Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Got Game? Venuetize Platform Lays Groundwork for In-Venue Mobile Experiences That Engage, Inform

12/06/2019

Got Game? Venuetize Platform Lays Groundwork for In-Venue Mobile Experiences That Engage, Inform District Detroit Mobile App handles ticketing, food pickup, navigation By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director

Tuesday, June 11, 2019 - 11:07 am

Print This Story

Story Highlights

One of the major trends in sports-venue design is that the day of simply dropping a venue into a neighborhood and seeing what happens is giving way to an era of creating a district from scratch, complete with housing, restaurants, shopping, and other entertainment offerings. And such districts are creating the need for digital services like apps that can help visitors more easily engage. The role that Venuetize played in District Detroit shows the opportunities that await.

Venuetize's Craig Duncan: The goal is to communicate with patrons, so they come earlier and stay later.

The teams and venues want to have the fans engaging through their application and their brand because there is a tie to loyalty, says Craig Duncan, chief revenue officer, Venuetize. With a single application where everyone works together, all parties benefit.

District Detroit, for example, is home to Ford Field, Little Caesars Arena, Fox Theater, Comerica Park, Detroit Masonic Temple, and more. It hosts more than 240 live events per year, and the District Detroit Mobile App handles event and parking ticketing, express pickup for food and beverages, and navigation. Connecting via Bluetooth improves wayfinding and ensures that visitors can find the shops, restaurants, and activities they want. And an interactive chat box makes it even easier for consumers to use.

How do we use technology to improve traffic or ticketing and not just for the games but also for retail and hospitality? says Duncan. The goal is to communicate with patrons, so they come earlier and stay later. We want them to spend more money.

Venuetize provides a platform as a service that is below the application layer and, thus, can give cohesion to multiple apps and backend systems. The goal is to integrate what were previously fragmented technology silos that could require consumers to use multiple apps and create multiple accounts. The Venuetize team helps with the strategy, design, and development of an app and mobile environment that meets the needs of teams and the venue.

We stay involved post-launch as it is a multi-year iterative process, Duncan says. You aren't just launching an app. It has a life and will continue to evolve, and there may also be new integrations you will want to do. So we provide the services and support to augment the technology you build your applications on.

The key to a district-wide digital strategy is making sure that connectivity is robust across the entire location. With that in place, the Venuetize platform and team integrate all the digital entities and parties.

Unified app experiences make it easier for fans in the stands to purchase food and merchandise, embrace electronic ticketing, and locate the experiences that are most relevant.

There are dozens of technology integrations that need to happen as we extend the platform out and bring in other ecosystems so that they can tie together seamlessly and the visitor has a seamless experience, says Duncan. You want the consumer to have an easy experience doing things like parking and buying food: if it is more enjoyable, they will be more apt to share more data and trust it so that they can enhance their experience.

One problem with trying to create a one-off app solution that doesn't evolve over time is that corporate sponsors and partners that ideally will be integrated with the app might change. The Venuetize team manages those relationships and swaps out technology components as needed to best meet everyone's needs.

It may seem like a small thing, Duncan says, but there can be dozens of partners, or something like the ticketing partner can change two months before the season. We handle those integrations seamlessly to reduce the risk, the costs, and the possible loss of revenue.

Venuetize also ensures that new types of offerings, such as those that use augmented reality, can more easily be integrated within an app. At Little Caesars Arena, for example, the use of AR allows fans in the entire arena to take part in things like pizza tosses, with those in the upper levels catching virtual pizzas.

You can do gamification and reach the younger audience, Duncan explains. There are multiple benefits that come through gamification driven by AI.

He adds that any efforts around the launch of an app, especially one used in multiple venues and by multiple teams, requires that all the stakeholders be involved in the decision-making process from the beginning.

Mobile engagement touches every part of the organization, he notes. You also might want to bring in fans and corporate partners to be part of the design phase.

Leaving it to the digital and marketing teams can often result in an app or offering that is out of step with what management or even ownership is looking to offer.

Increasingly, Duncan adds, data-privacy experts are important and are playing key roles in ensuring that the best decisions are made to protect data and keep fans on board.

If you go wrong with things like GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation], it can impact the entire business, he says, and the trust that you worked so hard to build will go away very quickly.
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2019/06/11/got-game-venuetize-platform-lay...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

18/09/2026

The inside scoop on attention-grabbing market assets from those in the know

The inside scoop on attention-grabbing market assets from those in the know 17 September 2026 (L-R): Sophie Green, Todd Brown and Edwina Waddy Find this episo...

