MELBOURNE, LONDON AND CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 5, 2007 -- Lonely Planet, the world's leading independent travel publisher, and Endeca, an enterprise information access software company, today announced the debut of a new search and information access experience on Lonely Planet's Web site (www.lonelyplanet.com). The new experience -- which includes integrated search, Guided Navigation® and Content Spotlighting capabilities -- helps travelers effortlessly explore and discover related travel and destination information created by both independent travelers and Lonely Planet's expert authors and staff. These features bring together content from Lonely Planet's user forums (Thorn Tree), destination guides, traveler tips, blogs, features, reviews, books, classifieds, video content and more, to help travelers quickly hone in on the specific information most relevant to their unique needs and preferences.
"The combination of author research as well as input from the wider traveler community has always been a key component of Lonely Planet's travel guides. So when we set out to improve access to our online offering , we knew that we had to be able to bring together both traveler-created and Lonely Planet content, products and services - while maintaining relevance and speed for our users" said Cameron Holland, Global eCommerce Manager Lonely Planet. "Endeca presented a unique option that addressed much more than just our previous search problems -- a guided approach to integrated information presentation and discovery. It's been an instant success with our travellers enabling easier access to an enormous amount of travel content."
The difference between Lonely Planet's new user experience and that of a traditional keyword search engine can be seen by searching for "Barcelona." The search returns 1515 results, including information from all of Lonely Planet's diverse content sources. The results are "topped" by a Barcelona destination guide, offering quick links to dining, sight seeing, hotels, night life and shopping in Barcelona, as well as a link to Lonely Planet's Barcelona Guidebook available through its online store and a promotion for accommodation in Barcelona. On the left, flanking the results, is a summary showing travelers which information sources are included in the results list and offering quick ways to narrow the list by the information most relevant to their needs. These include Bluelist, Bookings and Services, Classifieds, Fun Stuff, Haystack, Lonely Planet TV, (Lonely Planet's online) Shop, Thorn Tree, Tips from Travelers, Travel Stories, and World Guide.
Lonely Planet is on the cutting edge of the Web 2.0, user-generated content phenomenon, as they encourage and efficiently leverage peer networking combined with their own content. Providing an experience that effectively harnesses community participation while maintaining intuitive search and browse functionality has led to increased user satisfaction and customer loyalty for Lonely Planet.
"Lonely Planet offers a great example of how publishers can integrate user-generated content into their online offerings to create a compelling and differentiated experience," said John Andrews, Director, Applications Marketing, at Endeca. "By combining their own content, products and services with content created by travelers, and creating an experienced designed for discovery, they have successfully extended their brand -- the essential elements that make them different and uniquely appealing -- across multiple mediums."
About Endeca
Endeca is a next-generation information access company, uniting the ease of search with the analytical power of business intelligence. Combining patented intellectual property, breakthrough science and a deep focus on user experience, the Endeca Information Access Platform helps people find, analyze and understand information in ways never before possible. Leading global organizations like ABN AMRO, Bank of America, Boeing, Cox Newspapers, Dice, The (US) Defense Intelligence Agency, The Home Depot, Hyatt, IBM, John Deere, The Library of Congress, Nike, and Walmart.com rely on Endeca to power business-critical applications that increase revenue, reduce costs and streamline operations.
Headquartered in Cambridge, MA, USA, Endeca is a private company with worldwide operations. For more information: www.endeca.com or info@endeca.com.