Creative ways to use our event management software

From day one we wanted to develop Oveit into more than just a ticketing app, to develop it into a complete event management software. We always knew that technology can help you offer unforgettable experiences to your guests. Time passed, we developed new features, and clients started using our software for complex situations. Today I will tell you how our partners use Oveit’s features in ways that may surprise you. Maybe you are looking for an event management software that you can use in an “unconventional” way (yes, we now that you are looking for more than a ticketing software), so go ahead and find some inspiration below.

Great way to collect shout-outs 

I am found of all creative ideas, but I will start with the idea one of our partners had not too long ago.  They were using Oveit to sell tickets for a high-school musical show. Also wanted to give parents a way to support their children by allowing them to buy some “shout outs” in the event programme. They had a dedicated email address for parents to contact them but found it difficult to offer a straightforward payment solution. It was also pretty difficult to make sure that all the shout outs are collected in one place and none is lost “on the way” (things can be difficult when you are part of a small team).

He had the ingenious idea to use Oveit for it; created a new event that allowed parents to instantly register the message by using our registration forms. Set up a limited number of tickets (each ticket was a shout out) and money went straight into their account through our direct payment feature. After the registration period was over they simply downloaded the list and printed the shout-outs in the Event Programme. An easy way to solve a complicated situation.

Print screen from Oveit - event management system

Rewarding loyal customers through our event management software

Loyalty is something each brand looks for from its customers. Loyal customers are hard to find, so when you do let them know that they are truly appreciated. One of our partners (a Sports Organization) uses our NFC technology for both payments and access control at the VIP lounge. They wanted to do more for the fans that rarely miss from a home game, so they have created a special rewarding program. Depending on the number of consecutive games the fans attend they receive a gift from the organizer. Because the fans use their cards to pay or access designated areas our partner can easily keep track of those that qualify for the loyalty program.

Loyalty programs are very appreciated by customers and 76% consider that personalized offers based on their purchase history are crucial.

Art that speaks to its admirers

Our NFC capabilities can be used to engage attendees within your events. We developed it thinking it would be a great way for attendees and sponsors/exhibitors to connect.

However, I know someone that took this feature one step further. Visiting a museum is always fun, but it’s much funnier when art talks to you. Yes, our NFC features are used in museums, and visitors can find more about a particular piece, an artist or an art movement. Online searching for information is very common among museum-goers. Art that follows up is not something that you see on a daily basis and it’s a great way to create a buzz while helping visitors find more about what they love.

follow up email sent using Oveit's attendee engagement feature

photo/text source: wikipedia.org Example of personalized follow-up email sent using Oveit’s engagement feature

Using the “badge” option as a gift coupon for your services

Discount coupons are a great way to attract new business. According to a study conducted by Firstdata, 11% of coupons are used by new users, meaning they are a great way for new customers to test your products or services. A quality interaction will convince them to become regular users, and adding gift coupons can increase your client base. To estimate what this could mean take a look at how small improvements can increase your business. 

Oveit can be used to create gift coupons that will be sent directly to the beneficiary through a 100% personalized coupon while all the financial data goes to the person that places the order.

Our cashless payment system for day to day activities

Our main focus is on cashless payments, there’s no secret here. We are happy to see that more and more event planners use our software for this feature, increasing their revenue. Our “light” setup was adopted not only by event planners but also by an elementary school that was delighted that can use it in its cafeteria. Parents credit the pupils’ accounts (they use colorful NFC wristbands that scholars love to wear) and using our software they are sure that the kids use the lunch money…for lunch.

colorful NFC wristband

The same system is used by a large corporation as a way to partially support lunch for its employees. Each month the company adds an amount to each employee account as they use their personalized NFC cards to pay at the cafeteria. If they run out of credit employees can add extra credit.

We are happy to see that more and more employers opt to use our cashless payments solution in order to create a closed-loop ecosystem to manage lunch benefits.

