Problem

Amazing events worth visiting happen every day. Yet, if you live in a small city, major shows usually take place elsewhere. So it can be challenging to discover them in advance when planning your next vacation.

Yes, numerous aggregators can offer experiences in any city you enter. But what if you’re searching for an event worthy of a dedicated trip and have no clue where it will occur?

Solution

Introducing Wannasee, the app that not only helps you discover the best shows and performances around the world, but also optimises your travel itinerary so you never miss them.

Unlike conventional event aggregators, it eliminates the need for specific city and date inputs. Search globally or receive tailored notifications about upcoming events. Powered by AI, the app collects data from a handpicked list of top-tier museums, galleries, theatres and concert venues, as well as curated collections.

At the next step, Wannasee optimises your itinerary by identifying overlapping dates of the events you saved. Trip planning made effortless and efficient!

Understanding the audience

The app is designed for frequent travellers, European residents or visitors, especially millennials, who are passionate about art and design and who prioritise experiences over cost. They prefer simplicity and convenience in planning and value fresh insights and unexpected discoveries.

Top trends in the behaviour of travelling millennials

1. Solo Travel: More people are traveling alone, especially in countries like China, Australia, and the UK.
2. In-Destination Activities: Travelers are choosing destinations based on specific events or seasonal activities, planning them before booking flights and accommodations.
3. Pop Culture Influence: Movies and festivals are inspiring travel choices, leading to themed tours and experiences.
4. Fear of Missing Out (FOMO): Social media drives the desire for “insta-worthy” experiences shared online.

Despite the larger user base of music events, the MVP focuses on a narrower niche. Prioritising art and design enthusiasts allows for a more tailored and impactful experience that effectively addresses their specific needs and use cases. In addition, art exhibitions tend to run for several months, providing more appropriate conditions for testing the itinerary optimisation algorithm.

Jobs to be done

Managing your FOMO on a global scale is actually quite simple! By using the JTBD methodology, I focused the core needs and objectives of app users by framing their tasks as specific jobs they aim to accomplish.

1. Discovering Events
   When I’m in my hometown, I want to find the most relevant upcoming events worldwide so I can manage my FOMO on a global scale. If I spontaneously visit another city, I want to find the most relevant ongoing events to ensure I don’t miss them.
2. Optimising Itinerary
   When selecting my trip dates, I want to know where and when to travel to ensure I attend the events on my list.
3. Visiting Events
   When I’m about to visit a venue, I want to check working hours, skip the line, and get directions to arrive on time.
4. Enjoying the Memories
   When reflecting on my travels, I want to review the history of my trips, events attended, and venues visited, so I can relive and share the memorable experiences.

Onboarding and discovery

Users begin their journey with an engaging introduction to the app, highlighting its purpose of helping them discover top events worth traveling for. During onboarding, users are prompted to select their preferences to ensure a personalised experience from the start.

The “Discover” tab features curated collections as well as auto-generated lists of events tailored to the user’s interests. It includes search, filters and sorting for quick browsing. Users can save events and follow museums or artists to build their list of favourites.

Optimising Itineraries

In the “My Trips” tab, users can view suggested trips that group saved events by city and optimise dates for maximum convenience. Users can manually adjust trip dates and add additional events or venues to their itinerary. Once trips are planned, users can access venue details such as opening hours, directions, and related events.

Profile Management

In the “Profile” tab, users can edit their preferences, manage notifications, review trip history and visited events, and manage the lists of topics, artists and venues they are following.

Marketing Templates

To support the promotion of Wannasee, I prepared templates for Instagram posts and stories to showcase top upcoming events and engage potential users even before they install the app. I also added an App Store layout example with app screenshots to highlight its key features.

Defining MVP

As mentioned earlier, the MVP focuses on events related to art and design. This allows for a more tailored experience for a smaller target audience and offers a better testing conditions for the itinerary optimisation algorithm.

At first, it would make sense to launch the MVP in European countries in order to refine the product and maximise impact. This market was chosen due to the following factors.

1. High Mobility and Seamless Transportation: Europeans demonstrated a remarkable 75% travel rate in 2023, supported by a dense and accessible transport system without borders or visa constraints.
2. World-Class Museums as Attractions: Europe houses the world’s premier museums, attracting tourists from both within the continent and across the globe.
3. Limited Urbanisation: As of 2023, Europe’s urbanisation rate is 78%, considerably lower than that of Asia and the Americas. However, only one-third of Europeans reside in cities with a population exceeding one million.
4. Event Concentration in Major Cities: The majority of top events are concentrated in major cities, requiring a significant portion of the audience to travel for attendance.

Monetisation options

1. Subscription & In-App Purchases: to unlock additional features, such as trip planning optimisation.
2. Ticket Sales: partnerships with ticket aggregators and travel services.
3. Sponsored Content: opportunity for event organisers to promote their events on the platform.

Expansion & pivot opportunities

1. Diversifying Types of Events: In future iterations, I can consider moving from an arts-oriented app to a more diverse range of events including music festivals, concerts, design conferences, dance parties, theatre performances, fashion shows, film festivals, and more.
2. Going Global: The United States presents a significant growth opportunity as the world’s second-largest tourist market, comprising 19.7% of global tourism, and with 87% of US citizens preferring domestic travel.
3. Cross-Platform Support: I plan to start with a mobile web version to keep it simple. Later, it will also be possible to support the desktop version and mobile apps.