InstantEncore 
Partner Showcase - Seattle Shakespeare Company
When you think of Shakespeare, you probably don't think of mobile apps. But Seattle Shakespeare Company does. For the past two years, they have used their mobile app to connect contemporary audiences with the power and vibrancy of Shakespeare and other classical playwrights. We recently spoke with Communications Director Jeff Fickes to find out what prompted Seattle Shakespeare Company to pursue their mobile engagement strategy. Jeff Fickes Why did you decide to offer a mobile app for your patrons? When mobile apps first appeared in the marketplace, I knew that I wanted Seattle Shakespeare Company to have one. We had meetings did some research, and then saw that the development was going to be out of our reach since we’re a relatively small company. But I kept dreaming. I had been doing a lot of reading about the direction of consumer trends and everything I read pointed me in the direction of optimizing for mobile usage. We redesigned our website to be mobile responsive and optimized our email campaigns to be read on mobile devices. I still kept thinking about a mobile app. Click on image for a closer look. We’re a theatre company that performs in three different indoor venues, 13 different outdoor venues, and has a tour that performs all over the state. We are a mobile theatre company. I wanted us to be easily accessed where ever our patrons are and to be able to communicate with them whether they’re in a theatre, seeing a park show, or a student seeing Shakespeare for the first time with one of our tours. Why did you choose InstantEncore’s mobile app solution? I actually stumbled upon InstantEncore. I was searching around in the App Store to see what other theatre companies were doing in terms of mobile apps, and saw that some of the larger theatre organizations across the country (Guthrie Theatre, Arena Stage, and Berkeley Rep) were using InstantEncore. I immediately requested a demo and got very excited about the prospect of making a long term goal happen. InstantEncore offers a great deal of flexibility and allows you to tailor the app to your own needs. It worked with our ticketing system and the pricing was within our budget. I didn’t need a lot of convincing. We started devising a plan for how we wanted to use the app and got it set up within a week or so after signing up. Seattle Shakespeare Company usestheir app's At-The-Venue featureto engage audiences at performances.Click on image for a closer look. How have you promoted your mobile app to your patrons? We’ve promoted the app through lobby signs, curtain speeches, our website, email notices and program ads. We’ll most likely do a small facebook digital ad campaign in conjunction with our upcoming outdoor shows this summer, as we’ve found it to be very useful for locating which park show is performing where - since the shows are in a different location practically each night. What are the main benefits of your mobile app for your patrons? Aside from being able to engage with patrons on a device that many people have a personal attachment to, I believe it’s worked well for us from a branding standpoint. We were one of the first theatre companies in Seattle to have a mobile app. Just the fact that a theatre company of our size who focuses on classical plays has an app says something about the company. It sort of shakes off the perceived stodginess of classical plays and gives people a digital interaction in addition to the stage experience. I believe that patrons start to experience the play well before they enter theatre. They’re conceiving of it in their mind through the advertising images and words written about it. If they’re engaging with the play (learning about it and the company) through a mobile device and can do it where ever they may be (on the bus, waiting in line at the store, at home on the couch) we become much more a part of their lives. The perception of the work on stage takes on a different relevance because we’ve engaged with them on their terms, on their time. The art can seem more relevant to a contemporary world because the engagement was digital. SSC uses push notifications tosend contextually relevant messages to patrons. Click on image for acloser look. Which feature do you like best? Why? I love the At-The-Venue feature. I believe that if a patron feels informed about the show they’re about to see, that their experience of it is better. We include video welcome messages, things to know, directors notes, cast bios as well as special offers to entice them to buy in our shop or make a purchase of their next ticket. We’ve also run some very unique sales promotions (including a one day $12 ticket promotion in honor of the Seahawks being in the Super Bowl) that utilized the push notifications and custom tabs. What’s the feedback on the app been like from your patrons? We’ve gotten good feedback and have seen the app consistently utilized, especially on show days. I think that adoption has been slow and most of the people regularly using are “super fans.” What has customer support been like? Customer support has been great. I like that the product continues to be developed with new features added.
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) has been enriching the lives of audiences with world-class music for 120 years. In 2012, PSO launched their mobile app for Apple and Android devices. We recently caught up with PSO's Joyce DeFrancesco, Director of Media Relations, to find out what prompted this established performing arts organization to launch their own mobile app and how have patrons responded to it. Joyce DeFrancesco Why did you decide to offer a mobile app for your patrons? When we began considering a mobile app, it was clear that mobile viewing of our site was growing. Having a mobile app would provide a better customer experience for our users. Why did you choose InstantEncore’s mobile app solution? We reviewed a variety of options when selecting a mobile app solution. Instant Encore stood out because the framework is geared towards performing arts organizations. Also, they have a relationship and understanding of Tessitura, our ticketing database, if we should choose to integrate. PSO Mobile AppClick on image for a closer look How have you promoted your mobile app to your patrons? We include a notice about our mobile app in our monthly e-newsletters and e-blasts about specific concerts. We push it on our social media and in many print publications. What are the main benefits of your mobile app for your patrons? The mobile app provides our patrons with up-to-the-minute information about the concerts they’ll be attending and an easy way to provide them with links and access to even more information! Which feature do you like best? Why? The push notification feature and its targeting function has been a wonderful way for us to get information and special offers to the patrons who are interested in a direct and noticeable alert. What’s the feedback on the app been like from your patrons? We haven’t received much feedback on the app, which we take as a good sign. When people don’t like something, they usually don’t hesitate to let you know! This is a “no news is good news” situation. PSO welcomes app users to the concert with a geofence push notification.Click on image for a closer look. How easy was it to implement your app? The app was very easy to implement. We simply had to entered our concerts and created any pages we wanted. After that, we alerted Instant Encore, and they launched it in the app store. What has customer support been like? Customer support is a breeze with Instant Encore. They are very responsive to any questions – from emergencies to simple inquiries.
