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Enhancing the Fan Experience with Oracle Hospitality and VenueNext
For stadium operators in the never-ending search for better ways to engage fans, their focus is increasingly turning to the almighty smartphone.
It’s arguably the most indispensable item carried by anyone, used for everything from depositing checks to hailing rides to taking selfies. Yet many teams still haven’t unleashed the full potential of the phone once brought into the confines of their venues.
The result? Countless opportunities to enhance the fan experience, increase loyalty – and, most importantly, boost sales – get benched.
Enhancing the Fan Experience with Oracle Hospitality and VenueNext
For stadium operators in the never-ending search for better ways to engage fans, their focus is increasingly turning to the almighty smartphone.
It’s arguably the most indispensable item carried by anyone, used for everything from depositing checks to hailing rides to taking selfies. Yet many teams still haven’t unleashed the full potential of the phone once brought into the confines of their venues.
The result? Countless opportunities to enhance the fan experience, increase loyalty – and, most importantly, boost sales – get benched.
For stadium operators in the never-ending search for better ways to
engage fans, their focus is increasingly turning to the almighty
smartphone.
It’s arguably the most indispensable item carried by anyone, used for everything
from depositing checks to hailing rides to taking selfies. Yet many teams still haven’t
unleashed the full potential of the phone once brought into the confines of their
venues.
The result? Countless opportunities to enhance the fan experience, increase loyalty –
and, most importantly, boost sales – get benched.
At a time when tech-savvy millennials comprise the core of fan constituencies,
it’s imperative for venue operators to pair point-of-sale platforms with mobile app
technology. Oracle Hospitality POS solutions are uniquely engineered to evolve,
embracing third-party innovations and seamlessly integrating with them for
unparalleled performance. For instance, the Oracle Simphony platform is integral
in allowing venues to maximize the benefits of VenueNext’s connected venue
technology, which includes smartphone apps for game day. With the power of
VenueNext and Oracle, the apps transform phones into stadium remote controls,
enabling fans to access a host of services, including food, drink and merchandise
delivery to their seats and enhancing loyalty programs to reap more rewards.
P A R T N E R S P O T L I G H T
Enhancing the Fan Experience with Oracle Hospitality and VenueNext
For stadium operators in the never-ending search for better ways to engage fans, their focus is increasingly turning to the almighty smartphone.
It’s arguably the most indispensable item carried by anyone, used for everything from depositing checks to hailing rides to taking selfies. Yet many teams still haven’t unleashed the full potential of the phone once brought into the confines of their venues.
The result? Countless opportunities to enhance the fan experience, increase loyalty – and, most importantly, boost sales – get benched.
The benefits are immediate for fans and operators:
• Increase food and merchandise sales at events through mobile ordering
• Generate new revenue streams
• Improve the in-venue (or in-stadium) experience for both casual fans and season ticket holders
• Transform any venue into a fully integrated, connected facility, enhancing fan engagement and increasing opportunities to gain greater knowledge about visitors and their preferences
Taking the Live Experience to a New Level
Food and beverage continues to play a significant role in the fan experience, and
leveraging the full capabilities of the Simphony POS platform can diminish the
pain points and drawbacks of attending live events – primarily long lines that
lead to interminable waits (and worse, missing key plays). By capitalizing on
POS integration, teams are now able to identify and connect with fans in new
innovative ways that directly enhance the individual’s fan experience.
Pairing POS and mobile also is a proven means to boost food and beverage sales,
likely yielding a greater return on investment than spending exorbitantly on
video boards or pre-game entertainment. Such conclusions were among the key
discoveries of the just-released report, The Fan Experience: Changing the Game with Food and Beverage.
The global study – published jointly by Oracle and Turnkey Intelligence, an
industry-leading market research provider – surveyed more than 3,500 sports
fans in eight countries: Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, United
Kingdom and United States. Key findings included:
• More than 40% of sports fans worldwide reported abandoning concession lines in the past 12 months – without making a purchase – because of excessive waiting.
• American fans, on average, said they would spend an additional $20 for food and beverage if wait times were cut in half – representing a 43% increase in typical expenditure (per party, per game).
Greater Fan Engagement = Greater Fan Spending
Such opportunities already have been realized by venues that deployed the
integrated technologies of Oracle and VenueNext.
Oracle POS solutions provide control and improve efficiencies of vital stadium
operations, and they offer reporting and analytics capabilities to shape
tomorrow’s business decisions. A foundational POS system enables integration
with venue technology providers such as VenueNext, whose platform and
accompanying apps help fans get the most out of their stadium experience and
venue owners improve their business.