NFC-based ecosystems for tourist complex

The idea of ecosystems has always been on our minds, this is why we have developed Oveit into more than a ticketing software. And starting from the event ecosystem we looked further, making it easy to use in more complex environments.  With their help, we managed to develop our software so that it can manage a touristic complex, the NFC room key becoming a powerful tool that is used to:

Attendees can use it to:

-open rooms

-pay at bars, restaurants, gift shops (in the ecosystem)

-access different areas on site (access to different facilities is connected to the room guests have booked, so permissions come as “benefits” added to the account)

-guests that stay at this resort have access to a nearby Contemporary Art Museum and in order to see if they really visit it the entry is added as a “perk” and checked in individually (using the same “room key” which, of course, it’s an NFC card).

A new way to manage treasure hunt games

Our NFC capabilities were not once used for implementing treasure hunt games, but a particular occasion stuck to my mind. One of our partners used Oveit for a company retreat and the NFC wristbands to capture data on what activities its employees prefer. For the treasure hunt game, they used our software to create checkpoints and check if each team has covered the whole track. Each time a team reached a milestone the team leader tapped the wristband to the NFC device. Our event management software sent an email containing clues on how to reach the next checkpoint and also marked that they have covered that point of the track. Easy implementation for maximum fun.

Hope this article helped you discover new techniques to satisfy your customers. If you have a question for which you haven’t got an answer please let us know. We can’t promise Oveit will be the perfect solution for you but we promise we will look into it.

November 5, 2018 Event management, Events, Museums, Oveit Features 1 comment

Do people STILL buy Museum Tickets?

Last week I had the privilege of attending Vienna Contemporary, a modern art fair with a love for technology. Oveit was a part of the CultTech hackathon and we won the innovation award for cultural institutions ticketing </humblebrag>. By being a part of the hackathon we were able to get insights from one of the largest and most beautiful museums in the world: The Kunsthistorisches Museum, home of one of the most exquisite art collection. Here’s how we’ve found that people still buy museum tickets:

If you’ve visited Vienna but somehow missed the museum, don’t worry, you are not the only one. As we gathered some data we’ve noticed that even though the venue is the third most popular thing to visit in Vienna, its number of reviews were slightly off:

Source: Tripadvisor

Source: Tripadvisor

So what is happening here? Why does KHM have 4 times less reviews than the Schonbrunn Palace?

We did a little digging and found some interesting things. And by a little digging I mean analyzing over 3200 reviews using Natural Language Processing (buzzword for using algorithms to sort through text data – we do a bit of that around here).

Here’s what we found:

People love going to the museum for different reasons. But they do love going to the museum.

We’ve got our first insight when we visited the museum (surprising, right?). There’s no algorithm to express the feeling of seeing people immersed in the works of art. Or children having fun by looking at a statue, a Bruegel painting or a crocodile mummy. Yes, they also have that.

The second clue was when we discussed with Florian Pollack, marketing and communications manager for the museum. He mentioned that many tourists would, unfortunately, miss the museum while visiting the Museum of Modern Art or the Natural History Museum. But those that visited the museum were in fact “overwhelmed and impressed” by what they have discovered.

So we decided to test that. We analyzed the review data and found this: the data showed people loved the museum. Ticket buyers where the best evangelists the museum had. We noticed a 96% positive sentiment among those that reviewed their visit to the museum.

Where are the museum ticket buyers coming from?

We digged through data and noticed that most of the museum visitors that reviewed their visits were not coming from Vienna. They were mostly tourists:

khm-interests

Top three cities that buy museum tickets: London, Vienna, New York. However, the long tail was quite long, we noticed. People came from all around the world and they loved their experience. So what exactly where they more interested in?

What are people most interested in when visiting a museum?

By analyzing the data we noticed some things popping up here and there. In case you are thinking about visiting the museum, here’s what the hot topics are:

khm-interests

Art: people were interested in the art collection, the art works, art history and art gallery. Basically – people are going there for the art.

They were mentioning the audio guide as a great resource and among the most interesting works where the coin collection, old masters works, Gustav Klimt’s work as well as Pieter Bruegel’s.