Maximize Convenience and Customization for Your App's Home Screen with Cards
The Home screen is crucial for your mobile app's success. It's the first thing people see when they use the app. Making a good first impression sets the tone for their entire experience. If they see old information or a blank screen, then they might assume the app has nothing relevant to them and delete it. So how can you avoid this without spending too much time doing maintenance? With the newest option in your toolkit - the Cards home screen! Cards combines the convenience of the What's New home screen's automatically updated content feed with the endless customization options of the Slideshow home screen. Activating the Cards Home Screen Turning it on is easy. Go to Mobile >> Tabs, and look for "Home: Cards" in the Type column. Enable the Display checkbox for that item. Activate and manage the Cards option in the Tabs area.Click on image for a closer look. To manage your Cards tab, click on the link in the Text column. Once the tab is set up, users will be able to scroll through a list of all available Cards that link through to your content. Header Image Examples of Header Images. Click on image for a closer look. The first feature of your new Cards tab is an optional Header Image. This banner image can be whatever you like. Just make sure it isn't too tall that it eats up all of a phone's real estate. We recommend a 3:1 width to height ratio. Some popular examples are: A photo of your ensemble, performance venue, or building exterior The logo and branding of your organization. A major sponsor (Note: It will not link to their website) Content Cards Without having to do any extra work, this tab will automatically create Cards for your active At-The-Venue Experiences and for your upcoming Event listings. There will also be Cards that highlight the most recent Music, Video, or Buzz content. If there is no content for any of these, then that Card won't display. Everything is taken care of for you. Access specific content or view all.Click on image for a closer look. However, you still have the power to do more. You can drag-and-drop them to rearrange their order. Managing them lets you customize their label or decide if you wish to hide it. You can even add Custom Cards to supplement what your new home screen has to offer. Custom Cards Custom Cards in action.Click on image for a closer look. Custom Cards are very similar to Slideshow Slides, just smaller (and in some ways better!). Instead of a full screen graphic, all you need is another 3:1 banner. You will be able to add a Headline and Description to give your users an idea of what content they will access through the Card. This should just be a short paragraph at most. You will want to have multiple Cards visible on the screen at the same time to retain the Cards feel. The Action Text should be a short phrase that tells users what you want them to do. "Tap Here", "Read More", "Learn", etc. Then, provide an In-App URL to another tab or content item, or even an external URL. The entire Custom Card will act as one large, easy-to-tap button that links the user to that content. This gives you the power to do whatever you want. Link to another Custom Tab with parking information, highlight a specific Music Album, link to your most popular Social Media platform, or highlight a Season Sponsor. One other big change from the Slideshow Slides is that in addition to being scheduled, you can leave the date fields blank to have the card always display. Additional Resources Video: Managing the Cards Home Screen Video: Adding Custom Cards to Your App's Home Screen Partner Example: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (for best results, view on a mobile device)
Automatically Enhance the Audience Experience with At-The-Venue
Since 2014, InstantEncore's mobile suite has enabled performing arts organizations to enhance the audience experience with event-specific content released within their mobile app on the day of the performance. Our new At-The-Venue (ATV) feature uses automation tools to make this easier than ever before. With At-The-Venue, you can automatically generate an ATV experience for every event in your calendar AND identify specific content to be included in every ATV experience. ATV's automation tools help you to consistently enhance the audience experience for every event, amplify the relevancy of your app for patrons, and save staff time by reducing app management tasks Sync ATV with Your Events Prior to the release of At-The-Venue, app administrators needed to manually create experiences for events on their calendar. Now, you can synchronize the creation of ATV experiences with Events in your app. And all it takes is the click of a button! Click on image for a closer look In your account, go to Mobile >> At-The-Venue In the Checklist on the right, click on Sync with Events Click on the Enable Sync button Once you enable the sync, an ATV experience will be generated for each upcoming Event. The follow items will be automatically included in the experience: Event Title Event Date and Start Time Click on image for a closer look Event Image Your Event Image will also appear as the image on your ATV Info Screen for the event. If you use the Icons, Slideshow, or What's New home screen options, the system will use your Event Image as the default Landing Screen image for your At-The-Venue Experience. If a particular image does not work for the Landing Screen, you can override it by uploading a new one. If you use the Cards home screen option, the system will use your Event Image in the card for your ATV Experience. Check-in prompt for social media: Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare Default content (covered in the next section) Advanced Tip If you do not wish to have an ATV experience appear for a synced Event, you can hide it with the click of a button. Click on image for a closer look Go to Mobile >> At-The-Venue. From the list of upcoming ATV experiences, select the one you wish to hide. In the Checklist on the right, click on Display. Click on the Hide button. Add Default Content to ATV Experiences Whether you synchronize ATV with your Events or manually add new ATV experiences, you can now designate certain content to be automatically included in your upcoming experiences by default. While you can always add custom content to your ATV experiences, there may be certain items that you wish to feature every time. Adding default content prevents you from repeatedly adding the same content for each experience. To begin adding default content for your ATV experiences: Go to Mobile >>At-The-Venue. In the Checklist on the right, select Default Content. In the first section on this page, you can designate a default hashtag, sponsor name, sponsor URL, and time zone. Click on image for a closer look Hashtag If you use a common hashtag for all (or the majority) of your events, then adding it to the default content area makes perfect sense. For any events using a custom hashtag, you can add it to that particular experience and override the default hashtag. Sponsor Name & URL Adding a default sponsor name and URL to your ATV experiences is a great way to provide consistent visibility for your mobile app sponsor or another major