Enhancing the Fan Experience with Oracle Hospitality and VenueNext

For stadium operators in the never-ending search for better ways to engage fans, their focus is increasingly turning to the almighty smartphone.

It’s arguably the most indispensable item carried by anyone, used for everything from depositing checks to hailing rides to taking selfies. Yet many teams still haven’t unleashed the full potential of the phone once brought into the confines of their venues.

The result? Countless opportunities to enhance the fan experience, increase loyalty – and, most importantly, boost sales – get benched.

Enhancing the Fan Experience with Oracle Hospitality and VenueNext

For stadium operators in the never-ending search for better ways to engage fans, their focus is increasingly turning to the almighty smartphone.

It’s arguably the most indispensable item carried by anyone, used for everything from depositing checks to hailing rides to taking selfies. Yet many teams still haven’t unleashed the full potential of the phone once brought into the confines of their venues.

The result? Countless opportunities to enhance the fan experience, increase loyalty – and, most importantly, boost sales – get benched.

For stadium operators in the never-ending search for better ways to

engage fans, their focus is increasingly turning to the almighty

smartphone.

It’s arguably the most indispensable item carried by anyone, used for everything

from depositing checks to hailing rides to taking selfies. Yet many teams still haven’t

unleashed the full potential of the phone once brought into the confines of their

venues.

The result? Countless opportunities to enhance the fan experience, increase loyalty –

and, most importantly, boost sales – get benched.

At a time when tech-savvy millennials comprise the core of fan constituencies,

it’s imperative for venue operators to pair point-of-sale platforms with mobile app

technology. Oracle Hospitality POS solutions are uniquely engineered to evolve,

embracing third-party innovations and seamlessly integrating with them for

unparalleled performance. For instance, the Oracle Simphony platform is integral

in allowing venues to maximize the benefits of VenueNext’s connected venue

technology, which includes smartphone apps for game day. With the power of

VenueNext and Oracle, the apps transform phones into stadium remote controls,

enabling fans to access a host of services, including food, drink and merchandise

delivery to their seats and enhancing loyalty programs to reap more rewards.

P A R T N E R S P O T L I G H T

Enhancing the Fan Experience with Oracle Hospitality and VenueNext

For stadium operators in the never-ending search for better ways to engage fans, their focus is increasingly turning to the almighty smartphone.

It’s arguably the most indispensable item carried by anyone, used for everything from depositing checks to hailing rides to taking selfies. Yet many teams still haven’t unleashed the full potential of the phone once brought into the confines of their venues.

The result? Countless opportunities to enhance the fan experience, increase loyalty – and, most importantly, boost sales – get benched.

The benefits are immediate for fans and operators:

• Increase food and merchandise sales at events through mobile ordering

• Generate new revenue streams

• Improve the in-venue (or in-stadium) experience for both casual fans and season ticket holders

• Transform any venue into a fully integrated, connected facility, enhancing fan engagement and increasing opportunities to gain greater knowledge about visitors and their preferences

Taking the Live Experience to a New Level

Food and beverage continues to play a significant role in the fan experience, and

leveraging the full capabilities of the Simphony POS platform can diminish the

pain points and drawbacks of attending live events – primarily long lines that

lead to interminable waits (and worse, missing key plays). By capitalizing on

POS integration, teams are now able to identify and connect with fans in new

innovative ways that directly enhance the individual’s fan experience.

Pairing POS and mobile also is a proven means to boost food and beverage sales,

likely yielding a greater return on investment than spending exorbitantly on

video boards or pre-game entertainment. Such conclusions were among the key

discoveries of the just-released report, The Fan Experience: Changing the Game with Food and Beverage.

The global study – published jointly by Oracle and Turnkey Intelligence, an

industry-leading market research provider – surveyed more than 3,500 sports

fans in eight countries: Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, United

Kingdom and United States. Key findings included:

• More than 40% of sports fans worldwide reported abandoning concession lines in the past 12 months – without making a purchase – because of excessive waiting.

• American fans, on average, said they would spend an additional $20 for food and beverage if wait times were cut in half – representing a 43% increase in typical expenditure (per party, per game).

Greater Fan Engagement = Greater Fan Spending

Such opportunities already have been realized by venues that deployed the

integrated technologies of Oracle and VenueNext.

Oracle POS solutions provide control and improve efficiencies of vital stadium

operations, and they offer reporting and analytics capabilities to shape

tomorrow’s business decisions. A foundational POS system enables integration

with venue technology providers such as VenueNext, whose platform and

accompanying apps help fans get the most out of their stadium experience and

venue owners improve their business.

