BlogVille: The story so far
The aim of BlogVille is to promote the brand Emilia Romagna and the region in key international markets using the power of web 2.0. Emilia Romagna was quick to recognise that the traditional press trip model doesn’t maximise the influence of bloggers. In 2012, the Emilia Romagna Tourism Board sat down with iambassador bloggers Melvin Boecher (Traveldudes.org) and moi , Kash Bhattacharya (BudgetTraveller.org) to develop a very simple idea – we created an apartment for bloggers in Bologna and Rimini that they could call their ‘home away from home.’
Thanks to the two apartments available for 83 days, the 50 participating travel bloggers were able to explore the Emilia Romagna region in complete freedom, with no restrictions and time boundaries, getting access to the local attractions
and focusing their experiences on what really was important for their blogs and for their readers. The motto of the entire project was “BlogVille Emilia Romagna: eat, feel and live like a local in Italy”.
The results of BlogVille were awesome:
- over 280 published blogposts
- over 75M impressions and over 8M people reached on twitter
- global trending topic on twitter on July 8th 2012
- over 3.000 shared photos and videos on Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube
- an eBook with the best blogposts, photos and videos of the project
BlogVille 2: The next episode
The #BlogVille concept not only created a huge awareness of the Emilia Romagna region and its treasures but in the long term converted key influential travel bloggers into digital ambassadors for the region, relationships that the tourism board can reap a continuing benefit in the long term.
This year, we are looking to expand our pool of awesome global digital ambassadors for BlogVille 2 – could that blogger be you?
How can you get involved and be part of the #BlogVille story
We are casting the net wider this year and keen to attract a more diverse, exciting mix of bloggers for this year’s BlogVille. Registration for the travel bloggers to take part in the project has now opened on the JOIN NOW page of the official website. We have the apartment from April 29 to July 29 and from September 2 to October 28. In that time you have the freedom to explore the region the way you like, as long as space is available.
How many days can I stay?
The stay of a blogger in the apartment can range from 2 days to 2 weeks, depending on the type and amount of coverage you can offer the destination. List your dates and the Emilia Romagna Tourism board will try their level best to accommodate you.
What kind of bloggers are we looking for?
The bloggers experienced and discovered all the treasures of Emilia Romagna. The most covered themes in last year’s BlogVille were Wine & Food, Art Cities and UNESCO, Motors and Motorvalley plus Fashion and Shopping. We are keen to examine these themes again but also look at other areas and countries so please list what areas, interests you cover to see if these could fit within this year’s campaign.
Blogville Emilia Romagna official website
Top tip
Please have a look at stories posted on the blog and also check our e-book to see what themes and stories we have covered so far from BlogVille Part 1. Preference will be given to those bloggers who have fresh, unique content ideas.
What can you expect
As like last year, BlogVille bloggers will enjoy free access to events, museums, sightseeing, and other touristic highlights thanks to the BlogVille Card. Furthermore, every blogger will be supplied with a mobile wi-fi device for his/her daily exploration of the region, enabling real-time social media coverage, sharing pics and tweets from your trip.
The Tourism Board will help you to create a personalised programme that is focused on the different themes and niches that you would like to cover on your blogs. In addition to that, in order to give a structure to your programme and to cover the entire region, an organised trip will be held every week for all the residents of the apartment.
In the apartments, bloggers will be able able to find an information corner about the Emilia Romagna region and a survival pack with typical products of the region (like Prosciutto, Parmesan Cheese, Balsamic Vinegar, Pasta, Wine, etc).
Support from the ‘Blogger in Residence’
A new feature of this year’s BlogVille will be the presence of a long-term ‘blogger in residence’ , drawn from the pool of iambassador bloggers that will be present to assist and support the other bloggers during their stay at BlogVille.
The whole focus and dedication is make you, the blogger feel at home so that you can be inspired to produce your best work. I personally will be at BlogVille in July so maybe , our paths cross. Either way, I wish you good luck in your application.
Please go ahead and register your interest now at the BlogVille Emilia Romagna website.
By Kash Bhattacharya
BlogVille Part 2 is brought to you by the Emilia Romagna Tourism Board in partnership with iambassador.