sponsor for your season. Time Zone If all of your events take place in the same time zone, then adding it as default content for your experiences will eliminate a repetitive task. The remaining sections on the page enable you to add default Things to Know, Offers, and Custom Actions to your ATV experiences. Click on image for a closer look Things to Know If you knew that a new patron was attending your event, what would you tell them to guide them toward a positive experience? Things to Know is a list of short, interesting or useful facts designed to improve the audience's experience. Each Thing to Know is a combination of image and text. Click on the image for a closer look You can choose whether your default Things to Know will appear at the top or the bottom of the list. You can always add customized Things to Know for each experience. Your default Things to Know should be applicable to all of your ATV experiences. The slideshow below contains 10 examples of Things to Know that would work well as default content. ... Powered by Cincopa Podcast Hosting for Business solution.Examples of Default Things to KnowWith InstantEncore's At-The-Venue automation features, you can add default Things to Know for all of your ATV experiences. Here are some examples of Things to Know that would work well as default content.originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 322height 270originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 329height 308originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 332height 270originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 329height 253originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 334height 255originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 334height 255originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 336height 255originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 330height 292originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 330height 317originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 326height 285 Offers Offers are a great way to drive revenue and highlight external partnerships during At-The-Venue experiences. Each Offer is a combination of headline and image connected to a description articulating how to redeem that particular offer. Click on image for a closer look You can choose whether your default Offers will appear at the top or the bottom of the Offers List page for your ATV experiences. You can always add customized Offers for each experience. Your default Offers should be applicable to all of your ATV experiences. Below are just a few examples: ... Powered by Cincopa Podcast Hosting for Business solution.Examples of Default Offersoriginaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 716height 493originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 915height 649originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 951height 617originaldate 1/1/0001 6:00:00 AMwidth 915height 652 Custom Actions Actions appear on the Info screen for ATV experiences. Tapping on an action takes the mobile user to a content area relevant to their experience. There are four actions offered for all ATV experiences: Check-In, Things to Know, Program Notes, and Artists. Custom actions take users to specific content either within the app or online Click on image for a closer look You have the ability to add relevant, custom actions to specific ATV experiences You can now choose to add default Custom Actions to the top or the bottom of your list of actions on the Info screen for your ATV experiences Your default Custom Actions should be applicable to all of your ATV experiences. Here are a few examples of possible default Custom Actions: Donate screen with information for giving online How to get to the venue via public transportation Parking information List of nearby restaurants Subscription benefits Questions? If you have questions about how to maximize these automation tools for your At-The-Venue experiences, contact us at support@instantencore.com.
10 Tips for Managing Geofences - Connecting When and Where It Counts
Geofences allow you to create location-based triggers around your venue. Think of it as putting a ring around your theater, concert hall, museum or other venue. When your patrons cross the geofence ring, they receive a customized message on their phone prompting them to open your mobile app. Here are 10 tips for maximizing the effectiveness of your geofences: Getting Started Create one single Geofence. 1. Keep it Simple. There will always be some give and take with determining a user’s location. Especially when considering all of the technologies and factors that go into it. As an example, avoid placing one Geofence around your venue, another around the parking lot next door, and a third one for the coffee shop across the street with which you have a partnership. Even if a user parks in the lot and grabs a cup of coffee across the street before heading into the event, they might end up receiving the event notification first, then one for the coffee shop, and lastly for the parking lot at which point they’re already in your lobby. TIP: Use one Geofence to surround everything and then supply parking and coffee shop information as part of the At-The-Venue (ATV) Experience content. 2. Encompass the Entire Venue. And a Little Bit More. The size of your Geofence is important. The minimum diameter is 200 meters (or about 650 feet) which will cover most small to medium sized venues. Increase the size as needed to cover larger venues. But don’t make it too big as users who have the App might receive a message even though they are not attending the event. TIP: First, adjust your Geofence so that the entire venue is inside of it. Then expand it to add some buffer room. An extra 50 to 100 meters wouldn’t be unreasonable. 3. Managing Multiple Venues. A single venue is easy. Create your Geofence, set an Any Time or ATV message, and you’re done! But for our partners who present at different venues, Custom Messages are key. TIP: You can use these to create time-specific messages at each Geofence for each event. This will help you avoid sending messages to people if they happen to arrive at a location when you don’t have an event going on there. You can also mix-and-match. Setup a main Geofence with an Any Time message and Geofences for special venues with only Custom Messages. 