The Audio Guide You Can Keep

We enable museums - small and large - to offer audio guides without dedicated equipment nor developing expensive apps.
An attractive branded card with a unique code is the visitor’s gateway to rich content.

The audio tracks are streamed directly to the visitor’s own smartphone.

Our innovative audio guides are inexpensive and profitable for the museum. Even for temporary exhibitions!

Museums get great insight through visitor usage data and feedback.

In 2018 we also sponsor the content production!

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Nubart's Audio Guide Features

No Device

Visitors use their own smartphone (BYOD). No dirty devices to gather, store, clean, collect, recharge...

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No App

Museum visitors don’t want nor download apps. Nubart is a streamed digital audio guide, but not an app.

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Fully-Produced

You give us with the script and we take care of translations and voice overs. We sponsor most of the production!

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Visitors Data

Rich usage data about your visitors: ex. from which country, which tracks they prefer, how long they stayed...

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Visitors Feedback

Ask your visitors what they like in your museum. Allows you to refine your exhibitions and the audio guide

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Low Cost

Up-front costs are low, so you can give audio guides for free or sell them for a profit. Quick ROI.

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Audioguides With No Devices

Traditional audio guide devices consume valuable resources in a museum.

They must be repaired, charged and kept clean.

They also need to be picked up at the end of the tour.

To ensure that they are returned, the visitor usually has to leave cash or a personal ID as deposit, with all the potential risk to security and data protection that this poses to the museum, to say nothing of the hassle for the visitor.

Nubart audioguide cards are tangible like conventional devices, but they don't need any maintenance.

Since visitors can keep them, they don’t require a deposit to be lent out.

They work as a key that allows controlled access to the multilingual content directly from the visitor’s smartphone.

They are also attractive and a nice collectible souvenir.

Digital Audioguides With No Apps

Museums moving on from traditional devices tend to consider native apps as an alternative to conventional audio guides.

However, development of an app is expensive and the software companies tend to leave the digital content production to the museum.

Apps need to be developed at least twice (iPhone and Android), are generally not flexible for content changes and require constant maintenance and expensive updates.

Visitors often dislike consuming memory on their smartphones to install an app that they will probably only use once.

The consequence is a very low download rate and hardly any ROI for the museum.

Nubart cards can be activated instantly from any type of smartphone (iPhone, Android, Windows…), even from old models. No updates required!

Nubart doesn't consume the device's memory, since the digital content is streamed. We can also offer an offline solution for special cases.

Zugang zu einem Nubart-Audioguide über den QR-Code

Fully-Produced Audio Guides

If your museum is facing production of an audio guide for the first time, you may feel overwhelmed by the many things you need to take into account.

How to write an appropriate script for an audio guide? How many tracks should your audio guide have? How long should they be?

But also: how to find a reliable and professional translator into Chinese? Or who could make a professional voice over for your Japanese visitors?

Many IT companies will offer you a technical solution (apps or similar), but will leave you alone with all content-related trouble. Nubart works with proven experts with humanities and arts backgrounds in all these areas, so we can offer you both: innovative audio guide technology and first-class content production. We collaborate with you at every step, from the script until the final presentation of the digital content.

And the best of it: in 2018 all this is included in our pricing packages!

You can see our audio guide production framework here.

Visitors Data

Museums know how important data about their visitors are. But it is difficult to gather this kind of quality data.

Nubart cards are not only an innovative audio guide which provide a multilingual service to your audience, but also an ideal data collector. In contrast to most other solutions, Nubart gathers usage and behavioral data from your visitors' smartphones anonymously and never violating their privacy. (See our Data Policy for Nubart's Audio guides).

As a Nubart customer you receive an overview with statistics from the use of your audio guides as often as you want. Included in those free data reports:

Home country of the visitor
Visitor’s native language
Visitors per day
Visitors by time-of-day
How long do visitors stay at the museum/exhibition
Ranking of most listened to tracks
Device used

By learning which tracks have been listened to the most, you will know the real, objective interests of your visitors. With this knowledge your museum can plan future purchases or optimize accompanying material.

Since every card has a unique code, we can do data mining for you. For example, we can answer questions like: "How many French visitors came to my museum during the afternoon?". Or: "let me know if the track Nr. 14 has been more listened to by Japanese then by Chinese visitors". (Please note that these customized datasets are not included in our free reports).

