May 29, 2025 • 17 mins
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Connectivity has transformed from a luxury into a necessity. But what if your venue's Wi-Fi could do more than just provide internet access? What if it could become a powerful revenue generator and customer intelligence platform?
Sean Bossons, Chief Revenue Officer at Purple, reveals how smart guest Wi-Fi is revolutionizing customer engagement across industries. From sports venues identifying returning fans to promote playoff tickets, to airports guiding passenger traffic away from congested gates toward retail opportunities, businesses are discovering the untapped potential of their connectivity infrastructure.
The magic happens when anonymous connections become meaningful customer interactions. By capturing first-party data including demographics, visiting patterns, and preferences, venues gain unprecedented insight into their customers. This creates opportunities for hyper-personalized marketing at exactly the right moment - when customers are physically present and most receptive to relevant offers.
"Research suggests you're willing to share data if you get something in return and you don't want generic rewards," explains Bossons, highlighting the value exchange at the heart of successful implementation. This approach drives measurable results across three key metrics: visit frequency, average spend, and customer lifetime value.
Privacy remains paramount in this data-driven approach. Having grown under Europe's stringent GDPR regulations, Purple emphasizes consent and confidentiality as foundational principles, ensuring compliance with regional regulations worldwide while building the consumer trust necessary for willing participation.
As we look toward the future of venue technology, AI-driven personalization and mobile-first engagement will continue transforming how businesses connect with customers in physical spaces. The old paradigm of investing heavily to attract visitors without effectively engaging them once they arrive is being replaced by sophisticated, real-time interaction strategies powered by intelligent Wi-Fi.
Ready to transform your venue's connectivity from cost center to profit driver? Discover how your Wi-Fi network could become your most valuable customer intelligence platform.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey everybody, fascinating guest and topic
today, talking abouttransforming guest Wi-Fi from a
cost center to a profit centerwith Purple, purple AI Sean.
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
I'm good, thank you.
Thanks for having me on today.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Thanks for being here .
You know very interesting topicfor me as a longtime wireless
geek tech geek.
Before that, maybe introduceyourself your role at Purple and
what was the big idea behindthe founding of the company.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah, great questions .
I'm Sean Bostons.
I'm the Chief Revenue Officerhere at Purple.
I'm based in Chicago.
Originally from the UK.
I've been with the company nowfor just over five years.
So originally the company wasfounded roughly 11, 12 years ago
because our founder gotfrustrated with how difficult it
was to connect online,especially during travel.
It seemed like there was areally big opportunity for guest
(00:52):
Wi-Fi to play a bigger part inthat role.
That's how Purple started many,many years ago.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Fantastic.
Wi-fi used to be at that time,kind of a nice-to-have Of course
, like air conditioning andheating.
It's like a baselineexpectation.
But what are your customerstelling you about their wants
and needs, desires as far asmodern Wi-Fi?
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Yeah, I guess from our side Wi-Fi you're completely
correct, right?
So Wi-Fi used to be this kindof nice to have it, you could
find it, but now it's becomeessential.
Our world's become digital,very much digital first, and if
you look at everything fromsocial media to streaming and
all that communication, thatdemand for connection is higher
than ever, especially inphysical venues where we know
(01:38):
traditional cell data can beharder to kind of use and to
access.
So so as part of that, it'sbecome this essential utility
that a customer will expect.
So that's changed that pressureon the venues now to make sure
it's there and to do that theyinvest heavily into
infrastructure and thatinfrastructure is expensive.
So all of a sudden now Wi-Fihas become from a nice to have
(01:59):
to an essential, but alsosomething that's actually
impacting that budget line.
So they're looking for ways tomake sure they can generate
revenue with it rather than itbeing just a simple free service
.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Let's talk about a simple free service.
Most venues that I go to theWi-Fi is pretty bad right
compared to my expectations, atleast from home.
You mentioned the investment ininfrastructure connectivity.
Why haven't they kept up with agreat Wi-Fi experience?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
So I think it's a journey.
I think obviously we were verylucky at home, especially in the
United States, where we havethings like fiber and we can get
extremely high bandwidth, and Ithink we almost take it for
granted that there's no longerany time to wait for anything
that we do, and when we do haveto wait for something, it's
instantly.
It's a frustration and I thinkthat kind of goes on to that
journey where we were talkingabout before.
(02:57):
Now, venues are seeing Wi-Fi asan opportunity to connect with
people who are in theirbuildings.