By the way – here’s one of the museum’s most treasured works of art, the Tower of Babel, a classic painting by Pieter Bruegel:

“Well yeah, but that’s just one museum, what does your data say about others… or maybe you don’t have any?” Yeah, we thought you might say that so we went ahead and studied some other museums you might have heard of:

The Metropolitan Museum in New York

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam

These three museums had a combined 68211 reviews so this turned into a bit more than a side project for a blog post.

Here’s what we’ve found, starting with the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam :

Visitors to the Rijksmuseum love the Night Watch, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, the gift shop and the coffee shop. Oh, and they want to buy museum tickets online.

The Rijksmuseum hosts more than 8000 works that tell the story of 800 years of Dutch history so visitors’ opinions were quite different. However, some common threads did pop up on our research.

London is again on top of our list of most reviews locations. Number two is Amsterdam, an obvious choice as most visitors are bound to be locals. The third spot: New York, New York. But look at number four and five: Sidney and Melbourne, all the way from Australia. If flying on the other side of the planet is not love of art, I don’t know what it is:

rijksmuseum-visitors

Rijksmuseum visitors love The Night Watch and they love Van Gogh

While studying the reviews we noticed (it was kind of hard to miss it) the most loved item in the museum’s collection: The Night Watch.

1106px-The_Nightwatch_by_Rembrandt

Source: Wikipedia

The painting, a work by Rembrandt van Rijn from 1642 is famous for three things:

  • its size (363 cm × 437 cm / 11.91 ft × 14.34 ft)
  • the light and shadows
  • the perception of movement

The work was finished in 1642, when the Dutch Golden Age was at its peak. That’s why you will see “Dutch Golden Age” as one of the hottest topics.

If you wanna get a preview of the painting, before deciding on whether you should visit the museum, the Rijksmuseum has all the info ready for you to preview. Fun fact – you can also see Obama visiting the museum and its most famous painting, in the preview page.

Van Gogh – One of the most famous painters in the world, partly hosted in the Rijksmuseum. Many visitors listed Van Gogh (as well as its close relative “Van Gough” 🙂 ) in their reviews. The reason is one of the most well-known self-portraits:

vangogh-rijks

But these are not the only reasons people buy tickets to museums such as Rijksmuseum. Here are some of the other terms we’ve noticed:

  • art work
  • art museum
  • art lover
  • art gallery

Basically they love art. But they also love some of the other things the museum has to offer, and I might say that The Rijksmuseum is quite an avantgarde museum, building experiences around its works of art. People also come there for the high-quality audio guide, the wonderful gift shop and its coffee shop.

Before they visit they are interested in the entrance fee, buying tickets online and the museum member card. So if you manage a museum – you might take note of this.

PS: the ground floor is THE place to be. Here are the hot topics:

rijksmuseum-topics

Visitors who buy museum tickets to the Van Gogh Museum = Rijksmuseum visitors. But they are looking at different things.

It’s probably no surprise that people who visit the Van Gogh museum are looking for Van Gogh artworks. But they are also interested in its life story, very interested in the gift shop and disappointed by not finding the “Starry Night” (it’s at the Museum of Modern Art)

starry-night

Not pictured above: one of the artworks in the Van Gogh Museum 🙂

Visitors are also interested in the gift shop and buying tickets online. So that topic again.

For a more extended interests list have a look below:

van-gogh-interests

PS: get ready for the long lines:

long-lines-van-gogh

The Metropolitan: visited by New Yorkers, Brits and Aussies. Main point of interest: Frank Lloyd Wright, Andy Warhol and the Costume Institute

Unlike the previous museums, most reviews come from New Yorkers. By far:

metropolitan-locations

Hard to see? let’s turn shift the perspective a bit:

met-visitors

As you can see most reviews come from New Yorkers, followed by visitors from London and then Sydney and Melbourne. Apparently, EU visitors are not really interested in visiting The Met, and if they are, they are a bit shy about it.