Feel free to request a sample report to see what kind of data we can offer you.

Visitors Feedback

Feedback-Fragebogen in Nubart Audioguides

Our free data reports collect a lot of anonymous information about your visitors and their behavior. But certain important information can not be retrieved automatically, so you need to ask your visitors to provide it to you.

That's why after the last track of the audio guide, the visitor is offered a short survey with 5 questions. Two standard questions are:

general scoring of the exhibition from 1 - 5.
a text field for comments about the exhibition or about the audio guide.

You will be surprised at how thorough these visitor comments can be, even typed on the small smartphone screen! The museum can receive visitor comments in real-time by email.

Additionally the museum can select three more questions from a list of options, allowing you to know things like age, gender or even the email address of your visitors, as long as visitors choose to share this info to you. Thanks to our unique code system, the visitor can only answer the questionnaire once, ensuring the quality of the data. Incomplete answers are also captured.

The compiled results of the questionnaire are part of our free data reports. Based on your visitors feedback you can also improve your audio guide, if necessary.

Low Cost and Profitable Audio Guides

Nubart audio guides are sold by the card. The larger the number of cards that your order, the more content and languages will be included in the package.

With our package system, your museum can easily calculate in advance the budget you need for an audio guide for your next temporary exhibition. No surprises! Even small museums can afford a Nubart audioguide.

You decide if you want to give the audio guide cards for free to your visitors or if you prefer to sell them (at any price you choose). By selling them, you will not only quickly recover your investment (ROI), but even make a profitable business!

Pricing 2018

The higher the minimum order, the more content production we sponsor as an entry point!

Sample

FREE

Information Folder

Samples from real projects
Detailed explanation brochure

Request sample HERE

Mini Package

€6,000

6,000 cards

customized and bio-degradable

In 2018 we sponsor with this package:

Translation into 1 language
Voice-overs in 2 languages
(up to 3,500 words or 10- 15 tracks)

Go to the next step

Medium Package

€10,000

10,000 cards

customized and bio-degradable

In 2018 we sponsor with this package:

Translation into 3 languages
Voice-overs in 4 languages
(up to 7,500 words or 25- 30 tracks)

Go to the next step

Collection Package

€25,000

26,000 cards

customized and bio-degradable

In 2018 we sponsor with this package:

Full script-writing
Translation into 5 languages
Voice-overs in 6 languages
(up to 15,000 words or 50 tracks)

Go to the next step

Included in all packages:

Set-up of the digital audio guide
Rich usage data reporting
Use in offline mode, wifi or data not required (optional)
Feedback in real-time (via email)
Configuration of tweet-templates in each language.
Customized questions for visitor feedback
Integration of digital content (videos, images, PDFs) supplied by customer
5 years hosting of content (free extension possible)
Design of cards (optional)

Minimum re-order of 1,000 units: €1,000

Download Nubart's Pricing as PDF

If none of these packages suit your needs or if you want a digital-only solution (without cards), please request a quote.

Nubart's Customers and Projects

Click on the pictures to know more:

Frequently Asked Questions

How do your audio guide cards work?

The unique codes printed on our cards work like a key which provides the owner exclusive access to all the digital content.
To access the content, the visitor scans the QR code or (if he/she is not familiar with how to use QR codes) enters a code on the museum's website.
Nubart has developed a unique combination of transactional cookies + opt-in system called LOCP (Lightweight Online Content Protection) to provide non-transferable access to digital content.
Thanks to LOCP, the owner of the card can access the audio guide as often as she wants, from her smartphone, other device, or from a PC -- even months or years later. But the card cannot be used by anybody else.
This way we ensure that the audio cards have commercial viability and we guarantee the high quality of the anonymous data we collect from visitors to the museum.

Nubart audio guides being accessed through QR code

How do your digital-only audio guides work?