They've realized they need toget faster bandwidth, they need
to be able to connect betterwith their end user and because
of that that's where that costhas come in.
So when you experience slowconnection, that's typically
because they're really in thatjourney of providing something
(03:19):
that's going to add more valueto you, the end user and
hopefully over time, to them aswell.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Interesting and you talk about Wi-Fi as a profit
center, a revenue driver.
How is that?
How does it look in practice?
What models are working beyondjust the?
You know adding $20 a bill tomy hotel stay?
What else are the opportunitiesthere?
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Yeah, you reference obviously a very simple one,
which is paid Wi-Fi.
So they're providing you asmaybe a business user, business
traveler, so you get fasterbandwidth, so you can work more
seamlessly.
But I think in general, there'slots of other opportunities as
well.
So we're trying to transformthat anonymous connection of you
know, they know somebody or adevice is in a building.
They're trying to turn thatinto more of a customer
(04:03):
interaction.
So the idea is that when acustomer or end user leverages
your Wi-Fi within that venue,you can start to capture data,
confidential data, safe data.
We start to capture that datalike demographics and their
visiting patterns, sometimestheir inferences sorry their
interests and their preferences,and all of that data means you
(04:23):
can start to tailor your messageback to them, and I think
that's what the end user wants.
Research suggests you'rewilling to share data if you get
something in return and youdon't want generic rewards.
So if that data can be used totailor their offering, to tailor
rewards and benefits, you asthe end user will win and
obviously that will generaterevenue for the venue as well.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Interesting.
So you have any examples of thetypes of data brands are
prioritizing, you know, for thatsort of personalized engagement
without crossing the privacylines that we wouldn't want them
to do.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, certainly there's all kinds of data and
there's all kinds of differentways it can be used, like we've
got examples where, for example,in healthcare, they're using
connection with the patient tocreate donations.
Um, and obviously, as you know,donations are critical so they
can understand who you are,where you are and why you're
there.
Maybe you're a visitor, theycan use that to engage with you
(05:20):
and hopefully influence you toto maybe donate on on the day
while you're there.
But, um, outside of that, it'sunderstanding things like dwell
times how long are you in avenue if you're there but
outside of that, it'sunderstanding things like dwell
times how long are you in avenue If you're in a venue for a
long time and you're using highbandwidth.
Maybe you're sitting in acoffee shop watching Netflix, so
that means the venue would likesomething in return.
So that's where paid Wi-Fi ortiered Wi-Fi certainly help them
(05:42):
.
So it's really aboutunderstanding a bit more about
you so they can interact withyou on a more personal level,
and it's trying to understandwhere you are and when you're
there.
And by bringing all of thattogether, it really does present
an opportunity to influenceyour buying behavior at the most
receptive moment possible.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Interesting so you're taking foot traffic trying to
get first party insights there.
Do you have any examples oflike where real-time customer
insights really helped the venueor the provider?
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Yeah, if you take, for example, sports, it's things
that we know, for example with.
You buy tickets, usuallythrough a third party.
Often in this kind of day andage, that means they don't know
who you are, Whereas if theyknow who you are, so you
actually log into Wi-Fi, theycapture some information about
your contacts or yourpreferences or the fact that
they've seen you before.
Then they can engage with youon the premise of welcome back,
(06:36):
it's been great to see you.
Because it's getting towardsthe end of the season, maybe
they want to use that data thento push things like playoffs.
So there's tickets coming up fora big event they could use it
for cross-pollination, whereyou're there for a hockey game.
(06:56):
But there's a country musicevent coming up in the near
future so they can use that toactually to see if that's
something based on yourpreferences you'd like to see,
and a chance to sell tickets oreven season tickets.
They want to get you back as aloyal fan.
You've been here several timesthis year but there, but you're
not using your season ticket toum to access the wi-Fi.
So this gives you a chance tohopefully push season tickets to
those individuals.
So every vehicle has lots ofopportunities Airports, how they
can use your data to understandwhere you are, what time your
(07:19):
flight could be, and hopefullyinfluence you to go into
hospitality and spend a littlebit more money on food and
drinks, or maybe spend more timeaway from the gate, which is
causing a bottleneck for otherpassengers.
So there's lots of differentways they can use data about you
, your preferences, yourfrequency, where you are, when
you're there, and all of thatallows them to engage and
(07:40):
hopefully make it a betterexperience for you, but also a
chance to generate revenue forthem.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Very cool.