4. Planning Ahead It is important to have your Geofences set up well in advance of any events taking place. If you create a new Geofence around a venue two days before an event, odds are low that patrons will have opened the App in that time. This means that their phone won’t have the latest Geofence information, they won’t receive a message when they arrive, and they won’t know to open the App to view program information. TIP: Make sure everything is set up well before your next season begins. Then, as users open the App to buy tickets or after receiving Push Notifications, Geofence information will be downloaded and they will be all set. Crafting Messages 5. Find Your Voice The different kinds of Geofence messages (Any Time, At-The-Venue, and Custom) call for different approaches based on their use. TIP: Craft a message that makes sense given the context of when people will receive it. The Any Time message is sent to users once per day (between the hours of 5:00 am and Midnight) when they enter the Geofence. Since users may enter the Geofence at any time, even when there is no scheduled event, this should be a generic message: "Welcome to Lincoln Center, home of the New York Philharmonic." "Tap here to see upcoming SFJAZZ events." "Dallas Opera information is just a tap away!" The At-The-Venue message goes to users if they enter the Geofence during an active ATV Experience. Because it will be used for every ATV Experience, the message should be applicable to any of your events. Ideally, it should let users know that they can use the App to find more specific information: "Tap here to get info about today's Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center event!" "Access exclusive event info in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts Mobile App." "Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra: Tap here for event information." Custom messages go to users if they enter the Geofence during the specified time frame. Because it is for a specific date and time, the message can be unique and reference the event's content: "The Detroit Symphony Orchestra presents Beethoven's 5th - Tap here for info." "Check out information about tonight's guest conductor, Gustavo Dudamel!." "Tap here to get program notes, artist bios, and more about Handel’s Messiah.” Bring people into your App 6. Short and To-The-Point. The messages associated with Geofences are delivered by our Enhanced Push Notification system. This means you have 100 characters to tell users what’s going on and what they should do. TIP: You don’t need to get too detailed with the message. Simply make them aware that they can use the App for event information and get them to open it. From there, you can use the various ATV Experience features to tell them more. 7. Include a Call-to-Action. In most cases receiving a message that is just a statement isn’t very engaging; users will read it and then dismiss it. But your goal is to bring users into the App. TIP: Craft a message that encourages them to "Tap here". It is a succinct but obvious phrase that tells the user exactly what you want them to do. Now what? 8. Get the word out! Of course, Geofences won’t do anything for people who haven’t downloaded your App. A solid adoption plan is essential for getting your App on your audience member’s phones. The biggest part of App adoption is telling people about it! TIP: Advertise your App with a SmartURL on Facebook and Twitter. Make sure it is mentioned somewhere in every email newsletter that you send. Communicate to your fans what value the App provides. Let them know it will help you keep in touch with them about important notifications and reminders. That they’ll be able to access exclusive content when they come to a performance. Or be able to find upcoming events and purchase tickets. Users need both settings turned on 9. User Settings Once someone has downloaded the App, they do have the right to disable notifications. But if they disable them, then you can’t communicate with them. TIP: When promoting your App, consider reminding people that they need to have their App notifications enabled and their location services turned on to receive information and updates. This also helps manage users’ expectations so that when the App prompts them to enable notifications, it doesn’t come as a surprise. 10. GPS. Cell Towers. WiFi. There are many components to determining a user’s location. GPS signals do a lot of the work. So does pinging nearby cellular service towers. But what does WiFi have to do with Geofences? For the kind of background location awareness that this service requires, WiFi networks can be a big help. The user’s phone does not need to actually connect to the WiFi network. Just by being able to see the name of the network or networks that are available nearby, the location services of the phone can use this information to help determine where a user is. TIP: For the best experience of delivering your message at the right place and the right time, we highly recommend setting up a WiFi network if you don’t already have one. It doesn’t need to be free and open to the public, it just needs to be there.
Introducing 4 New Features Now Available for Your Mobile App
InstantEncore is continually improving our mobile solutions platform so that we can deliver maximum benefit to arts organizations and their patrons. This week, we're releasing four exciting, new features for your mobile app. 1. Automated At-The-Venue Experiences Creating At-The-Venue Experiences (or ATVs) are a powerful way to connect with your patrons. Your ATV can prompt them to check-in on social media, deliver program information, showcase upcoming events, present them with promotional offers, and more. And now, it's easier than ever to create an At-The-Venue Experience. Every time you add an event in your account, you automatically generate an ATV for that event, and schedule it to appear in your app on the day of the event. Managing At-The-Venue content is easier, too. If you have content that you'd like in all your ATVs, you can set it up once and have it automatically added to any Experiences you create. You can also copy existing content from other ATVs in your account. And of course, you retain the ability to add custom content to specific Experiences or create new ATVs from scratch at any time. 2. Geofence Push Notifications Geofences allow you to create location-based triggers around your venue. Think of it as putting a ring around your theater, concert hall, museum or other venue. When your patrons cross the geofence ring, they receive a customized message on their phone prompting them to open your mobile app. You can set a permanently active geofence around your venue with a default message. You can set a geofence to only send messages to patrons when there is an At-The-Venue Experience active in the app. You can set a geofence to send custom messages during scheduled times. Geofence push notifications are a contextually relevant way to greet your patrons and put them on the path to a memorable experience. 3. Cards Home Screen The Cards Home Screen empowers you to to highlight your most recent and relevant content for your patrons. Content is grouped together as "cards" presented in a vertically scrolling format similar to feeds on social media apps. The control panel automatically generates cards for your events, videos, music, buzz items, and At-The-Venue Experiences. You can change their order of presentation or disable a card from appearing on the home screen. You also have the ability to create your own cards. Custom cards may be connected to content within your app as well as external content online. They may be added or deleted at any time. You can also schedule them to be active within your app for specific periods of time. 4. Collapsible Menu The new collapsible menu makes accessing your content incredibly convenient. Patrons simply tap on the icon in the upper left corner of the app to reveal a scrolling menu of available tabs. Over the next few weeks, we'll dive deeper into these convenient, easy-to-manage tools with best practices and tips for using them to engage your patrons.
