Scrolling essay guidelines

Pictures:

The first image is our sales poster and should, therefore, have a high wow factor!

The image should ideally reflect the essence of the destination, show people as well as food, nature, and culture. If possible, photos can also reveal something surprising. The pictures should work as eye candy, grabbing the attention of the reader.

The photo should preferably work for both mobile and desktop. Where this is absolutely not possible, please add two different options.

The picture can also be replaced by a video clip if it meets the requirement for a top image.

Photo / text:

The interaction between image and text is essential.

Do not describe what you see in the picture but aim to provide additional information. Use what you see in the photo to enhance the storytelling.

Length:

For larger destinations, please stay within 25-30 slides and max 15-17.

Smaller destinations have different limits, with max 15-20 slides and max 10-15 images.

There might be exceptions if the story and the pictures are good.

For videos, use no more than two to three per essay.

Text

Tone of voice:

Conversational and personal, playful, down to earth.

Imagine giving travel tips to a good friend - and write in the same style you would use to describe the area him or her.

Please adapt the tone of voice and choice of expression to the destination's focus/target group/main segments. For example, "sharing and caring" when talking to families at Geilo, "energy" when talking top trip in Lyngen, "sophisticated" when talking about sub/cultural experiences in Oslo, etc.

Aim to talk with, not to the reader.

Make sure the text provide more information than describing what's in the picture.

Text bolding should correlate to the picture.

Consistent storyline

When possible, please find a theme for the story, such as "Kos" in Trøndelag, "the senses/the raw" in the Northwest, "The smiling south" in Southern Norway etc ...

Before you start, ask yourself: is there anything special that characterizes the area (or that the destinations themselves have as a profile), which should be reflected in text and images?

Text style

Write briefly, but inspiringly. Remember that the readers have, in most cases, probably never been there before. Hence, the scrolling essay must answer:

- Where in Norway is the destination located?

- What are the essential characteristics of the area?

- What is typical or unique here?

- What are the most important highlights (and we must have pictures from these)?

The "best features/attractions" should come out early in history - but we can also save some towards the end where it's more natural.

Interaction with page 2 (the Plan your trip-page)

Remember that the scrolling history will be linked to the Plan your trip pages. As an example: we can talk about one or two specific hikes, or simply mention that there are good opportunities for this in the area. Then, we can link out to the hiking/active section of the plan your trip-page.

We will also have the possibility of Quick View of the product.

Map

"Graphic" - slide early in history?

Plan your trip-page (a fact-oriented sub-page often created for a scrolling essay - not mandatory)

Larger destinations:

Max 15 top attractions (click on attraction and culture), hotels and restaurants.

Max 15 hiking (click on great outdoors) or activity tips where natural.

Smaller destinations:

Max 10 top attractions, hotels and restaurants.

Max 10 hiking or activity tips that are natural.

Examples

Showing:

Have fun together! (both the image and text directly address the reader's feelings in the core segment of the destination, namely sharing & caring, and draws the reader into the text).

The ski resorts in Geilo, centrally located between east and west, are among the largest and most versatile in the country.

With a total of 25 slopes (concrete), you (talking to the reader) will find great skiing opportunities for both those fearless youngsters (as we see in the picture) and total pros alike.

Skilled ski guides will certainly teach you how to do that elegant curve, too! (pulls the reader into text again, an invitation to use guide services)

More tips

- We aim to show the activities in the area but do not have room for everyone. Use photos of the most important activities, or the ones that we have the best image/video of, then add information about other essential activities in the text.

Please note: if the destination is mainly activity driven, the activities should, of course, be given more space (e.g. Geilo, Trysil).

- We should also try to highlight a slightly quirky and surprising aspect of the area (also acts as a "cliff hanger" in the story)

- Think subtle transitions but avoid too much blabla. Be careful with adjectives and descriptions that become empty such as “varied”, “many”, “the land of contrasts”. We don’t have much space - so what's here should be on point. Remember: Show, don't tell.

- Be cautious and conscious when referring to individual products as a hotel /restaurant /experience - show more / have a clear criterion
- We rarely get space for everything the destinations themselves want to show. So please make editorial choices. The essay will be sent to the destination for approval.

Market adjustments

As always, make the necessary adjustments for each language version/market. Titles do not need not be directly translated if there are better alternatives for the language version. Please feel free to adjust to make them more poetic or work better with the photos.

- Content text should also be adapted to national markets by language editors, both in ToV and to some extent in content, where it is natural. In some markets, like Germany and Russia, fishing may be extra important. For Sweden and Denmark, on the other hand, it may be essential to say that it is easy to get there, etc.