Custom mobile app offers guide to Mardi Gras events

Back in 2009 we covered Zehnder Communications’ augmented reality mobile app for Louisiana’s Voodoo Experience music festival, and now it looks like the New Orleans ad firm has taken its efforts to an even larger scale. Developed in partnership with local station WWL-TV, its new Experience Mardi Gras mobile app aims to keep this year’s revelers updated with the latest parade schedules, event information and related videos. Available for both iPhone and Android, the free Experience Mardi Gras app offers users a “Parade Tracker” feature that lets them follow one major New Orleans parade each day, beginning with the Krewe of Muses on March 3 and ending with the legendary Krewe of Zulu on Fat Tuesday, March 8. The app uses Google Maps to give users the most accurate parade routes and to help them navigate the city so they can be in the right place at the right time. For those lulls before the parade arrives, the app features authentic videos of Mardi Gras events past and present. Finally, an up-to-the-minute events page lets users plan their after-parade activities. With today’s mobile technologies, there is no longer any excuse for allowing event attendees to be lost or confused about schedules and locations. Event planners around the globe: find a developer partner of your own and get cracking! (Related: DIY platform enables home-grown iPhone apps — An iPhone app for every band — Adidas creates free iPhone guide to Berlin’s street art.) Spotted by Blake Killian