So I see the opportunity fromthe single venue, boston Logan,
where I am all the time, or TDGarden, where I am a lot.
But is you know, is there sortof a network effect as I go to
multiple venues, you know, andconnect across locations,
regions, countries?
Speaker 2 (08:05):
even.
Yeah, exactly.
So that can happen very quicklywhen brands are global.
So you know we're lucky enoughto work with a number of large
brands that are all around theworld.
So we know, for example, ifyou're working with a
hospitality brand that are inmore than one country, more than
one city, they can start tounderstand behaviors across the
country or even outside of thecountry.
But we think that's just goingto continue to grow as we start
(08:28):
to aggregate data more acrossthese venues.
You know Purple's in a verylucky position to understand
what's happening and one greatuse case from several years ago
I know we didn't talk aboutCOVID anymore or try not to, but
we did capture a huge amount ofanonymous data across London
and we were using that data tohelp the local government to
understand are the lockdownprocedures helping?
(08:50):
Are we seeing footfall, trafficgo lower during curfews?
So that kind of data acrossmultiple venue types, across
multiple areas, really providesthem a huge amount of insight to
help understand if things areworking, and we see that going
to happen more and more now.
So we're going to start seeingmore and more about your
preferences.
For example, if you've justbeen to Thailand on holiday and
(09:13):
you return.
Maybe your local retailer willwant to try and offer you Thai
food because they just come backand you might still have a
hunger for that.
Or maybe, for example, if youknow you go to local pizza
restaurants, that knowledgemeans that your retailer will
offer you pizzas on discounts orrewards, because clearly you
have a taste for that.
So it's being able tounderstand your behavior across
(09:35):
multiple types of venue,allowing them to get more
personal and offering thingsthat are valuable for you.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Interesting.
So you mentioned you're prettymuch global as a business and of
course, every locality hasnuances and different regional
requirements and customerbehaviors, Also, when it comes
to trust and privacy and consentvery different in Europe, the
UK versus the US.
How do you ensure data securityand consent to all of this and
(10:04):
consent to all of this.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
So we grew up as a country in the sorry, as a
company in the UK, so GDFR wassomething that we grew up with.
So data confidentiality is thefirst thing we think of in
everything we do.
But we also understand there'slots of local legislation, like
CCPA in California and lots ofdifferent types across all of
LATAM as well.
So that's always front andcenter for everything we do.
(10:25):
So as we start to buildrelationships with brands and
venues, and as they do that withtheir end customer, they make
sure that confidentiality isthere.
They allow the user to opt intodata and to get in which is
remarketed.
They always allow the user toremove themselves from that as
well.
But we're, as you mentioned,we're very lucky that we are in
a unique position.
We are global, which means wecan see all of the different
(10:48):
legislation, but we also makesure that the data is owned by
the brand we're working with,not by them.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Fantastic.
So you know there's a big boomin in-venue tech sports tech
it's often called, and Wi-Fi ispart of that but also AI
applications, internet of Things, all kinds of really cool
technologies.
How do you see the customerexperience evolving and are you
part of that big push that wesee at the moment?
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Yeah, I think you know sports is a great example.
I remember speaking to a headof marketing in a large MLB team
quite some months ago and theywere saying how they had their
advertising team and they weresitting around during a game and
they were talking about howmuch it would cost to have a
sponsorship on a largescoreboard during the game.
But then in between inningsthey looked around and everybody
(11:39):
is on the phone.
No one's looking at that largescoreboard.
So all of a sudden, thatscoreboard, in theory, is in
your hand, it's your phone,right, and it's the same as
digital kiosks and shoppingmalls.
Really, we're moving away fromthings like that and they become
digital kiosks in your hand.
So I think we're seeing a lotmore engagement whilst you're in
a venue, but it's driventhrough your device that's in
(12:00):
your hand.
So the future, I think, isgoing to be more and more around
deeper integrations, moreintelligence.
I think obviously we can't go awhole show nowadays without
talking about AI, and I think AIis going to drive that
hyper-personalization.
It's going to create morepredictability about what people
want, what customers actuallyneed, and that will then allow
brands and venues to create moreand more kind of interactive,
(12:24):
bespoke tailored experiences andIoT devices will just
continually to drive thatconnection, that Wi-Fi network
effect, creating smarter venuesall the time.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Brilliant.