Partner Showcase: Dallas Summer Musicals
As the preeminent nonprofit presenter of Broadway theatre in North Texas, Dallas Summer Musicals (DSM) produces, presents and promotes excellence in live musical theatre with year-round performances for diverse audiences of all ages. Since its launch in October 2014, the DSM mobile app has garnered nearly 7,000 downloads from patrons. We recently talked with DSM's Amanda Farrow, Marketing & Social Media Coordinator, about their mobile app and how their patrons have responded to it. Amanda Farrow Why did you decide to offer a mobile app for your patrons? We were looking for a way to engage our patrons while they're in the theater and give a more in-depth look at the touring shows we bring to the Music Hall. We also wanted an easy point of reference for our patrons to get more information about tickets and a behind-the-scenes look that our website didn’t offer. Additionally, we wanted to send instant alerts and the push notification feature was exactly what we needed. Why did you choose InstantEncore’s mobile app solution? InstantEncore is set up for arts groups, and they have a great understanding of our very specific needs in regards to content, displays, selling tickets, and much more. We also loved the level of flexibility and customization the app offers. Most of all, we appreciate the level of professionalism and expertise they offer to us as customers. How have you promoted the mobile app to your patrons? We have highly promoted our app in our venue with signs, small business sized cards we have on the tables in our lobby (see below), our in-theater and in-lobby videos, our email campaigns, a constant presence on our website, and our social media platforms. What are the main benefits of your mobile app? A quick point-of-reference for our shows and the content they provide. Also, the ease of purchasing tickets for our patrons, the push notifications for instant alerts, and the At-The-Event feature with behind-the-scenes info, social media stream, and special offers. What’s the feedback on the app been like from your patrons? The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Our patrons have been very engaged. They love the additional content we provide through the app. What has customer support been like? Awesome. I didn’t get a technical degree and had trouble understanding a few aspects of the app. I always received a response I understood and could fix whatever issue I had. Also, the staff responds quickly and always responds with the information I need. I also love all of the blog posts with clear and detailed instructions.
InstantEncore, Inc. Appoints Chris Montgomery As CEO
San Diego, March 1, 2016 – InstantEncore Inc. has appointed Chris Montgomery as Chief Executive Officer. Montgomery begins his role immediately and will be based in San Diego. Montgomery brings a wealth of experience across the mobile, digital media and the performing arts sectors. He is keenly aware of the changing dynamics of the mobile and live entertainment experiences and will be responsible for accelerating growth, harnessing innovation and re-defining what the performing arts experience means in the future. “Chris comes to us with a wealth of experience in both the arts and technology worlds - a truly great fit for InstantEncore. We couldn't be happier to have him on our team, and it bodes well for our future”, said Evan Schumacher, CTO of InstantEncore. “Chris also has strong vision and leadership abilities that will help us further develop our mobile solutions platform and innovate across the performing arts sector.” Prior to joining InstantEncore, Montgomery held leadership positions across a number of music and technology related companies. As EVP, Commercial Development for the Royal Conservatory he lead the expansion of the famed music curriculum across North America. As Head of North America and Global VP of Marketing for EMI Classics, he managed the legendary catalogue of EMI Classics recordings and worked with countless recording artists, ensembles and venues around the world. He began his music industry career at BMG Entertainment in Toronto. Montgomery has also held a number of key international digital media positions. At Diamond Multimedia, he was on the team that launched the first portable mp3 player (Rio) and spinout, RioPort.com. He launched the first on-demand subscription service at MP3.com, and following the acqusition of MP3.com by Vivendi Universal, was appointed SVP, Digital Media based in Paris. He progressed though the organization to CEO, MP3.com Europe. He has also consulted in the areas of digital media and strategy to companies ranging from Target, British Telecom, and Sony. As a recognized expert in the areas of music and digital media, Montgomery has published case studies and has spoken at leading industry conferences. Montgomery earned an M.B.A from the University of Edinburgh, a B.A. in Education from the University of Toronto and a B.A. in Music from the University of Western Ontario. Montgomery is also an Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh Business School and sits on their International Advisory Board. About InstantEncore Inc. InstantEncore is the leading provider of mobile solutions to performing arts organizations around the globe. Our partners use the InstantEncore platform to power their mobile apps, enhance live experiences and create deeper relationships with their audiences. InstantEncore partners include Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Curtis Institute of Music and Dallas Summer Musicals. With Tessitura™ Network, Inc., our partners include the New York Philharmonic, The Shaw Festival and Santa Fe Opera. For more information, contact: David Dombrosky, Chief Marketing Officer david@instantencore.com
Best Practices for Encouraging Donations from Your App Subscribers