Among the most popular uses of VenueNext’s game day apps is in-seat ordering:
It’s practically nirvana for fans because it allows them to order from their seats,
meaning they won’t miss a single play or have to wait in snaking lines. VenueNext
integration with Oracle POS enables content management and control systems
to provide real-time updates of available menu items at each stand – and manage
“IN E VERY OTHER ASPEC T OF
THE I R L IVES, FANS NOW
HAVE 24/7, W I - F I CONNEC TIV IT Y
TO EN R I C H WHATE VER THEY DO,”
SAID M I C HAEL L AMBERT, AVP OF
OR ACLE HOSPITAL IT Y SPORTS
AN D ENTE RTAIN MENT. “WHY
SHOULD THEY BE ISOL ATED WHEN
THEY COME TO STADIUMS?
W ITH THE COMBINED POWER OF
OR ACLE POS AND
VENUENE X T, WE CAN DEL IVER
FANS A BE T TER GAME
E XPER IENCE AND, JUST AS
I M PORTANTLY, GAIN INC REDIBLE
INS IGHTS ABOUT THEM.”
2 VenueNext Partner Spotlight | oracle.com/hospitality
expectations by updating wait times. If fans prefer to pick up their order, the
app can serve as a traffic controller and route them to an express pickup line,
where the POS promptly processes and records the transaction. The latter
activity enables operators to simultaneously run loyalty initiatives through the
POS as well.
VenueNext, whose client portfolio now includes NBA, NFL and MLB franchises,
has demonstrated the ROI on its technology platform: In its first season of
use, an NFL client attributed a $2 million revenue increase to app-driven food,
beverage, merchandise, parking and sponsorship sales.
It’s a Win for Fans and Operators Alike
From shorter concession lines to incremental revenue gains achieved by
involving more fans (who otherwise would have skipped making purchases),
multi-functional venue apps offer operators a bevy of benefits. But, arguably,
the most important is their ability to nurture relationships with fans for the
long term. For stadiums enhanced with Oracle and VenueNext, fans are no
longer anonymous paper-ticket holders; they emerge as unique individuals
whom operators can court with promotions and services tailored to their
preferences and behaviors (captured via POS).
Through a new currency ecosystem based on integrating ticketing, loyalty and
point of sale, season ticket holders can trade in tickets that they won’t use for
“currency” to purchase perks – including seat upgrades, food and beverage,
exclusive merchandise or access to special events. The exchange comes at
no loss to the team, which can re-sell the tickets. But it keeps fans feeling as
if they are “special” and their discretionary dollars circulating in the stadium
economy. This type of ecosystem requires a truly connected venue and is
made possible through the integration of the Oracle Simphony and VenueNext
platforms working together.
“CONNEC TING THE POINT- OF-
SALE SYSTEM DI REC TLY TO THE
GUEST’S MOBILE PHONE IS
A KEY ENABLER OF TH IS WHOLE
NEW E XPER IENCE ,” SAID
VENUENE X T CEO & FOUNDER
JOHN PAUL . “AND TOGE THER
W ITH OR ACLE , THAT’S ONE OF THE
MOST I M PORTANT
INNOVATIONS WE DEL IVER —
ALLOW ING VENUES TO SK IP
OUT ON BUYING A LOT OF NEW
E XPENSIVE HAR DWARE
AND CUSTOMERS TO ENJOY
SE AMLESS, SECURE AND E ASY
WAYS TO PAY AT THE VENUE .”
3VenueNext Partner Spotlight | oracle.com/hospitality
CONTACT US
For more information about enhancing the fan experience, visit oracle.com/hospitality or call +1.866.287.4736 to speak to an Oracle representative.
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About Oracle Hospitality
By pioneering hospitality IT innovations in hardware and software for more
than 35 years, Oracle Hospitality has become the industry’s preferred solutions
provider. We deliver best-in-class cloud technology – backed by trusted support
and consulting services in a true partnership – to help food and beverage
operators enhance the guest experience, increase revenues and reduce costs.
About VenueNext
VenueNext is a technology company on a mission to transform the way people
around the world experience venues. VenueNext’s platform unifies the venue
infrastructure ecosystem, giving venue owners access to an entirely new suite of
sophisticated software tools and services that enhance business performance.
VenueNext also develops context-aware smartphone apps that, for the first time,
seamlessly connect guests with everything a venue has to offer.