The Creative Coast
By: Chris MIller
Savannah, GA – KnowSavannah, Savannah’s newest technology collaboration spearheaded by The Creative Coast, is launching a free service that provides relevant, real-time information about Savannah delivered directly to your cell phone, PDA, or computer. The service is designed to connect residents and visitors to discounts, last minute tickets, and anything cool in Savannah. KnowSavannah will be kicked off during the Savannah Music Festival, serving as the only place to receive last minute tickets, reviews, and discounts, and much more.
KnowSavannah is a simple, easy, free-to-the-user messaging service that allows Savannah merchants, organizations, and content providers pass useful text information directly to travelers and residents.
According to Chris Miller, Creative Coast Executive Director, “The benefit to the users is that they get real-time info they ask for, directly to where they are, when they need it. The benefits to the merchants are that they can send information users have asked for, direct to the user in a simple, easy low cost solution. “
KnowSavannah is free to the user. For charter merchants, the service will cost $100 for the remainder of 2005, making it a cost effective method of reaching customers.
Know Savannah was conceived and executed in record time by a small team of community-oriented individuals who leveraged on the Spanish Moss/Leadership Savannah project methodology of using small, focused team to implement a technologically advanced concept in record time.
Blake Ellis of Color Maria, along with Susan Isaacs of Paragon Design Group, were the principle technology architects said, “Many people aren’t aware that text messaging is a fairly well established and easy to use capability already on their phone. What we have done is made it useful by making it easier to select and request the practical information that you want, when you want it.”
The cast of participants includes the Convention Visitors Bureau, the Savannah Economic Development Authority, The Creative Coast Initiative, the Maritime Logistics Innovation Center, Morris Technology, Color Maria, Paragon Design, Coastal Business, Education and Technology Alliance, members of past Leadership Savannah classes and participants in the Spanish Moss Wifi project.
“It a whole new way of reaching people and enticing them to come to the Savannah Music Festival”, said Maria Watts, the festival’s Marketing Director. “We were very excited to see what the results are from applying this new area of technology to the festival as a means of introducing them to the more than 85 events over 2 weeks”.
