It’s all ‘Appening in Belfast
As we countdown to Ticketing Technology Forum 2016 we catch up with The SSE Arena, Belfast, who will be joining us at The Forum for the first time.
We explored the launch of their new app and its benefits.
How has the new Venue App been received?
The SSE Arena, Belfast, launched the UK’s first Arena App in September 2015, giving visitors the chance to enjoy a fully interactive experience at concerts. Using the Arena App, customers can find out about upcoming events, book and upgrade tickets, browse and buy merchandise, and a variety of special food and beverage offers exclusive to the app. During live entertainment events, app users will then have the chance to fast track their food and beverage purchases, ordering from their seats in the arena via the app and collecting items from app-only collection points.
With 27,000 downloads The SSE Arena, Belfast Venue App has been very well received by customers.
We will continue to develop the functionality of the app through phases II and III throughout 2016 adding features such as polls, competitions, video content, giant’s player profiles and much more.
What have the technology upgrades provided in terms of customer and business benefits?
The new app has been launched following an extensive arena upgrade project which saw the relaunch of the venue as The SSE Arena, Belfast with more than 180 new digital screens, free high-speed wireless broadband and the installation of 9,000 new seats. We believe that we are a better performing arena since our refurbishment and we can offer our customers much more than just the show that they are attending. Good customer service is at the forefront of everything we do but we believe that the addition of new technology is providing customers with a superior experience.
How does the new digital signage help to drive sales/interactions?
Food and drink are brought to life on our digital screens. Customers can see what products and special offers we have available as soon as they enter the building. We stream our social media and selfies from our app, directly onto the video walls around the building driving interaction with customers.
How do you decide how allocations are split?
Allocations are based on sponsorship agreements with the arena. Our pouring rights sponsors receive the largest share of voice. We also use our screens to promote up and coming shows, merchandise, food and drink.
Which system(s) do you use?
We sell our tickets through the Ticketmaster system. We sell online, via our in house Box Office and through Ticketmaster outlets across Ireland.
Do you have a CRM system?
We do not have a formalised CRM system in place at present but this will be our focus going forward as our customer data grows.
What are the next steps for further integration between ticket sales and customer insights?
We are continually keen to integrate ticket sale information and customer insights. We are working closely with our ticketing partner and app developers
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