Yeah, it's even back tohospitality I think about when I
check into a hotel room.
I don't use the television andI don't use the phone the desk
phone, the bedside phone sothat's left to my laptop and my
mobile.
So what a great opportunity forcustomer engagement in the room
and customer service.
(12:57):
So, as you work with thesevarious venues, how do they
think about ROI for smarterWi-Fi, what are some of the
metrics they're looking at andhow do you tie into their
overall strategy on the businessside?
Speaker 2 (13:12):
I think one thing we try to be really breaking down
and keep it very simple.
If you think about a lot ofbrands around the world today,
they're trying to constantlycommunicate with you and when
you're at home, when you're inyour hotel room, wherever that
is, they're trying to influenceyou to go to their venue,
(13:32):
whether it's a store or it's arestaurant or a stadium.
They're always spending hugeamounts of money through social
and TV.
They're trying to convince youto go there.
But if you imagine yourexperience when you walk into a
retail store today, how much arethey engaging with you?
If they've made this effort toget you there and now you're
there, how are they engagingwith you?
This effort to get you thereand now you're there, how are
they engaging with you?
Well, they've got generic pointof sale material and they might
have a loyalty card, which theyhave a huge amount of data on
(13:54):
you so they understand the wayyou buy and shop.
But all of that tends to not beused as you walk in.
So they know that you've beenthere because you paid on your
credit card so they can see youwere there and you left.
Maybe Maybe you used yourloyalty card so they can see you
transacted through them thatday, but all of that is when
you're leaving, not when youarrive.
So it seems like a lot ofmarketing effort happens at
(14:15):
potentially the wrong time.
If they engage with you as youwalked, in that receptive
moments as you go around thestore, that's when they should
be tailoring their message.
I think what we're seeing nowis brands are understanding that
and they realize that if theycan start to engage with you the
second you walk into theirvenue, if they can offer
something to you at the righttime and at the right place with
(14:37):
the right message, you are farmore likely to be influenced in
your purchasing decision, andthat literally leads to you
going back more often.
So, more frequent visits.
You're going to spend more youraverage wallet spend and
hopefully it's going to drivegreat loyalty for you and, as we
know, loyalty means spendingmore from a lifetime value point
of view over time.
So we're seeing connection,wi-fi all of those things we
(15:00):
talked about being a key partnow of a digital marketing
strategy for most brands andmost venue types.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Interesting.
Yeah, it's clear Google's doinga lot in this strategy with
location-based services andmapping and local commerce and
of course, they're getting allthe juicy juicy data not so much
the retailers or theiradvertising customers, so
they're accruing all thebenefits there.
Just curious on theinfrastructure side how that
(15:29):
works when it comes to theaccess points, the
infrastructure, networkmanagement.
How do you get that done withand for the brands you work with
?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Yeah, great, great question.
So most venues have usuallysome form of access points.
Maybe they're quite old, maybetheir legacy.
The challenge they tend to faceis that they might have
different brands because overtime they've grown and they've
changed and maybe they've takenadvantage of offers in the
market today and what it'scapable of.
(16:04):
And, and once again, becausewe've been around for quite some
time, because we're a globalplayer and we partner with a
huge amount of the hardwarebrands, we can push our software
out across all of that.
We're completely agnostic.
Um, so that makes their life alot easier.
That they are working inmulti-brand environments.
It's not going to cause them aproblem.
But not only that in terms ofdriving that engagement with you
, the customer, but also itallows them to look at how that
(16:25):
network's performing, and what'sreally important is to be
proactive in understanding howthat network's performing.
So the first thing you saidtoday was you've had some
terrible experiences, so that'sthe last thing they want.
If they're investing into thisinfrastructure and your feedback
is it doesn't really work, thenthat could be, you know, that
breaks their entire strategy.
(16:45):
So what's important is that youknow, working closely with
Purple, we can obviously supportthe marketing teams and we can
help create the engagement, allthe fun things.
But also we work very closelywith the IT teams and that's
making sure those networks areworking well, they're
predictable, they're safe.
We want to make sure that youknow we're avoiding any form of
potential liability and all ofthat means we have a happy IT
(17:07):
team using the infrastructurethey've got and supporting them,
making it future-proof as theychange and grow, and also
driving that benefit throughmarketing, like we discussed
earlier.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Wow, amazing value proposition.
Congratulations onwards andupwards.
Can't wait to check out mypurple Wi-Fi in the future.
