historic proportions of this year’s event, we knew it would be important to help our guests navigate the city—something we help them do professionally anyhow. Instead of just giving everyone maps and restaurant recommendations, we felt it was most appropriate to create a mobile application, which would also serve to celebrate the nation’s first high-tech president.

·      As a fully integrated communications firm, Qorvis had the in-house capabilities to design the web application, but it would take too long and cost too much to make a fully native iPhone application.  Our friends at PointAbout solved this problem by “wrapping” our web application with their thin-client springboard to mobilize the app on the mobile platforms as a hybrid web and native application—iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, etc.  We got the best of both worlds with this approach; the speed & flexibility of a web application, coupled with the benefits of a native application, such as use of the camera, GPS, etc.  PointAbout also added on a polling component to gauge real-time user sentiment about the Inauguration.   FortiusOne came aboard to help analyze and visualize the results through their GeoCommons platform. 

What will happen to the application after the Inauguration?

·      The app will become a general guide to Washington, DC. Since PointAbout is wrapping our web-based application with their native client, we have the flexibility to change it as often as we want – a benefit that would not otherwise be available to us had we created a fully-native application.  Thereofore, we will be able to improve the functionality of this application as we approach the inauguration, and after the inauguration we can change it to focus on “Navigating Washington” without the inauguration component, as the tools will still be very useful.

Can you create something like this for my company?

·      Absolutely, and we can tailor it to your needs. Qorvis specializes in making fully featured web applications, and PointAbout specializes in turning those into native applications for seamless distribution across multiple phones.  By using this approach with both of us, a company can quickly and inexpensively mobilize their brand in new an innovative ways.

·      We can also provide integrated supportive services—from marketing to media and public relations. Give us a call, and we’d be glad to chat about how we can help you out.

Who is Qorvis?

·      Qorvis Communications is one of the nation’s largest independent communications firms. Formed in August 2000, Qorvis provides its clients with expertise in the areas of advertising, public and media relations, public affairs, marketing communications, Internet campaigns, investor and financial relations, grassroots, and research and opinion surveys. www.qorvis.com

Who is Patton Boggs?

·      Based in Washington DC, Patton Boggs is a national leader in public policy, litigation, and business law and is well known for its deep bipartisan roots in the national political arena. With nine offices and more than 600 lawyers and professionals, the firm provides comprehensive, practical, and cost-effective legal counsel to clients around the globe. www.pattonboggs.com

Who is PointAbout?

·      PointAbout helps companies create new revenue streams by extending their brand across  multiple types of mobile devices.  Our thin-client phone application can be private-labeled and installed on existing customer’s phones, and an entirely new segment of customers can be attracted by the functionality PointAbout enables companies to provide.  For the first time, PointAbout offers companies the ability to know the profile and exact physical location of their customers in real-time, opening a new channel of communication between a company and its users.  www.PointAbout.com · 1.800.976.3703 · info@PointAbout.com

Who is FortiusOne?

·      FortiusOne, based in Arlington, VA, specializes in creating user-friendly tools that enable non-technical individuals to quickly derive actionable conclusions from complex data.  Users can easily analyze and visualize their own data with GeoCommons’ repository of more than 7,000 data layers creating insightful maps and reports to empower decision making.