If your arts organization is a 501(c)(3) registered non-profit, then you know the importance that donations play in funding. Your mobile app can be an incredibly powerful tool to help collect donations, but there are also some restrictions you need to work around. Apple and Google both have policies against collecting donations within your app. To accommodate this, we actually need to take some special steps when linking to a Donations page. Simply linking to a URL isn't enough, because by default this opens in what we call the "In-App Browser." This browser lets the user view any webpage they are linked to, but it is still technically running in the app. Correspondingly, Apple and Google won't allow the app to collect donations in this manner. So, lets take a look at a few best practices for linking out to your donation processing system: 1. Avoid using the "Custom URL Tab" feature to add a basic link to your donation page. Yes, this is the simplest and fastest way to create this link, but this tool will only open pages using the In-App Browser, which isn't allowed. Bach Collegium San Diego's app clearlyarticulates how mobile donations willbenefit their organization's work. 2. Use "Custom HTML Tabs" instead. In a Custom HTML Tab, you can add extra information to encourage patrons to make a donation. This is a perfect place to list the different donation or membership levels and what benefits or rewards might come with them. Letting users know that even the smallest donation level carries with it some extra perk can convince those, who think they can't afford to make a large donation, to at least contribute something. Every dollar helps! Write a paragraph explaining how the donations benefit your organization. Tell users what programs they will help fund, or which artists you will be able to hire from their gift. Don't let people think they are just tossing money into a black hole; make them feel special Finish off with an exciting call-to-action. By now they've read how their donation will benefit themselves and your organization, now you need to get them to click that link to actually go make the donation. A simple "Click Here" is pretty un-engaging. Get creative with a sentence or graphic. 3. This is the most important part. When creating the link in the Custom HTML Tab, you need to set a special target to make sure that the link opens in the device's default browser app instead of the In-App Browser. Follow these instructions depending on whether you prefer working in Design or HTML mode. Design Mode: Highlight any text or content you wish to turn in to a link Click on the "Create Link" icon. (It looks like a little globe with a chain-link in front of it.) Paste the link to your donation page in the URL field. In the drop-down box next to where it says "Target," select "Custom Target." In the text box that appears, type _system Click OK. HTML Mode: Working in HTML mode, just add target="_system" attribute to the donation link code. Once you are done, save the changes you've made to the tab and your mobile app will now be compatible with both Apple and Google's donation policies!
Why Should I Download Your App? (and Other Questions to Guide Your App Promotion Strategy)
One of the questions that our partners often ask us is, "How do I get more people to download our app and use it?" Of course, the specific answer to this question varies from partner to partner based on how they promote and utilize their apps. With a hat tip to the Socratic method, here are three questions you need to answer in order to advance your app promotion strategy. 1. Why should I download your app? Every patron expects an answer to this question before they download your app. It is not enough to simply tell them that you have an app and instruct them to download it. You need to give them a compelling reason. What can I do with your app that I can't do with your website? Can I access event-specific content in your app on the day of a performance? Can I interact with artists and/or other patrons in the app? Can I access special promotions and offers? Can I receive alerts and notifications based on my personal information and preferences? Can I listen to streaming music or watch behind-the-scenes videos? What constitutes a compelling reason varies, but it should always be approached from the patron's point-of-view. Remember, the question is "why should I download your app?" - not "why do you want me to download your app?" 2. How are you sharing that compelling reason with your patrons? This banner appears in the lobby when the Curtis Institute of Music has event-specific content in their app for a performance. List all of the opportunities you have to communicate with your patrons. How do you communicate with patrons who are in your venue? How do you communicate with patrons who are off-site? How might you leverage each of these opportunities to share a compelling reason for downloading and using your app? Here are some tips as well as examples from our partners. Don't forget your patron's context. That can have a dramatic impact on which compelling reason you choose to share with them. For example, let's consider email messages. If you are sending an email message to encourage patrons to purchase tickets for an event, then you might prompt them to download the app to view a teaser video or interviews with artists. For patrons who have purchased tickets, you could send them a reminder email on the day of the performance to prompt them to download the app for access to special content about tonight's show. After they attend the performance, you might send an email thanking them for their patronage and encouraging them to download the app for access to behind-the-scenes videos or recordings from the performance. No doubt, you have several compelling reasons for a patron to download your app. Presenting them with the most appropriate reason for their current context increases the likelihood that they will download the app at that point in time. 3. Now that I've downloaded and used your app once, how will you prompt me to continue using it? The answer here is communication. But you're not starting from scratch. Every time you encourage patrons to download your app for a compelling reason, it reminds your current app users of the great content available to them. The compelling reason to download is also a compelling reason to open the app and use it again. You do have an additional channel for communicating your app's value to its users. Push notifications serve as a powerful tool for prompting your current app subscribers to use the app repeatedly over time. Simply put: if you have a mobile app, you should be using push notifications to communicate with your app users. Remind Me Again: Why Should I Use Your App? from InstantEncore To learn more about push notifications and how you can make the most of them, check out the Enhanced Push Notifications Resource Round-up. Not sure what to do next? Contact us at support@instantencore.com. We're happy to talk with you about your app promotion strategy, push notifications, and more.
