Louisville CVB Releases 360-degree Tourism Video Series

June 27, 2017

The Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau is leveraging immersive virtual reality technology to attract more business and leisure visitors to the Derby City by launching its first-ever 360-degree VR video series.

Featuring one-of-a-kind augmented reality graphics and a unique take on the 360-degree viewing experience, three films comprise the series:

Uniquely Fresh: Louisville’s Culinary Scene – Showcases Louisville’s farm-to-table culinary scene and features 10 local culinary experiences including 8UP; Crescent Hill Craft House; Harvest; Jack Fry’s; Mike Linnigs; Monnik; Proof on Main; The Table; the Village Anchor and Woodland Farms.

Uniquely Fun: A Taste of Louisville Attractions – A fully immersive experience at some of the city’s unique attractions including the Kentucky Derby Museum; Muhammad Ali Center; Louisville Orchestra and the Kentucky Center for the Arts; Speed Art Museum; Kentucky Kingdom and Hurricane Bay, and the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory.

Uniquely Spirited: Bourbon, Brandy, and the Urban Experience – Features four spirited experiences with a focus on the individuals behind the scenes. The four locations highlighted include Evan Williams Bourbon Experience; Kentucky Peerless Distillery; Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience at Stitzel-Weller, and Copper & Kings American Brandy Company.

“Video is so much more than just great shots, it’s about a story,” explained Zack Davis, LCVB director of marketing.

He added, “Louisville has such an authentic story to tell and VR has been able to convey the experience unlike anything we’ve seen before. We feel it will leave a lasting impression on potential visitors to the city.”

Local video agency Videobred partnered with the LCVB to produce the films.

“The LCVB embraced VR over a year ago, before it was the trendy thing to do,” said Jamie Pence, Videobred president and owner who was also served as the project’s editor.

He continued, “They were one of the very first clients in this region that understood the potential impact and storytelling capabilities of VR. They recognized the value of what VR could bring to the table and how it would engage their audience. Standing out from the other noise is important and VR is helping them separate themselves from the crowd by garnering national attention.”

That attention was drawn to the Uniquely Fresh: Louisville’s Culinary Scene video, which was awarded the Samsung VR Creator Gold Award, as well as a Silver Telly Award, the highest honor given by the Telly Awards, which honor the best in TV and cable, digital and streaming, and non-broadcast productions.

The LCVB has plans to work on additional VR films to highlight more of the city’s myriad attractions, restaurants and experiences.

While VR goggles and headphones provide the richest viewing experience, the 360 videos can also be viewed from a mobile device or desktop computer. Check out LCVB’s YouTube VR playlist here.

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