The team behind Stqry, an app that lets people find local attractions and immerse themselves in the story around it, has launched a competition to showcase some of our best art, culture, history, heritage and wildlife spots.
The competition, 1, 2, 3 Go! is offering a return trip to Auckland or Wellington, with accommodation and three activities from among a visit to Auckland or Wellington Zoo, Carter Observatory, Kelly Tarlton’s, Island Bay Marine Education Centre and Auckland Museum.
The Department of Conservation, Venture Southland, Waiouru National Army Museum, New Zealand Rugby Museum, Auckland Zoo, Auckland Museum, Kelly Tarlton’s, Te Puia and National Aquarium of New Zealand, Art Deco Trust, MTG Hawkes Bay, Wellington City Council, Wellington Zoo, Wellington Waterfront, Dowse Art Gallery, Island Bay Marine Education Centre, Carter Observatory, Scape Public Art and Willowbank Wildlife Reserve are the organisations currently signed as ‘storytellers’ for the contest, but the list will grow, says Stqry CEO Chris Smith.
Stqry now has 150 customers, with nearly 50 in New Zealand the rest in the US. “We launched in September last year and we’ve been working with these organisations over the last year,” says Smith. “One of the things that always comes up in our meetings is [the New Zealand organisations have]always wanted to do something big across the country with other arts and cultural and tourist organisations.”
The free app for iPhone and Android lets visitors find attractions close to their location using their smartphone’s GPS. The attractions are then displayed on a map or in a list view.
Stqry has developed a website for customers (the attraction owners) to log in to and curate their stories in real time, using text, images, video and web links. The attraction can also use QR codes for app users to scan to get their stories.
Competition winners will be announced on 6 January next year on the Stqry Facebook page. The contest is in association with Air New Zealand, Tourism New Zealand, the i-SITE network and regional tourism organisers.
Smith launched Stqry with Wellington co-founder Ezel Kokcu. Smith is the former managing director of Dash Tickets and was a web developer at Third Screen Interactive.