Estimating Your App's ROI - Introducing "Tap Event" Tracking in Google Analytics
Over the summer, we enabled a feature in Google Analytics for your mobile app called "Events." This feature gives you the ability to track when a user taps certain buttons. Tapping these particular buttons does not result in a new screen view within the app. Instead, they lead to an external action. Note: To clarify, these are NOT events like concerts, shows, or other performances. They're user behaviors taking place within your app. To avoid confusion, we will refer to these behavioral instances as "Tap Events." We track the following Tap Events from your app's event listings: Get Tickets: When the user taps on the "Get Tickets Online" button to open an external ticket purchasing site. Phone: When the "Call Box Office" button is tapped to automatically dial the number. Map: When the venue address button is tapped to display the location of the venue on a map and get directions. Program Notes: When the "View Program Notes" button is tapped displaying a PDF of the program (this button only displays if a PDF has been uploaded within the event's details). To find these Tap Events in Google Analytics: Log into your Google Analytics account Go to the Property ID for your Native Apps Finding the "Behavior" option on the left Go to "Events" Click on "Overview" Viewing Your App's Online Ticketing Traffic The most valuable piece of information here is how much traffic your "Get Tickets Online" button is receiving, which lets you get an idea of how much your audience is using the App to purchase tickets to your events. You will want to track this data after Push Notifications are sent letting your audience know that tickets are available for sale, when there is a special promotion, or on the days leading up to a specific event. To view this data, click on the "Screens" section under the "Events" menu. Each Screen Name corresponds to a different performance. You can then click on the "Secondary dimension" menu, go to "Engagement", and select the "Event Label" option. This will further break out the results by the different Tap Events and you can see how many times the "Get Tickets Online" button or the other previously mentioned buttons were tapped. Isolating the Tap Events for a Specific Performance If you'd like to focus on a specific concert or show, just click on the corresponding screen name, then "Event", and "tap". Now you will see a list of all Tap Events that took place for that performance. Changing Targeted Date Ranges Don't forget that you can also change the date range in Google Analytics. The default is for the past month. You may want to adjust this to see the Tap Event activity for a specific two-day period, the last two weeks, your entire season, etc. To refresh your memory on some other tips and tricks, read our post Google Analytics: Understanding Your Mobile Audience. If you haven't set up Google Analytics yet, create a Property ID and get started!
Android Download Numbers Are Back!
You have been patiently awaiting the return of Android download numbers to your app's control panel. Wait no more! Android downloads are back! How to Access Your Android Download Numbers Login to your InstantEncore account. Go to Mobile >> Preview/Checklist. Scroll below your app preview area. In the Native Apps section, you will find download numbers for both Apple and Android.
At-The-Event Resource Roundup
This is the future of mobile technology in the arts: creating an enhanced event experience for your audience. At-The-Event gives you the tools for sharing event-specific content, increasing social activity, and encouraging ongoing attendance. As we approach the start of the 2015-16 season, lets revisit At-The-Event: what it is, how to set one up, and how to get people's eyes on it. Introduction: Blog: Take Your App to the Next Level with "At The Event" Slideshow: At The Event Detailed Walk-through Video: Becoming Familiar with At The Event At-The-Event Setup: Video: Adding At The Event Content to a Performance Video: Editing At The Event Content for a Performance Blog: Enhance Your App's Events with Things To Know Blog: Encouraging Your App Subscribers to Get Social Blog: Using Your App's Offers Tab to Drive Revenue, Encourage Participation, and More Blog: Get URL - A Tool for Enhancing Navigation (useful for adding Custom Actions) Promotion: Blog: Smart App Download URL Blog: Tips for Promoting Your Mobile App, Part 1: Encouraging Downloads When Patrons Are Off-Site Blog: Tips for Promoting Your Mobile App, Part 2: Encouraging Downloads When Patrons Attend Events Spotlight from the Field: Blog: Partner Spotlight: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Additional Resource: Engaging At the Event: Audience Expectations for Live Performance in the Mobile Age - This white paper charts the rise of the mobile audience and their shifting expectations for live performances. It also reveals the results for our At The Event pilot program featuring eight performing arts organizations. The paper concludes with five steps for arts organizations to meet audience expectations head on.
