Cloud-based customer engagement solution Givex has expanded its partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise the Philadelphia Phillies.
The agreement continues the Phillies’ five-year relationship with Givex’s Uptix mobile ticketing platform, which provides stored value that can be sent directly to fans on their mobile devices.
The partnership began in 2004 when the team moved into its new home at Citizens Bank Ballpark and wanted to find a way to differentiate the ballpark experience for fans in its Diamond Club. So, they provided those fans with value on the barcoded tickets that could be used at all POS stations throughout the ballpark.
“We had great success with that first foray into stored value,” said Chris Pohl, director of ticket technology and development for the Phillies. “Recently we developed an opening day package, for example, that included opening day tickets and a gift card, and we saw four times as spending from those gift cards on concessions and merchandise on opening day because of it.
“So, we quickly realised the possibilities presented by adding stored value to an existing barcode and we began exploring the idea of using technology to expand the options and the convenience for our fans even further.”
Givex gift cards provide Phillies fans at both Citizens Bank Ballpark and at the Phillies spring training site, Spectrum Field, in Clearwater, Florida, with customised promotions and marketing solutions designed to boost overall fan experience and convenience.
Through the platform, fans can use stored value on their barcoded tickets inside the ballpark on things like concessions and merchandise.
“This is exactly what we were hoping for when we envisioned the next evolution of gift card sales,” said Pohl. “The past two seasons on fan appreciation days we provided stored value directly onto barcoded tickets through the Uptix promotion platform to fans in specific sections at a specific time that we designated that day.
“The functionality behind that idea is extremely powerful. The value can be turned on or off immediately and we see the results in real-time as fans in the winning section high five each other and rush off to redeem the value we provided on their tickets at concession stands and merchandise vendors. The success we’ve seen with Uptix at Citizens Bank Ballpark serves as the perfect case study of just how impactful loyalty programs can be when spending power is put directly into our fans’ hands.”
Givex has also partnered with teams across major sports, including MLB, MiLB, the NHL, NFL, NBA and Division I NCAA schools and continues to aggressively pursue additional team partnerships.
Image: Keith Allison
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