Perfect, thank you.
The future.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Perfect Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Thanks and thanks everyone for listening, watching
, sharing and be sure to checkout my other show, techimpacttv
on Bloomberg and Fox Business onSaturday.
Thanks everyone, thanks guys.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Thank you.
Hey everybody, fascinating guest and topic
today, talking abouttransforming guest Wi-Fi from a
cost center to a profit centerwith Purple, purple AI Sean.
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
I'm good, thank you.
Thanks for having me on today.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Thanks for being here .
You know very interesting topicfor me as a longtime wireless
geek tech geek.
Before that, maybe introduceyourself your role at Purple and
what was the big idea behindthe founding of the company.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah, great questions .
I'm Sean Bostons.
I'm the Chief Revenue Officerhere at Purple.
I'm based in Chicago.
Originally from the UK.
I've been with the company nowfor just over five years.
So originally the company wasfounded roughly 11, 12 years ago
because our founder gotfrustrated with how difficult it
was to connect online,especially during travel.
It seemed like there was areally big opportunity for guest
(00:52):
Wi-Fi to play a bigger part inthat role.
That's how Purple started many,many years ago.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Fantastic.
Wi-fi used to be at that time,kind of a nice-to-have Of course
, like air conditioning andheating.
It's like a baselineexpectation.
But what are your customerstelling you about their wants
and needs, desires as far asmodern Wi-Fi?
Speaker 2 (01:16):
Yeah, I guess from our side Wi-Fi you're completely
correct, right?
So Wi-Fi used to be this kindof nice to have it, you could
find it, but now it's becomeessential.
Our world's become digital,very much digital first, and if
you look at everything fromsocial media to streaming and
all that communication, thatdemand for connection is higher
than ever, especially inphysical venues where we know
(01:38):
traditional cell data can beharder to kind of use and to
access.
So so as part of that, it'sbecome this essential utility
that a customer will expect.
So that's changed that pressureon the venues now to make sure
it's there and to do that theyinvest heavily into
infrastructure and thatinfrastructure is expensive.
So all of a sudden now Wi-Fihas become from a nice to have
(01:59):
to an essential, but alsosomething that's actually
impacting that budget line.
So they're looking for ways tomake sure they can generate
revenue with it rather than itbeing just a simple free service
.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Let's talk about a simple free service.
Most venues that I go to theWi-Fi is pretty bad right
compared to my expectations, atleast from home.
You mentioned the investment ininfrastructure connectivity.
Why haven't they kept up with agreat Wi-Fi experience?
Speaker 2 (02:35):
So I think it's a journey.
I think obviously we were verylucky at home, especially in the
United States, where we havethings like fiber and we can get
extremely high bandwidth, and Ithink we almost take it for
granted that there's no longerany time to wait for anything
that we do, and when we do haveto wait for something, it's
instantly.
It's a frustration and I thinkthat kind of goes on to that
journey where we were talkingabout before.
(02:57):
Now, venues are seeing Wi-Fi asan opportunity to connect with
people who are in theirbuildings.
They've realized they need toget faster bandwidth, they need
to be able to connect betterwith their end user and because
of that that's where that costhas come in.
So when you experience slowconnection, that's typically
because they're really in thatjourney of providing something
(03:19):
that's going to add more valueto you, the end user and
hopefully over time, to them aswell.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Interesting and you talk about Wi-Fi as a profit
center, a revenue driver.
How is that?
How does it look in practice?
What models are working beyondjust the?
You know adding $20 a bill tomy hotel stay?
What else are the opportunitiesthere?
Speaker 2 (03:42):
Yeah, you reference obviously a very simple one,
which is paid Wi-Fi.
So they're providing you asmaybe a business user, business
traveler, so you get fasterbandwidth, so you can work more
seamlessly.
But I think in general, there'slots of other opportunities as
well.
So we're trying to transformthat anonymous connection of you
know, they know somebody or adevice is in a building.
They're trying to turn thatinto more of a customer
(04:03):
interaction.
So the idea is that when acustomer or end user leverages
your Wi-Fi within that venue,you can start to capture data,
confidential data, safe data.
We start to capture that datalike demographics and their
visiting patterns, sometimestheir inferences sorry their
interests and their preferences,and all of that data means you
(04:23):
can start to tailor your messageback to them, and I think
that's what the end user wants.
Research suggests you'rewilling to share data if you get
something in return and youdon't want generic rewards.