Some museums prefer to have a digital-only solution, without distributing cards at all. For example, this may be the case for temporary exhibitions with low, or free, entrance fees. For these cases we have developed a digital-only audio guide solution. This modality consists in an interactive web-app that works on any smart device (mobile, tablet, PC). It offers a direct access and does not require the download of any app, just like our cards.
In the digital-only audio guides, we offer the museum one unique QR code and, as an alternative, an alphanumeric code (for visitors who are not familiar with the use of QR codes), as well as a link to the content. The museum can print the QR + alphanumeric code in the printed info about the exhibition, on posters placed in reception, etc. The link to the audio guide can also be put on the museum's website.
The digital-only solution does not restrict access to the audio guide like we can do with the unique codes on the physical cards.
The system assigns an identification to each unique visit, so that our data reports are still very detailed. The biggest difference is that they will add virtual visitors who may have not stepped foot in the museum's facilities.
Pricing for the digital-only service is based on a number of variables: tell us your case and ask us for a quote!
Click here to see an example of our digital audio guides

Is it necessary for my museum to have free Wifi to offer Nubart audio guides?

Our audio guide tracks are streamed, so only the tracks chosen by the visitor to listen to consume data (unlike most apps that force you to download all the content at once). The data consumed by the chosen tracks is 0.46 MB per minute: 1/5 that of music services like Spotify.
Given this low data consumption, provided the overall mobile data coverage is good, we don’t consider it essential to provide free Wifi to offer our audio guides. Particularly considering that since June 2017 EU-citizens are no longer subject to roaming fees.
However, for cases of complicated connectivity (museums that only have Wifi in the reception area, or audio-routes in natural spaces with little or no connectivity) we have developed an offline mode. This mode can download all the sound tracks to the temporary memory of your device. Thus, once downloaded, you can keep listening in areas without coverage. As always with Nubart, all this without downloading any app!

How does your audio guide in offline-mode work?

Our audio guide in offline mode (ie without internet or data coverage), is ideal for museums that only have free Wi-Fi in the lobby or for audio-tours in areas with poor or no data coverage.
The first access (scanning the code) should take place in an area with connectivity. All digital contents of the audio guide will be temporarily downloaded to the visitor's smartphone. No need to install an app nor to consume memory! From this point on, the content can be heard in offline mode for as long as necessary. By closing the browser, the content will disappear automatically from the smartphone, but it can be accessed anytime later by using the card again.

What do you need to produce an audioguide?

We know that most museums suffer from a shortage of staff and have a very high workload.
Our goal is to take this burden from you.
In general, we only need a script, pics and some information. We take care of everything else, keep you informed about the process and seek your approval in the different stages.
What Nubart needs exactly to produce your audio guide

How can I distribute/sell audio guides to my visitors?

Museums have flexibility to choose any model of distributing Nubart cards to their visitors.
For example:

Give away for free as a promotion to bring more visitors (ex. on certain days).
Give away for free as part of a sponsorship partnership.
Give away for free as part of the entrance fee (highly recommended!).
Sell the guides at a price which covers costs/investment.
Sell the guides at a profit.

Because the museum has complete control of pricing to visitors, Nubart cards make experimenting to find the perfect mix easy.
Remember, the more the cards are used, the greater the amount of data and feedback from visitors about the museum's collection or exhibits is gathered.
In case of free temporary exhibitions, our card-solution may not be viable for the museum. For such cases we have developed the digital-only mode (without cards).

Are Nubart cards environmentally friendly?

At Nubart we care about the environment! We offer two options of biodegradable cards:

Cards made from high-strength special cardboard, FSC certified.
Bio-PVC: these cards contain an additive called Add-X Biotech which makes them biodegradable after a few years.

Should I offer headphones together with Nubart cards?

Usually your visitor will use her own headphones or reduce the volume of her smartphone to a minimum to not bother other visitors.
But if you think that headphones are a must in your museum, we can gladly provide them, and also customize the packaging with your logo, as you see in this image.Ask us for a quote!

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Want to know more about how our audio guides work?

Request a demo card!

Blog

Why we can offer digital audio guides in offline mode without any app

Museums with bad data coverage or no Wifi? Now we offer digital audio guides in offline mode.

How to get visitor data for your museum

Before doing research about the audience of your museum, you need to collect data first. This may not be as easy as it sounds.

How to write the script of an audio guide

The script of an audio guide for a museum tour is a very special kind of text and has its own rules. Here we provide some helpful tricks.

Agreed, no more apps as audio guides - but what about languages?

If a museum wants to encourage visits from international customers, they should offer multilingual audio guides. However, museums should not try to manage multilingual content themselves