Skift Take
Vibetunes is a good example of how festivals like Cartagena’s can cater to a handicapped audience while also promoting their event as open and innovative.
Proclaiming that music is for everyone is a nothing but a rosy marketing concept to the 360 million people that suffer from some degree of hearing loss.
Cartagena International Music Festival decided to turn that concept into a reality and teamed up with ad agency Y&R Colombia to create Vibetunes, a music player for the deaf.
The mobile app turns music frequencies, or beats, into vibrations that can be felt through users’ smartphones. The app comes with Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, but songs by any artist from Miley Cyrus to the Rolling Stones can be uploaded and transformed in vibrations.
We haven’t measured the quality of the translations, but the product signifies an evolution in event marketing and is a good example of digital initiatives that more festivals should undertake to cater to attendees with hearing problems.
Vibetunes also raises awareness of the festival itself, which has been promoted by Proexport, Colombia’s official organization for tourism promotion, since 2009.
The app is available free for Android users.
Watch the campaign’s full video below:
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Photo credit: Vibetunes is a free Android app that turns frequencies from music into vibrations for deaf people. Screenshot / Vibetunes