Among the most popular uses of VenueNext’s game day apps is in-seat ordering:

It’s practically nirvana for fans because it allows them to order from their seats,

meaning they won’t miss a single play or have to wait in snaking lines. VenueNext

integration with Oracle POS enables content management and control systems

to provide real-time updates of available menu items at each stand – and manage

“IN E VERY OTHER ASPEC T OF

THE I R L IVES, FANS NOW

HAVE 24/7, W I - F I CONNEC TIV IT Y

TO EN R I C H WHATE VER THEY DO,”

SAID M I C HAEL L AMBERT, AVP OF

OR ACLE HOSPITAL IT Y SPORTS

AN D ENTE RTAIN MENT. “WHY

SHOULD THEY BE ISOL ATED WHEN

THEY COME TO STADIUMS?

W ITH THE COMBINED POWER OF

OR ACLE POS AND

VENUENE X T, WE CAN DEL IVER

FANS A BE T TER GAME

E XPER IENCE AND, JUST AS

I M PORTANTLY, GAIN INC REDIBLE

INS IGHTS ABOUT THEM.”

2 VenueNext Partner Spotlight | oracle.com/hospitality

expectations by updating wait times. If fans prefer to pick up their order, the

app can serve as a traffic controller and route them to an express pickup line,

where the POS promptly processes and records the transaction. The latter

activity enables operators to simultaneously run loyalty initiatives through the

POS as well.

VenueNext, whose client portfolio now includes NBA, NFL and MLB franchises,

has demonstrated the ROI on its technology platform: In its first season of

use, an NFL client attributed a $2 million revenue increase to app-driven food,

beverage, merchandise, parking and sponsorship sales.

It’s a Win for Fans and Operators Alike

From shorter concession lines to incremental revenue gains achieved by

involving more fans (who otherwise would have skipped making purchases),

multi-functional venue apps offer operators a bevy of benefits. But, arguably,

the most important is their ability to nurture relationships with fans for the

long term. For stadiums enhanced with Oracle and VenueNext, fans are no

longer anonymous paper-ticket holders; they emerge as unique individuals

whom operators can court with promotions and services tailored to their

preferences and behaviors (captured via POS).

Through a new currency ecosystem based on integrating ticketing, loyalty and

point of sale, season ticket holders can trade in tickets that they won’t use for

“currency” to purchase perks – including seat upgrades, food and beverage,

exclusive merchandise or access to special events. The exchange comes at

no loss to the team, which can re-sell the tickets. But it keeps fans feeling as

if they are “special” and their discretionary dollars circulating in the stadium

economy. This type of ecosystem requires a truly connected venue and is

made possible through the integration of the Oracle Simphony and VenueNext

platforms working together.

“CONNEC TING THE POINT- OF-

SALE SYSTEM DI REC TLY TO THE

GUEST’S MOBILE PHONE IS

A KEY ENABLER OF TH IS WHOLE

NEW E XPER IENCE ,” SAID

VENUENE X T CEO & FOUNDER

JOHN PAUL . “AND TOGE THER

W ITH OR ACLE , THAT’S ONE OF THE

MOST I M PORTANT

INNOVATIONS WE DEL IVER —

ALLOW ING VENUES TO SK IP

OUT ON BUYING A LOT OF NEW

E XPENSIVE HAR DWARE

AND CUSTOMERS TO ENJOY

SE AMLESS, SECURE AND E ASY

WAYS TO PAY AT THE VENUE .”

3VenueNext Partner Spotlight | oracle.com/hospitality

CONTACT US

For more information about enhancing the fan experience, visit oracle.com/hospitality or call +1.866.287.4736 to speak to an Oracle representative.

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About Oracle Hospitality

By pioneering hospitality IT innovations in hardware and software for more

than 35 years, Oracle Hospitality has become the industry’s preferred solutions

provider. We deliver best-in-class cloud technology – backed by trusted support

and consulting services in a true partnership – to help food and beverage

operators enhance the guest experience, increase revenues and reduce costs.

About VenueNext

VenueNext is a technology company on a mission to transform the way people

around the world experience venues. VenueNext’s platform unifies the venue

infrastructure ecosystem, giving venue owners access to an entirely new suite of

sophisticated software tools and services that enhance business performance.

VenueNext also develops context-aware smartphone apps that, for the first time,

seamlessly connect guests with everything a venue has to offer.