Regarding the interests, you will find that people who buy museum tickets to the Metropolitan Museum are interested in:

and more:

metropolitan-interests

Regarding the overall feeling, I would say visitors were overwhelmed. Attributes such as great, wonderful and huge were used to describe the museum:

met-museum-feelings

So – that’s the end – four great museums and 65 000 reviews later I can surely say that people do buy museum tickets. Each museum has its own stars and people are attracted to these culture stars. Visitors love to spend time enjoying the museum experience and they want to purchase mementos of these visits. They are interested in buying their tickets online, spending enough time within the museum and enjoying unique works. Oh and by the way: it helps to have a cafe.

September 26, 2017 Events, Museums No comments yet

We Are Museums is becoming better year by year

“From museum professionals, cultural venues, heritage owners, startups and businesses, we make worlds collide and collaborate.” – WAM

Untitled design(2)

Created in 2013, We are Museums is meant to bring the two different worlds of innovation and culture on common ground. The purpose is to help professionals from both industries find solutions to re-define the field of museums and culture through cutting-edge technology.

It is the second year in a row when Oveit is taking part at Tech Loves Culture within WAM and we may say that we are really excited to see visible progress within the number and diversity of the participants.

Finding solutions to re-define the field of museums and culture through cutting edge technology

The technologies available in this year’s representation did cover a large spectrum in the triangle formed by: Culture & Art – Visitors – Technology.

Some of the most interesting and innovative technology present at WAM were:

Artlokator  a platform that connects all major art market places in one: art platforms, online & traditional auction houses, galleries, art dealers and private collectors. The website provides free valuations and knowledge about art pieces, a data library to search for items and art market trends. As well as an online gallery where you can get inspired and can share your works of art with the global art lovers community.

Overly is the first and only agency in the Baltic States that focuses on the development of augmented reality solutions and other interactive technologies that can be used within museum with the purpose of offering a more interactive experience and an easier way to assimilate and learn new information.

Vastari is dedicated to museums around the world that organise many exhibitions a year. The interface and networking tools offered by Vatsari makes it easier for these museums to communicate with the private sector directly, to tour exhibitions globally and share information for exhibitions worldwide.

Mash Machine players combine bass, drum, melody and vocal samples by placing and moving blocks on the surface. The algorithm and the custom content ensure the resulting music is always in key and on time. With no possibility to make a mistake, newly born DJs relax and experiment with music styles ranging from rock and hip hop to deep electronic techno.

Catchbox is the world’s first soft, wireless microphone that you can throw into the audience to kickstart a discussion. Catchbox improves lectures, conferences, and group work by encouraging audiences and groups to share ideas and discuss problems. The colorful box is intuitive to use, and having it thrown around engages audience members while breaking the ice. The Catchbox is a combination of innovative product design and state of the art audio technology. With a microphone element suitable for professionals the innovative AutoMute technology, Catchbox sets new standards for the audience microphone. In addition, the unique locking mechanism means that the cover is easy to replace and change. Catchbox Custom Cover is an entirely new visual medium to communicate your own brand effectively. Whether it’s your own logo, crucial event information, or a spot for sponsors, the Custom Cover is guaranteed to give you the extra exposure boost.

The list continues with many other innovative technology and products which will definitely change the whole experience offered by museums in the near future.

Museums are investing in technology with the purpose of reshaping the traditional museum into a conjuring experience. They are not only acknowledging the new services as Facebook, YouTube or Snapchat but they are actually trying to find ways of fitting in alongside them.

Read more about how to engage visitors emotionally on our blog.

June 22, 2017 Access management, Museums No comments yet

How to engage visitors emotionally

“Tech can, and should, bring joy and enrichment to galleries.” – Brendan Ciecko, CEO of Cuseum

traveling on a student budget(1)

Believe it or not, Museums are investing in technology with the purpose of reshaping the traditional museum into a conjuring experience. They are not only acknowledging the new services as Facebook, YouTube or Snapchat but they are actually trying to find ways of fitting in alongside them.

Museums are investing in technology

Some museums like the MET museum from New York are actually investing in a digital media department composed of 70 staff and 70 more handling tech hardware in general.

Museums are doing everything possible to fight their competition. But as Sree Sreenivasan, the MET’s chief digital officer is saying “Our competition is Netflix and Candy Crush, not other museums.”