So if that data can be used totailor their offering, to tailor
rewards and benefits, you asthe end user will win and
obviously that will generaterevenue for the venue as well.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Interesting.
So you have any examples of thetypes of data brands are
prioritizing, you know, for thatsort of personalized engagement
without crossing the privacylines that we wouldn't want them
to do.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yeah, certainly there's all kinds of data and
there's all kinds of differentways it can be used, like we've
got examples where, for example,in healthcare, they're using
connection with the patient tocreate donations.
Um, and obviously, as you know,donations are critical so they
can understand who you are,where you are and why you're
there.
Maybe you're a visitor, theycan use that to engage with you
(05:20):
and hopefully influence you toto maybe donate on on the day
while you're there.
But, um, outside of that, it'sunderstanding things like dwell
times how long are you in avenue if you're there but
outside of that, it'sunderstanding things like dwell
times how long are you in avenue If you're in a venue for a
long time and you're using highbandwidth.
Maybe you're sitting in acoffee shop watching Netflix, so
that means the venue would likesomething in return.
So that's where paid Wi-Fi ortiered Wi-Fi certainly help them
(05:42):
.
So it's really aboutunderstanding a bit more about
you so they can interact withyou on a more personal level,
and it's trying to understandwhere you are and when you're
there.
And by bringing all of thattogether, it really does present
an opportunity to influenceyour buying behavior at the most
receptive moment possible.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
Interesting so you're taking foot traffic trying to
get first party insights there.
Do you have any examples oflike where real-time customer
insights really helped the venueor the provider?
Speaker 2 (06:13):
Yeah, if you take, for example, sports, it's things
that we know, for example with.
You buy tickets, usuallythrough a third party.
Often in this kind of day andage, that means they don't know
who you are, Whereas if theyknow who you are, so you
actually log into Wi-Fi, theycapture some information about
your contacts or yourpreferences or the fact that
they've seen you before.
Then they can engage with youon the premise of welcome back,
(06:36):
it's been great to see you.
Because it's getting towardsthe end of the season, maybe
they want to use that data thento push things like playoffs.
So there's tickets coming up fora big event they could use it
for cross-pollination, whereyou're there for a hockey game.
(06:56):
But there's a country musicevent coming up in the near
future so they can use that toactually to see if that's
something based on yourpreferences you'd like to see,
and a chance to sell tickets oreven season tickets.
They want to get you back as aloyal fan.
You've been here several timesthis year but there, but you're
not using your season ticket toum to access the wi-Fi.
So this gives you a chance tohopefully push season tickets to
those individuals.
So every vehicle has lots ofopportunities Airports, how they
can use your data to understandwhere you are, what time your
(07:19):
flight could be, and hopefullyinfluence you to go into
hospitality and spend a littlebit more money on food and
drinks, or maybe spend more timeaway from the gate, which is
causing a bottleneck for otherpassengers.
So there's lots of differentways they can use data about you
, your preferences, yourfrequency, where you are, when
you're there, and all of thatallows them to engage and
(07:40):
hopefully make it a betterexperience for you, but also a
chance to generate revenue forthem.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Very cool.
So I see the opportunity fromthe single venue, boston Logan,
where I am all the time, or TDGarden, where I am a lot.
But is you know, is there sortof a network effect as I go to
multiple venues, you know, andconnect across locations,
regions, countries?
Speaker 2 (08:05):
even.
Yeah, exactly.
So that can happen very quicklywhen brands are global.
So you know we're lucky enoughto work with a number of large
brands that are all around theworld.
So we know, for example, ifyou're working with a
hospitality brand that are inmore than one country, more than
one city, they can start tounderstand behaviors across the
country or even outside of thecountry.
But we think that's just goingto continue to grow as we start
(08:28):
to aggregate data more acrossthese venues.
You know Purple's in a verylucky position to understand
what's happening and one greatuse case from several years ago
I know we didn't talk aboutCOVID anymore or try not to, but
we did capture a huge amount ofanonymous data across London
and we were using that data tohelp the local government to
understand are the lockdownprocedures helping?
(08:50):
Are we seeing footfall, trafficgo lower during curfews?
So that kind of data acrossmultiple venue types, across
multiple areas, really providesthem a huge amount of insight to
help understand if things areworking, and we see that going
to happen more and more now.
So we're going to start seeingmore and more about your
preferences.
For example, if you've justbeen to Thailand on holiday and
(09:13):
you return.