At The Event - Partner Spotlight: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Since 1896, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has been enriching the lives of audiences with world-class music. Now at the start of their 120th season, PSO expands this tradition by utilizing their mobile app's At-The-Event feature to enhance the concert experience for the 21st Century. Their audiences now have easy access to a variety of event-specific content, social interactions with artists and patrons, and special offers. At-The-Event Recap The At-The-Event Checklist highlightsavailable content items and providesone-click access for easy editing. When setting up At-The-Event, it is important to provide as many content options as possible. You don't want to advertise exclusive or event-specific content to your audience without providing them with an experience that lives up to its promise. At-The-Event has three main content areas: The Info screen contains features such as: Check in (This feature doesn't require any setup, it just works!) Things to Know Program Notes Artist Bios Custom actions - links to other content tabs or websites. The Social feed aggregates posts from Twitter or Instagram with a defined #hashtag and adds posts made using the In-App form. The Offers area lets you showcase specific deals, promotions, and partnerships to your patrons. Now, lets take a look at how Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra used each of these areas for their recent concert event - FUSE@PSO: Brahms + Radiohead. Landing and Info Screens The Landing Screen for FUSE@PSO: Brahms + Radiohead on the left greets audience members with an image of the Creative Director and Conductor for the evening. The call to action "Mash it up!" is unique and relevant to the content of the performance, a mash-up of Brahms and music by Radiohead. The Info screen on the right presents Spotlight Text at the top highlighting the combination of old and new. This applies both to the combination classical and contemporary music as well as using new technology to enhance the experience of classic art forms. Following the Spotlight Text is a series of actions leading to deeper content. Let's take a detailed look at each of them. Things to Know Each "Thing to Know" is a combination of text and image intended to guide the app user toward a positive, informed experience. For this event, the PSO chose three Things to Know related to logistics. First, they advertise a Happy Hour which begins before the actual concert. This is why it is important to have your ATE content available several hours before the actual concert starts, so that patrons can get used to the idea of relying on the App as a resource for their entire evening, not just the music itself. Next is Parking information, another valuable tool in helping people get to the event on time. Finally, they include a link to the city's Construction Update page, as your preferred Maps App will not always know about various road closures. Click here for more examples of Things to Know. Program Notes There are three ways that Program Notes can be added to ATE. You can link to a PDF file of the program stored in the File Storage area (under the Extras menu in the Control Panel). You can link to an external site hosting your program notes, such as issuu.com. You can include the text directly in the App, as shown above. However you wish to include them, it is an easy step to do with possible long term benefits. Wouldn't it be great if your audience started reading the program on their phone instead of on paper? How much money could you save by printing 10% of the paper programs that you currently do? How many trees could you save? Its a simple feature that is good for the environment and your bottom-line. Artist Bios Next are the Artist Bios. Here, we see entries for the creative director and three vocalists. Tapping on one will bring up that artist's biography. As with Program Notes, this is another great paper saver. You can also add longer bios without having to worry about how much space is being used. Custom Actions Remember the "FUSE@PSO Interviews" menu item on the Info screen above? That is a Custom Action that was added by: Creating a custom tab in the App Adding content to the tab Deselecting the "Display in App" checkbox for the tab Grabbing its in-app link Using that link for the Custom Action Having link-based Custom Actions gives you the flexibility to link to external websites, a tab within the app, or specific content items - such as Videos, Music samples, etc. Custom Actions are really the key to making each At-The-Event unique. They give audience members something special to explore and learn information about the event that isn't in the printed program. Sponsor Highlighting a sponsor on the Info screen not only adds value for the sponsor, it also provides positive advertising: something that doesn't get in the way of the content while still being visible. Everyone who attended the concert and viewed the Info screen saw the acknowledgement for Uber - which links to their website. I wouldn't be surprised if more than a few people thought of Uber when planning how to travel to and/or from the performance that night. Social Moving away from the Info screen, next is the Social feed. PSO used the hashtag #FUSEPSO for the evening and encouraged people to post with it. They even helped start the conversation by posting photos early on. For tips on how to encourage your audience to use the Social area of your app, click here. Offers The Offers area is a great tool for expanding the value of the app for your patrons. Going beyond digital content and a social experience, Offers can provide your audience with access to great deals. In this case, PSO offered a free ride from Uber as well as a package price for future concerts, including VIP seating and free food & drinks! What types of offers are other partners highlighting? Click here for examples. How Did It Go? So, it is important to tell your audience that this content is available for them. Communication is 90% of the game. If people don't know about it, they can't use it. In addition to promoting the App in all of their regular communications as a vehicle to purchase tickets and learn more about concerts, the Conductor and Creative Director for that evening's event made an announcement from the stage encouraging the audience to download or open the app to take advantage of a special package deal for the 2015-16 series of FUSE@PSO concerts. The results for June 24th speak for themselves: For this one event, they saw nearly 10x their average daily activity. You should see a spike in activity on any event day, but this is a particularly great result for a weekday night event.
Adjusting Your Mobile App to Facebook's Recent Changes
For those of you who have your mobile app configured to pull content from your Facebook Page into the Buzz area of your app, you may have noticed that your Facebook posts have not been appearing in your app. What happened Earlier this summer, Facebook made a major change to how they feed content to other web services by switching from RSS / XML code to JSON. Correspondingly, the RSS / XML feed link you entered into the Buzz area of the mobile suite is no longer active. What you can do The infrastructure for the Buzz area currently relies on RSS / XML code to import content from social media and other sites, so incorporating your Facebook content into the Buzz section of your app is not possible at this time. While we explore our options for reintegrating the Buzz tab with Facebook, we suggest creating a custom tab in your mobile app linked directly to your Facebook page. From the InstantEncore dashboard, go to Mobile >> Tabs. Scroll down past the list of current tabs to the section labeled "Add a Custom Tab." Enter a text label for the new tab. You might use "Facebook," "Updates," or "Like us on Facebook." Select the icon to associate with the new tab. We have included a commonly recognized Facebook icon in our library for you to use, if you like. In the "Content" area, select "Display an existing web page." In the URL box, enter http://m.facebook.com/YourFacebookPageName. Click on the "Create" button. Your Facebook Page will now appear as a tab within your mobile app. It's that easy!