Walk of Fame Steps Up on Tech Front

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The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is hoping it has launched a new star – a mobile app tailored around the Hollywood Walk of Fame experience.

The app, which will be free initially, debuted last month and helps visitors locate stars along Hollywood Boulevard. It also offers archival photos and videos of star ceremonies from decades past as well as a trivia game.

Chamber Chief Executive Leron Gubler said it was the business group’s duty as stewards of the Walk of Fame to develop the interactive experience.

“We absolutely felt it was necessary,” he said. “If we didn’t do it, somebody else would.”

In fact, several people already have. Apple’s App Store has five Walk of Fame apps available from other developers. But Gubler said he’s found inaccuracies in those and hopes to do better.

To develop the app, the chamber worked with West Hollywood’s MediaMine, a firm that specializes in digitizing media archives and developing mobile apps.

There was a lot of work to do, given that there are more than 2,500 stars on the walk. The app will continue to update as new stars are rolled out – there are usually a couple of dozen a year.

MediaMine took on the costs of development, which came in at about $300,000, according to Barry Snyder, the firm’s president. He said the potential of the app justified the expense.

“We really believe in location-based, fan-fanatic kinds of connections,” he said.

The chamber and MediaMine will split revenue from in-app purchases such as a 99 cent make-your-own digital star offering. There are also coupons for local businesses, offering discounted pizza or costumes. The chamber and MediaMine take a commission on those sales.

In-app purchases also apply to some videos, and Snyder said the app will go from free to paid download sometime around the holidays.

The opportunity could be large. Gubler said Hollywood gets around 12 million visitors a year.

But Gubler said the main goal was adding to the Walk of Fame experience.

“Our top priority was to get an app out there that was good for the public,” he said. “If we make a little money, that would be good, too.”

– Jonathan Polakoff

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