Toronto’s Comedy Festival took place September 21 – 30, 2017! If you attended this year’s edition, you most likely enjoyed an exciting new way to experience the festival, as 8574 pass holders did.
As part of its 4th year of partnership with MultipleMedia, JFL42 team trusted us to create a mobile application to give festival-goers the most out of their experience. Using gamification, geolocation, push-notifications, real-time data, and a custom mobile framework linking everything together, we made it all possible!
As if that wasn’t a project of its own, MultipleMedia didn’t stop there … but also developed a Barcode Scanner application—for JFL42’s amazing staff—but also to increase the fluidity of the purchase path and credit system!
Festival Mobile Application in Numbers
- 5,707 downloads
- 8,574 pass holders
- 15,821 acts wish-listed
- 33,520 reservations made through the app
- 83,896 times used
The App’s Key Objectives
This innovative project was designed with a clear vision in mind:
- Enhance the Festival experience
- Simplify purchases
- Inform users
Now, let me guide you through the case study highlighting each key functionality.
Enhance the Festival Experience
Designed to become the reference in the industry, the mobile application allows to fully experience and appreciate the festival with its personalized and interactive features. It provides an enriched complementary experience to the existing mobile website, while extending the event’s experience on-site as well as off-site.
Since the best way to engage a user is by making the discovery process nice and easy, MultipleMedia brought gamification to a whole new level with JFL42’s reward system. Interactive features like the wish-list (used more than 15,000 times) and contextual notifications were included to give users control over their navigation experience and personalize their journey.
Empowering Purchase
With its system of credits, JFL42 has a purchase path built for success. If you’re not familiar with it, here is a quick wrap-up.
Users are given the choice of 8 pass options. Each one offers different combinations of The 42 or Headliners shows with some credits to book other performances.
The key element is in the credits. One credit allows you to reserve one of the 42 acts. Once you get scanned for this show, you get this credit back and can use it to reserve for another show! Repeat until the end of the festival and you basically have an unlimited pass!
59% of Pass Holders Downloaded the App!
To get the more out of the festival experience, the best way is to combine the pass with the app. That’s what more than 5,000 people did this first edition!
Use of Credits in the Mobile App
MultipleMedia focused its app design around the reservation experience. With credits available in real-time, users can reserve a performance in a second.
“Their barcode scanned, credits come right back to the app allowing them to book another show right away!”
Rewards and Gamification
To reward its MVPs, JFL42 implemented a reward program in their new app. By attending shows, users unlock rewards and gain levels. Based on the intrinsic motivation factors of gamification, the app also applies these key principles:
- Smart goals: see 4, 7, and 12 shows to reach the next level
- The practice of recovery: credits bring fidelity
- Variability: unknown rewards boost users’ curiosity to achieve them (and attend more shows)
- Encouragement: milestone pop-ups and progress bar situate the users in their journey
For even more fun, well-known memes find their way to this section as well!
Real-time Data
Gamification features were made possible by the Scanner App. Since credits are available in real-time, so are the pop-ups and level changes.
When users reach 4, 7, 12, or 13 shows, a pop-up informs them of their new level and associated reward.
With 1616 Rookies, 881 Protégés, 442 Masters, and even 2 MVP users that attended 46 shows, turns out gamification was a really good use of our time.
Inform Users
One of the key roles of the app is to assist users in their everyday on-site actions. Planning shows is made easy with the schedule and map.
Schedule
Star screen of the app, the schedule lets users browse through daily performances. Visual elements clearly represent shows categories and status. Users can easily reserve or wish list them. For a more specific query, filtering options allow festival-goers to browse by a specific date, venue, or category.
77% of the 33,520 reservations were made on the schedule screen, which totally matches the festival concept. Scan your ticket. Get your credit back. Book another act right away through the app schedule.
Map
Through geolocation, the map suggests shows close by in the next 6 hours. It allows key interactions, like getting directions and making reservations. Map filters let users browse by category or reservations.
How fast can you book your next show while finishing that beer of yours?
Mobile Application Service Provider: Our New Framework
To support its 2 mobile apps, MultipleMedia developed a custom Mobile Application Service Provider, kindly shortened to Mobile ASP. Its main goal is to feed both mobile apps (festival and scanner) with the WordPress website content.
Simplify Purchases
The Mobile ASP client research features allow JFL42 to request multiple real-time reports. That data processed, they can inform users through targeted customized content and notifications.
Fulfilling Customer’s Desires by Understanding Their Needs
Real-time data simplifies targeted communication and offers based on users’ interests. This interactive way to promote shows and artists can be achieved with the wish list and reservation features.
Generic notifications can be programmed to remind users of a reserved performance to limit no-shows, to reserve an act added to their wish list or even to announce newly available seats to what was previously a sold-out show!
The Mobile ASP also allows JFL42 to send notifications to a specific list of users who booked or wish listed a precise show, who reached a specific level, or even a combination of multiple factors. Yes. Our teams really thought it all through!
Barcode Scanner App
To optimize tickets scanning, MultipleMedia developed a mobile application for JFL42’s team and configured it on the staff’s multiple mobile devices.
Fed by the Mobile ASP with real-time data, the app accesses each performance list of attendees. It also filters check-ins, bookings, and total users. Once the venue and performance are selected, the team scans each ticket’s barcode using the camera and flash native functionalities.
Each confirmation clearly appears on the device before switching back to the camera for a quick scanning process of multiple users. Alert appears if a barcode has already been scanned. If it can’t be properly read (a cracked phone screen or when the barcode has been printed instead of using the awesome new festival app, for instance), the code can be manually entered. A second later, credits come right back in the users’ app!
Did I convince you to use JFL42 mobile application next year or perhaps to ask us to develop one for your own event? Stay put for awesome new features and other surprises!
