The latest member of NXP’s MIFARE System Integrator Partner Program,
PouchNATION, is helping event managers across Southeast Asia discover the many benefits
of using NFC – and MIFARE – based cards and wristbands for entry
passes and cashless payments.
Using NFC technology and in-house developed software, the Singapore-based
company helps event organizers deliver hassle-free experiences to their
attendees and build deeper relationships with their audiences.
PouchNATION’s tailored solution begins at the ticket purchase. As
Graeme Perkins, Chief Marketing Officer and Co-Founder describes it,
“event attendees can buy tickets, load credit and even have their
wristbands delivered to their home or office. The wristband is pre-loaded with
ticket access and tokens, so they don’t have to queue. They start
having fun right away.”
Everyone benefits
The MIFARE-powered wristbands and cards deliver important benefits to
attendees, event management and sponsors.
-
Attendees – Arriving onsite with a
pre-loaded wristband or card means less waiting at entry points and faster
queues when buying items like food and souvenirs. Cashless transactions
eliminate the need to carry money, and that means less worry about
pickpockets or forgetting a wallet somewhere. Follow-on access to messaging
and other forms of social media gives new ways to engage, whether
it’s with the event itself or sponsors.
-
Event Managers – Digital authentication of
tickets reduces fraud, while software-driven reporting and live analytics
help event managers be more responsive and more interactive. The result is
better methods for tracking sales and gauging the success of various
marketing efforts, with increased efficiency when it comes to managing
crowds and maintaining security.
-
Sponsors – Real-time and post-event
analytics give sponsors more sophisticated ways to know how people are
responding to their activities. The ability to connect directly with
attendees, through messaging or special offers, extends the value of
sponsorship and deepens consumer relationships.
PouchNATION’s ability to enhance event experiences has helped them grow
quickly. Within the past year alone, the company has generated over 1 million
transaction records, has handled over SGD 10 million worth of transaction
value and collected 30 million data points.
The company’s Brand Activation service helps event sponsors select the
right target markets, engage guests, measure the impact of their branding
activities and create lasting relationships with event attendees. In
particular, PouchNATION’s offline-to-online customer acquisition tool
allows brands to onboard attendees as real customers after the event, for
deeper engagement and broader insights. Working with the online retailer
Zalora, for example, PouchNATION’s events in the Philippines have let
attendees convert their post-event balances into Zalora wallet credits for use
on the Zalora platform.
PouchNATION’s Event Solutions
-
Ticket validation: One ticket locked to one chip
-
Cashless payments: Balances stored on each chip
-
Merchant/Vendor POS: Transaction handled by chip
and PouchNATION software, with options for tracking items, top spenders, top
sellers, etc.
-
Event analytics: Detailed information on guest
attendance, peak hours, entry points, sales reports, top spenders, session
tracking, social-media engagement, etc.
-
Access control: Manage access points, reduce queue
times
-
Subscription building: Better privacy compliance,
database building to multiple parties all in one execution
-
Offline-to-online acquisition tools: Brands and
sponsors can onboard new consumers with directly measurable solutions
Case Studies in the Philippines
A look at the company’s recent work in the Philippines gives a good
overview of how PouchNATION uses NFC, and MIFARE product technology in smart
cards and wearables like wristbands, to create secure, hassle-free experiences
for event attendees:
-
TAFISA 2016
Held every four years, this internationally sponsored, week-long festival
encourages everyday people to participate in physical activity and aims to
protect and promote traditional sports and games. The 2016 Games, which took
place in Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta, involved a number of
events, including a world kite festival, dragon boat races and an extreme
sports competition. In all, the event attracted more than 14,000 competitors
and more than 100,000 spectators. PouchNATION made it a cashless event,
supplying accreditation cards and food vouchers, while also managing access
control.
-
Plus Six Three Music Festival
As part of the annual Sinulog Festival, a cultural and religious event, held
every January in Cebu City, that attracts nearly 2 million people each year,
the upscale nightclub Cove Manila and the online fashion retailer Zalora
Philippines hosted the Plus Six Three Festival, a two-day music and arts
event. Attracting 8,000 attendees, it was the first cashless event ever held
in Cebu City. PouchNATION provided the online ticket sales and custom NFC
wristbands, managed event access and onsite cashless payments and provided
detailed data analytics. After the event, attendees could convert any
leftover balances on their wristbands to Zalora wallet credits for use on
the Zalora platform.
-
Brew Fest Manila
This free-to-enter, three-day festival, attended by 3000 people in 2016,
celebrates local beers and uses an innovative “rental” concept
for cashless purchases. Attendees can rent an NFC card from the organizer
for a dollar, top it up and use their credits to make purchases while at
the festival. When they leave, attendees turn in their cards, collect any
remaining balances and get their deposits back. At the end of the event,
Brew Fest MNL returns the NFC cards to PouchNATION. PouchNATOIN collects 2%
of all transactions, charges a rental fee for cards and receives an
additional dollar for each card not returned at the end of the event.
-
Jack Daniel’s Future Legends Indiefest
Every two years, the Tennessee whiskey-maker Jack Daniels holds an awards
ceremony to celebrate Philippine rock-and-roll artists. At each event, the
winners from the previous awards ceremony put on an exclusive,
invitation-only live concert. Music fans who have a registered profile with
Jack Daniels can be invited and claim free entry. A limited number of
tickets are sold on the day of the event, at the entrance. The entire event
is cashless, with a no-cash-back policy for the NFC wristbands. But leftover
balances don’t go to waste, as concert attendees can claim any
remaining amount, along with automatic discounts, for their next purchase
with the online retailer Zalora Philippines.
Partnering for Expansion
As a system integrator,
PouchNATION brings together all the technologies needed to develop compelling,
easy-to-use solutions and plays a vital role in the broader NFC and MIFARE
ecosystem. By accepting NXP’s invitation to become a MIFARE System
Integrator Partner, PouchNATION joins NXP in making it easier for event
managers to find complete solutions, based on the latest technology, that
deliver tailored performance with maximum convenience.
With established operations in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and
Vietnam, PouchNATION has ambitious plans for expansion into new markets. The
company recently opened an office in Thailand, which is one of the
region’s most popular locations for big events.
To help celebrate their recent expansion into Thailand, PouchNATION joined
forces with NXP to put on a reception for clients, investors and members of
the press. Held in July 2017 at the prestigious Hive Thonglor, a rooftop
garden bar in Bangkok, this special event gave attendees direct experience
with wristbands and the live analytics they produce, and showcased the current
capabilities of NFC technology and MIFARE solutions to deliver outstanding
guest experiences.