“Our competition is Netflix and Candy Crush, not other museums”

From 3D scanning and 3D printing, to virtual reality and special apps, these technologies are being applied in a multitude of ways. Still other technologies are being tested and developed as museums seek to ever broaden public access.

The digital revolution, managed to disrupt the whole industry. Museums are starting to implement cutting edge technology not only to engage visitors emotionally but  as well to create powerful avenues for learning.

Technology is engaging visitors and creating learning avenues

So without further ado here are some of the technologies museums are implementing:

NFC & RFID

With NFC & RFID technology used in museums, there is going to be no need of tour guides, asking  questions or wondering about what you are looking at. Some museums around the world are employing NFC and RFID so that visitors only need to swipe their phone near a specially designed hot spot in front of the exhibit to be given a full tutorial and information on the things they are seeing in front of them.

With the purpose of creating a conspicuous experience museums have started to embed technology not only for  informative purpose but as well to create a powerful avenue for learning. Creating interactive trivia games, visitors have to answer correctly questions using the information found within the museum and by answering correctly the questions  the tourists will have the opportunity to win sweepstakes.

Embedding technology can create a flawless experience

NFC and RFID can be used not only within mobile apps(active mode) but as well integrated into your wristband(passive mode). When registering, the wristband can be linked to your social media account and allow you take photos in designated locations which can be posted automatically on your social media profile or kept in your memory bank. As well you can tap your wrist onto art which you liked in order to memorize it and explore it later. The wristbands can provide you access to your entitled locations through the museum without having to hand out your ticket all the time. And of course for the little ones who are getting easily distracted and bored an immersive adventure can be created.

Beacons

“My sense is that beacons aren’t a life raft, but a bridge to the next generation of museum users”  Elizabeth E. Barker, said,  director of the Boston Athenaeum.

Beacons can detect where visitors are and send them specific information

Beacons are considered as the enabling technology for devices to alert apps or websites (which the user has opted into) when someone approaches or leaves a location. In other words, museum or other venues that have beacons in place can detect where a visitor is at any given moment and send him specific information.

Museums can also use beacons to send additional info; for example , a visitor standing near a painting might get a phone alert directing them to rich , interactive content relating to the painting.

The Brooklyn Museum is using iBeacon technology as a way for guests to interact with museum experts.

3D printing and scanning

De Young Museum – San Francisco, MET and Brooklyn Museum are just a few examples of museums whom adopted  3D printing and scanning.

De Young Museum has collaborated with Google on the Google Art Project , where its collection of art is being digitized for online viewing, the de Young also dabbled with 3D printing when it needed to create a special stand for an 18th-century French clock. Using MakerBot Replicators and 3D CAD software, the museum fabricated a plastic stand that fits the clock perfectly.

Augmented reality

Through AR visitors can find out more about a specific art piece by placing their smartphone or tablet over the object.

With augmented reality, visitors can use a simple smartphone to discover more information about a piece of art in an interactive manner. For example , placing a smartphone or tablet over an ancient statue could display missing parts that have broken off – giving the visitor a glimpse of how it would have looked when it was new. Because AR responds to your movement in the environment, the experience is also completely 3D.

Working with Samsung, the British Museum used AR to create an education program for kids, where they can explore virtual content as they wander through the museum. AR is still in its infancy, but museums around the world are already testing its potential.

Same as the rest of the museums described above, Getty Museum- Los Angeles is trying to stand out through their augmented reality art collection. For example it allows their visitors to explore from their laptops a 17th-century cabinet , by overlaying a virtual 3D object atop a live feed. Users can interact with the object, working in conjunction with the viewer’s body movements.

Virtual Reality

Discover the hidden beauty of the deep sea, fly to the farthest reaches of outer space, take a ride through the complex inner-workings of the human body, and more.This is what Virtual Reality can bring to you.

