TEDx Kingston Upon Thames

Event App Case Study

TEDx is a program of local, self-organised events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience, where x = independently organized TED event.  TED’s motto is “Ideas worth Spreading”, and is what TEDx aims to achieve 

Challenges

When the organisers, Liam and Nicholas Rogers were awarded a TEDx licence in Kingston upon Thames, they faced a few challenges:
  • TEDx then was relatively new to South West London. 
  • TEDx Kingston wanted to scale up from small events to 900-seat events, for the first time
  • No direct access to ticketholder details = couldn't capture their details for future events  
However that didn’t stop Liam and Nicholas from organising an ambitious, 900-ticket event at the Kingston Rose Theatre.

When they started selling tickets for the all-day flagship event at the Rose Theatre, they had no access to ticketholder details, which meant they couldn’t get access to a mailing list.

We approached TEDx Kingston and suggested the idea of an app to help them build the customer database they needed.

You can view Liam Roger’s review of the TEDx Kingston app by clicking on the image above.

Why TEDx Kingston chose to work with us

We believe in the community-focused values embodied by TEDx, and were able to come up with a cost-effective solution to their challenge. 

Additionally, we provided the app features, brand customisation and were able to meet their marketing goals. 

We were very responsive, flexible and met their app delivery deadline in time for their event marketing campaign.

App Marketing Goals

  • Collect contact details of followers and ticket holders when they download the app


  • ·Give ticket holders access to timely content eg running order, speaker profiles, one-day local food and beverage offers via in-app coupons


  • Ultimately engage TEDx Kingston supporters via the appNew Paragraph

“Out of Order” Event App Campaign Outcome

This was a sell out event for TEDx Kingston. Results from a 4-month period, during which the event took place:


  • Total App downloads = 437 (49% of attendees)


  • Contact details collected = 789 (out of 900 attendees = 88%)


  • Cost savings from not printing event programmes, which they had to in previous events


  • Close to 50% click through rate on the food and drink in-app coupons


Joyce and her tech team presented a seamless solution to the challenge, with an app .... which seemed like a luxury to a lot of people (but it isn't)

- Liam Rogers, Director, TEDx Kingston upon Thames

Marketing Successes

Thanks to Liam Roger and his team, TEDx Kingston ran a successful multi-channel campaign consisting mainly of email drip campaign, social media, app push notifications and leafleting.


Instead of a printed programme for the event, TEDx Kingston saved printing costs by posting App updates on speaker line ups and the running order for that day.


The app collected 789 contact details from TEDx supporters who opted in, not just from Kingston but beyond. We facilitated the collection of customer data in two ways:


  • Through a sign-up pop up which automatically triggers every time someone downloads the app, or spends time on the app.


  • Through scheduled, regular push notifications keeping app users updated in the lead up to the day


We integrated the app signup pop-up with TEDx Kingston's email software via an API, making the process of building an opted-in mailing list painless.


By doing this, TEDx Kingston were able to sell their tickets with a shorter buying cycle for their next event.


Through the app feedback form, we received many positive responses, which was helpful for the organising team. Some of the feedback received were from attendees who made use of the one-day local offers.


Although the uptake of these coupon deals wasn’t the main goal of the app, we had a close to 50% click-through rate on these in-app coupons, which expired at the end of the day.

About Marketing Tech

Have you considered building an app for your business but were confused by the options available, the technical jargon or think an app is out of your budget? Perhaps you may have had a less than great experience with technology providers who didn’t deliver.


We are an affordable app agency for SMEs that


  • designs, develops and publishes apps


  • provides training and advice


  • supports you with your app marketing communications


  • we don't outsource your app overseas - our core team is based in Leicester


In short we provide apps that generate repeat business, provide convenience and save you time and money.

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