17/09/2026

Prime Video Embarks on Fifth Exclusive Season of Thursday Night Football With Innovation, Experience in Tow

Lions vs. Bills will also be the first regular-season game at new Highmark Stadi...

17/09/2026

Teradek Launches Bolt 7 with Integrated 900MHz Data Pipeline

Teradek has announced Bolt 7, a wireless video and data system that adds an integrated 900MHz radio to the Bolt's zero-delay video pipeline. The 900MHz chan...

17/09/2026

DAZN Announces Three Executive Appointments

DAZN has announced three appointments to its executive leadership team, all reporting to CEO Shay Segev effective immediately. Patrick Delany has been appointe...

17/09/2026

Monumental Sports and Entertainment Announces Leadership Changes

Monumental Sports and Entertainment (MSE) has announced a leadership restructuring. Zach Leonsis has been named President and Vice Chairman, a newly created pos...

17/09/2026

CP Communications and Red House Streaming Named 2026 Best of Florida Winners

CP Communications has been named Best of Florida for Audio-Visual Services, and its subsidiary Red House Streaming has been named Best Movie and Recording Studi...

17/09/2026

Scripps Sports and ION to Broadcast Shriners Childrens East-West Bowl

Scripps Sports and ION have announced a broadcast partnership for the Shriners Children's East-West Bowl, the nation's oldest college all-star football ...

17/09/2026

espnW Announces Full Agenda for 2026 Women + Sports Summit

The 17th annual espnW: Women + Sports Summit, presented by Toyota, will take place October 14-16 at the Ojai Valley Inn in Ojai, California, with virtual attend...

17/09/2026

PAMA and Shure Announce 2026 Mark Brunner Professional Audio Scholarship Recipients

The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated have...

17/09/2026

LNK Group Migrates Five Networks to Grass Valley AMPP

Lithuanian broadcaster LNK Group has completed a migration of playout and media management for its five national television networks - LNK, BTV, TV1, InfoTV, an...

17/09/2026

Net Insight Establishes Pan-Asian Live Media Network for Nimbra 520 Trials

Net Insight has announced a pan-Asian live media network created with its regional partners, giving broadcasters, production companies, and media service provid...

17/09/2026

SVG Students to Watch: Adam Black, University of South Florida

After a high school football injury, the Orlando native found a new path in video production, gaining experience on ESPN college football broadcasts, Tampa Bay ...

17/09/2026

Image-Line & Antares reveal AutoTune Go

Popular DAW gains free pitch-correction tool Image-Line have teamed up with Antares to kit their popular DAW software out with a built-in pitch-correction p...

17/09/2026

Gibson & Baggs unveil HiFi DNA pickup

Promises unprecedented realism, dynamic nuance and clarity Gibson have teamed up with acoustic pickup experts Baggs, creating a next-generation' pickup...

17/09/2026

VSL introduce Synchron Cimbalom & World Percussion II

Two new libraries join percussion line-up VSL (Vienna Symphonic Library) have just launched two new libraries that bring some intriguing new instruments int...

17/09/2026

Arturia update the MiniFreak

Hardware & plug-in versions gain new features Arturia have just released a free update that brings some significant new features to their MiniFreak synthesi...

17/09/2026

Respected journalist Catalina Flrez to succeed Anton Enus as SBS World News presenter

Respected journalist Catalina Fl rez to succeed Anton Enus as SBS World News pre...

17/09/2026

Call for Applications: South African Producers to Attend the Berlinale Co-Production Market Visitors Programme 2027

The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), in partnership with the Nation...

17/09/2026

5 Reasons to Join Calrec at IBC

Calrec brings leading audio solutions and long-term business value to IBC 2026 We're looking forward to meeting up with you all on 11-14th September in Amst...

17/09/2026

Nielsen Accelerates Streaming Data Delivery with Enhancements to Streaming Content Ratings

Streaming Content Ratings (SCR) Data Shifts to Daily Delivery Cadence, Mirroring...

17/09/2026

The Gauge: Poland | August 2026

August brought further stabilization in total TV viewing time. Poles spent an average of 3 hours and 31 minutes a day watching video content on TV glass-just 2 ...

17/09/2026

Warner Bros. Discovery reclaims top spot in Nielsen's August All Screens Video Landscape Report

Post-sports seasonal shift redistributes viewership across Poland, while streami...

17/09/2026

TVC and Globecast Join Hands to Unveil The Matrix - A Ne...

Television Content Analytics Pte Ltd (TVC), a Singapore-based deep-tech company specialising in sports technology, artificial intelligence and live broadcast in...

17/09/2026

Rise Broadcast Reveals 2026 Awards Shortlist

Rise WIB, the global advocacy group championing gender diversity and career progression across the media technology industry, today announced the shortlist for ...