Virtual Reality allows visitors to participate in a immersive journey

The most comprehensive VR experience ever launched at a museum, The Franklin Institute- Philadelphia is now home to spectacular immersive films and state-of-the-art technology that will transform your view of the world. Using a HTC Vive or Oculus Rift you can be transported to another dimension where anything is possible – where elements are reacting to your movements and commands.

Most of the museums are using not one but rather a slew of tech tools in order to recreate the desired experience. Not sure if it is fortunate or unfortunate, most of the museums will have to embrace tech in order to keep their doors open. Some of the museums which also implemented cutting edge technology are: The museum of London, Centre Pompidou – Paris, Bill Nye’s Climate Lab at the Chabot Space & Science Center, Museum of Natural History – Denmark, National Museum – Kuala Lumpur, Metropolitan Museum of Art – New York City, Louvre Museum – Paris, etc.

More readings:

https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/how-museums-are-using-technology/#ixzz4g7WH5HnM

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/19/arts/artsspecial/museums-turn-to-technology-to-boost-attendance-by-millennials.html?_r=0

http://mashable.com/2011/09/14/high-tech-museums/#bum5Y2uUykqK

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2016/12/26/5-ways-museums-are-using-technology-for-new-experiences/

May 11, 2017 Access management, Event management, Events, Museums 1 comment

How to increase traffic to your museum or gallery?

museum

The Vatican Museum. Source.

Today, the world is changing faster than ever. Information is now instantly available to everyone online, so modern museums need to sell a reason for people to pay to view the real thing. Therefore, in order to respond to the social changes and adapt to your visitors’ expectations, you must innovate, and technology might just be the right choice.

Create your own museum app

More and more museums in the world are making the experience interactive, educational, and engaging for their visitors. Your own museum app can provide cellphone tours, audio guides, interactive movies or games and even augmented reality.

Optical recognition and enhanced reality (using QR codes and such) is a great way to improve the experience of your visitors, as you will be able to enhance what they are seeing through their mobile device. People can scan an object of interest with their camera, and that gesture triggers delivery of relevant content, in order to better understand the exhibits. With the help of your e-ticket and NFC technology, visitors can simply touch their phones on the museum devices and benefit from the latest trends in augmented reality. All the devices from the museum and gallery can connect to Oveit, hence the only thing that visitors must do is purchase an online ticket and come with it on the smartphone. From there, they can relax and enjoy the sights.

Sell online tickets and subscriptions

Purchasing e-tickets will give your customers a lot of benefits: they decrease cost and are instantly delivered (no transportation needed), they are a great time saver, more accessible, safer (these won’t get stolen or lost), and last but not least, they are a ‘green’ alternative.

Apart from these facts, there are also great advantages for you when it comes to selling tickets or subscriptions online. For example, you are able to collect essential customer data that can be used to better plan marketing campaigns for future exhibits or events. With Oveit’s embed system, you can issue and check electronic tickets directly on your website so that you can make sure that customers will never be forced to a third party website that sells tickets. Moreover – there is no setup fee and implementation is instant, by just copy-ing and pasting an embed code.

Provide multiple access

If you have various galleries, collections or exhibits going on in your museum, you can sell multiple access tickets. Oveit’s event registration software can help you create as many different types of tickets as you need. You can also set prices, ticket quantity limits, and much more. Therefore, visitors will be able to benefit from simpler access, using only their smartphone. With the multiple access option, visitors will be able to configure their access ticket any way they want, choosing whatever exhibition they want. Just imagine that you can buy a ticket in less than 2 minutes and with that same ticket you can do everything you want in the museum. So, pay once, visit more.

Host events

Events enable you to promote your activities to a very select group of people and can be a fun and interactive way to engage with potential and existing visitors. Make visitors feel like a part of the museum family, by inviting them to special ‘member’ events. Let them share their experience with the museum and their future expectations. Also, events can be a great way to thank existing customers for their support and interest.

In order to host a successful event, you need to have an easy registration system in place. In a couple of minutes, Oveit can help you design and create personalized badges for all your attendees, create complex seating designs (in case your museum hosts a conference) and sell access to your planned event.

June 1, 2016 Event management, Events, Museums No comments yet