Sleigh the Holiday Season with a Better Map Experience
Custom festival maps and companion app helps Chambers of Commerce, Downtown Alliances, and Municipalities promote community events, spotlight local sponsors, and turn festival-goers into repeat visitors.
There are typically two kinds of people at every festival:
The person who strolls leisurely from the pumpkin patch to the cider tent, then catches a little live music while enjoying apple pie a la mode, before leaving with a bag full of local goodies.
Then there is the second person who wanders around in circles asking, “Where’s Santa?” before accidentally ending up at the exit.
The difference? It’s usually the map.
Soon the temperatures will change and communities everywhere will start getting ready for apple festivals, Oktoberfests, holiday markets, and cookie crawls. Then, somewhere between booking the food trucks and hanging the last string of lights, someone will say, “Oh! We need a map!”
The truth is, your map deserves more than an afterthought. It should be part of your marketing strategy from day one. Enter HipMaps: not only will we help you with marketing your event, we will design a printable branded guide for those who love something tangible to use AND a corresponding mobile app for attendees who prefer to navigate with their phones. One map. Two ways to explore.
What is a HipMap?
A HipMap pairs a printable, branded festival guide with a companion mobile app, so your event lives everywhere your attendees do – on the fridge, in their pocket, and on your website – before, during, and after the big day. HipMaps app users see their little blue dot (real-time location) right on your map so it’s no problem if they can’t read a paper map! In the app they read details about every event and highlighted location on your map, link to websites and pull up directions – all directly from our app.
A HipMap is a Promotional Powerhouse for Your Festival
A custom-designed HipMap is more than a festival handout or an app people open once. It starts generating buzz long before your event begins. A HipMap can be uploaded on your website showcasing everything your event has to offer. It can be posted on social media and made shareable, attracting more attendance and creating FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out!) Best yet, families can download the HipMap app before they even leave home, making it easy to plan their day, find convenient parking once they arrive, and navigate to every festival stop along the way.
HipMaps Turns Festival Traffic into Community Revenue
In addition to the festival route, you can also include other local hotspots and hidden gems on your HipMap, driving more traffic and revenue to your community. Help visitors discover the coffee shop around the corner from the parade, send families to the Christmas candy shop, highlight the new craft brewery north of downtown and tell them to order the Pumpkin IPA, or recommend local hotels so visitors stay longer and spend more dollars at your local businesses.
Celebrate Your Sponsors & Partners with a Custom Event Map
Instead of another banner or sign that people may gloss over, put your sponsors and partners who made everything possible front and center. Whether your sponsors donated funds towards activities, refreshments, or the cost of a HipMap itself, their company name will not go unnoticed. HipMaps can provide sponsors with prominent placement of their logo, a featured business listing in the HipMaps app with a custom promotional description, a link to their website within the app, and directions to their door. That’s a win for event organizers and a win for the businesses helping make the event possible.
The Season’s Best Events Start with a Better Way to Explore
At the end of the day, people don’t come to festivals to stare at a map. They come to make memories. And a well-designed, beautiful, branded and versatile map engages them in a different way and removes any logistical friction so they can fully enjoy the experience. And that’s something visitors will remember and keep coming back to.
Whether you’re a Downtown Alliance planning a downtown Trick-or-Treat event, a Chamber of Commerce planning a bustling Christkindl market, or a municipality planning a holiday parade, a thoughtfully designed custom map does more than show people where to go. It tells your story. It supports your local businesses. It captures the spirit of the season.
Ready to create some holiday magic? Hit us up today and let’s start brainstorming! Schedule a Discovery Call here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a HipMap?
A HipMap is a custom-designed map that highlights your hand-selected points of interest (including event logistics, sponsors, recommended local businesses & hotspots) with a two-for-one punch: a printable, branded guide AND a companion mobile app, letting guests choose the way they want to explore.
Do we have to choose between a printed map and an app?
No. Every HipMap includes both: a tangible, shareable printed map and a mobile app with the user’s live ‘little blue dot’ real-time location, your comments about each location, website links and directions. You’re covered no matter how your attendees like to explore!
Can our sponsors and partners be featured on the map?
Yes. Sponsors can get logo placement, a featured business listing with a custom description, a link to their website, and turn-by-turn directions to their door, all inside the app.
What kinds of events does HipMaps design maps for?
Chambers of Commerce, Downtown Alliances, Non-Profits and municipalities use HipMaps for apple festivals, holiday markets, Trick-or-Treat events, parades, sip & strolls, holiday light tours, cookie crawls, Oktoberfests, music festivals, and other community celebrations.
How far ahead of an event should we purchase a HipMap?
The earlier the better because a HipMap starts generating buzz on your website and social media well before your event, so it works best as part of your marketing plan from day one, not as an afterthought. The typical turnaround time from receipt of your design information until the first draft of your HipMap is 3 weeks, but we can shorten this timeframe as needed if you need it done sooner. Best thing to do is to set up a Discovery Call so we can start brainstorming!