17/09/2026

CAPITOL BROADCASTING COMPANY AND THE CAROLINA HURRICANES EXTEND CONTENT PARTNERSHIP

RALEIGH, N.C. - Capitol Broadcasting Company (CBC) and Hurricanes Holdings annou...

17/09/2026

LNK Group Moves Five National Networks to Grass Valley AM...

Lithuanian broadcaster deploys Playout X and Framelight X across five networks, combining on-premises software-defined playout with cloud-based disaster recover...

17/09/2026

Introducing Adobe Photoshop Elements & Premiere Elements 2027

Introducing Adobe Photoshop Elements & Premiere Elements 2027 Brie Clayton September 17, 2026 0 Comments New tools make it easier than ever to enhance y...

17/09/2026

Scripps Research professor Li Ye named finalist for Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists

LA JOLLA, CA-While the brain orchestrates metabolic processes in the body, it al...

17/09/2026

New series of Aistear an Amhrin shares extraordinary stories behind Ireland's best-loved songs

New series of Aistear an Amhr in shares extraordinary stories behind Ireland'...

17/09/2026

The Late Late Show is back! Guests include Liam Neeson, Siobhn McSweeney and the All-Ireland-winning Mayo team

The Late Late Show is back! Liam Neeson, Siobh n McSweeney, Caitr ona Balfe a...

17/09/2026

The Neighbours Effect: Gen Z Brings Back Big Hair, Double Denim and 80s soap style

The Neighbours Effect: Gen Z Brings Back Big Hair, Double Denim and 80s soap sty...

17/09/2026

Official trailer released for Sky Original WAR

The bold, new legal drama starring Dominic West and Sienna Miller launches on Sky and NOW on 2nd OctThursday 17 September 2026 Official trailer released for Sk...

17/09/2026

AI safety needs more than rules. It needs evidence

Every week we read headlines about new threats from AI. From taking over jobs to disrupting critical infrastructure, spreading misinformation or even destroying...

17/09/2026

Arqiva selected by SANZAAR to deliver global distribution of 2026 international rugby programme

Arqiva selected by SANZAAR to deliver global distribution of 2026 international ...

17/09/2026

Widow\u2019s Bay triumphs as most decorated freshman comedy in Emmy history - PRESS RELEASE - Posted on 15 September 2026

CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA This evening at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, Apple TV...

17/09/2026

Cute Critters Come to the Cloud: Aniimo' Launches on GeForce NOW

A new creature-catching adventure is ready to stream from the cloud this week. Pawprint Studio's Aniimo arrives on GeForce NOW at launch, inviting gamers to...

17/09/2026

RT Statement: 2027 Eurovision Song Contest

RT Statement: RT is today confirming that its position regarding participation in the Eurovision Song Contest remains unchanged. RT will not participate in...

16/09/2026

Grass Valley to be Awarded 2026 Technology & Engineering Emmy for Web-Based Frame-Accurate Remote Monitoring

Grass Valley has been recognized with a 2026 Technology & Engineering Emmy Award...

16/09/2026

SVG Cloud & Content Workflows Summit 2026: All Sessions Now Available To Watch on SVG PLAY

Sports-media leaders explore how cloud, AI, and virtualization are transforming ...

16/09/2026

A Summer Catch: How the Women's Pro Baseball League Built a Broadcast Plan From ScratchIn Just Six Months

With a full crew on site in Springfield, deep access to players, and a growing d...

16/09/2026

The History of Concrete Contains More Surprises Than You Can Possibly Imagine

John Wilson attends The History of Concrete premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Yarrow Theatre on January 22, 2026, in Park City, Utah. (Ph...

16/09/2026

Wavea release Flite V2

Powerful soft synth receives free update Wavea have just launched a new and improved version of their feature-packed soft synth, kitting it out with over 20...

16/09/2026

Modartt launch Airteq

Physical-modelling experts launch pipe-based instrument Modartt are well known for their impressive Pianoteq and Organteq offerings, and now, they've pu...

16/09/2026

FL Studio & Antares launch AutoTune Go

Popular DAW gains free pitch-correction tool Image-Line have teamed up with Antares to kit their popular DAW software out with a built-in pitch-correction p...

16/09/2026

Microwave Factory and Rohde & Schwarz enable automated SAR measurements with CMX500 support in MATEOS

Microwave Factory and Rohde & Schwarz enable automated SAR measurements with CMX...

16/09/2026

Rohde & Schwarz launches new security scanner for large events at Security Expo 2026

Rohde & Schwarz launches new security scanner for large events at Security Expo ...