What’s in a name? In the business world – everything. Yet sometimes corporate executives see great potential  in a title that the buying public (or maybe just this writer) may see as humorous. On Wednesday, August 11, the West Hollywood  Marketing and Visitors Bureau  unveiled a new smartphone app called 'WehoKey.' Now let me clarify, it is pronounced as one word and if you find yourself accentuating  the  wrong syllable as in 'We-Hokey,' it sounds more like a rap group from West Virginia.

Pronounced correctly, WehoKey is a new multipurpose app with extensive information about all things that make the city of West Hollywood a  leader in the world of design, fashion and entertainment. Using  GPS technology, the app pinpoints the user’s location in order to provide details on nearby restaurants, hotels, nightclubs, retails stores and much more. The result of teaming the West Hollywood Marketing and Visitors Bureau, the social media agency Multibrain and technology provider Solid Media, WehoKey’s continued evolution will allow businesses to offer exclusive discounts and coupons to it’s users. No more worrying about crumpled coupons with illegible barcodes. Pull up a business  listed on WehoKey  and a scanable barcode appears on your phone screen to provide a wide variety of money saving opportunities. 

Whether you’re planning ahead or just got off the plane, the app will allow you to coordinate your itinerary and select a newly opened dining location that your  hotel concierge may not even know about. You just read about your favorite celebrity making a dress purchase on Robertson Boulevard, go to your WehoKey app and call the shop to see how late they are open. So what if you can’t afford the same dress, just go try things on and  and then pull a Lindsay Lohan by saying, “OMG, I’ll be right back, my parole officer is outside with my credit cards.” 

Similar to Yelp and other social media sites, WehoKey will allow users to publish their own reviews about businesses they encounter.  Sure, most people are quick to complain but, in this economy, let’s not overlook the rewards and praise that should follow good service and quality products. Word of mouth is still the best form of advertising. The group responsible for WehoKey were determine that the app be available to all mobile phone users and not limited to I-phone 3G, 4G, or G Whiz what about the competition. Sure enough they are included too. Any smartphone user can simply text the word “wehokey” to 313131 and they’ll receive a text message with link  to the WehoKey website where the free app can be accessed. 

Certainly a great tool for businesses and the consumers, I discovered that the press conference may have been a bit premature. This journalist was a bit taken aback that there was not  a question and answer opportunity. As some media representatives only show up for free cocktails and tapas, I was chomping at the microphone bit to ask “Why was my app, which I loaded the night before, not working correctly?” Among the glitches I had encountered was that my search  results for nearby hotels did not even offer the internationally famous Andaz hotel even when I was standing at the hotel’s valet stand. When I was able to access one of the program’s developers and inquire about this oversight, I was told that the GPS system on some phones were slightly off by as much as 500 feet. OK, I’ll accept that answer from the Apple book of PR responses, like “Don’t hold it that way,”  but my issue wasn’t that the coordinates were slightly off. My search results conveyed that the Andaz hotel was not near by but actually off the planet.  Maybe it’s the fault of the first black hole discovered in West Hollywood since Hugh Grant got in trouble with a hooker some years ago, but is it asking too much that the WehoKey app provide accurate information? Sure, it’s a great concept and should prove to be a wonderful marketing vehicle  for local businesses, but maybe next time work out the bugs before unveiling such a technology to the media and, specifically, a journalist such as yours truly fully prepared to take it apart as they write a review. 

For more information: http://www.wehokey.com