Maybe your local retailer willwant to try and offer you Thai
food because they just come backand you might still have a
hunger for that.
Or maybe, for example, if youknow you go to local pizza
restaurants, that knowledgemeans that your retailer will
offer you pizzas on discounts orrewards, because clearly you
have a taste for that.
So it's being able tounderstand your behavior across
(09:35):
multiple types of venue,allowing them to get more
personal and offering thingsthat are valuable for you.
Speaker 1 (09:42):
Interesting.
So you mentioned you're prettymuch global as a business and of
course, every locality hasnuances and different regional
requirements and customerbehaviors, Also, when it comes
to trust and privacy and consentvery different in Europe, the
UK versus the US.
How do you ensure data securityand consent to all of this and
(10:04):
consent to all of this.
Speaker 2 (10:05):
So we grew up as a country in the sorry, as a
company in the UK, so GDFR wassomething that we grew up with.
So data confidentiality is thefirst thing we think of in
everything we do.
But we also understand there'slots of local legislation, like
CCPA in California and lots ofdifferent types across all of
LATAM as well.
So that's always front andcenter for everything we do.
(10:25):
So as we start to buildrelationships with brands and
venues, and as they do that withtheir end customer, they make
sure that confidentiality isthere.
They allow the user to opt intodata and to get in which is
remarketed.
They always allow the user toremove themselves from that as
well.
But we're, as you mentioned,we're very lucky that we are in
a unique position.
We are global, which means wecan see all of the different
(10:48):
legislation, but we also makesure that the data is owned by
the brand we're working with,not by them.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Fantastic.
So you know there's a big boomin in-venue tech sports tech
it's often called, and Wi-Fi ispart of that but also AI
applications, internet of Things, all kinds of really cool
technologies.
How do you see the customerexperience evolving and are you
part of that big push that wesee at the moment?
Speaker 2 (11:19):
Yeah, I think you know sports is a great example.
I remember speaking to a headof marketing in a large MLB team
quite some months ago and theywere saying how they had their
advertising team and they weresitting around during a game and
they were talking about howmuch it would cost to have a
sponsorship on a largescoreboard during the game.
But then in between inningsthey looked around and everybody
(11:39):
is on the phone.
No one's looking at that largescoreboard.
So all of a sudden, thatscoreboard, in theory, is in
your hand, it's your phone,right, and it's the same as
digital kiosks and shoppingmalls.
Really, we're moving away fromthings like that and they become
digital kiosks in your hand.
So I think we're seeing a lotmore engagement whilst you're in
a venue, but it's driventhrough your device that's in
(12:00):
your hand.
So the future, I think, isgoing to be more and more around
deeper integrations, moreintelligence.
I think obviously we can't go awhole show nowadays without
talking about AI, and I think AIis going to drive that
hyper-personalization.
It's going to create morepredictability about what people
want, what customers actuallyneed, and that will then allow
brands and venues to create moreand more kind of interactive,
(12:24):
bespoke tailored experiences andIoT devices will just
continually to drive thatconnection, that Wi-Fi network
effect, creating smarter venuesall the time.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Brilliant.
Yeah, it's even back tohospitality I think about when I
check into a hotel room.
I don't use the television andI don't use the phone the desk
phone, the bedside phone sothat's left to my laptop and my
mobile.
So what a great opportunity forcustomer engagement in the room
and customer service.
(12:57):
So, as you work with thesevarious venues, how do they
think about ROI for smarterWi-Fi, what are some of the
metrics they're looking at andhow do you tie into their
overall strategy on the businessside?
Speaker 2 (13:12):
I think one thing we try to be really breaking down
and keep it very simple.
If you think about a lot ofbrands around the world today,
they're trying to constantlycommunicate with you and when
you're at home, when you're inyour hotel room, wherever that
is, they're trying to influenceyou to go to their venue,
(13:32):
whether it's a store or it's arestaurant or a stadium.
They're always spending hugeamounts of money through social
and TV.
They're trying to convince youto go there.
But if you imagine yourexperience when you walk into a
retail store today, how much arethey engaging with you?
If they've made this effort toget you there and now you're
there, how are they engagingwith you?
This effort to get you thereand now you're there, how are
they engaging with you?
Well, they've got generic pointof sale material and they might
have a loyalty card, which theyhave a huge amount of data on
(13:54):
you so they understand the wayyou buy and shop.
But all of that tends to not beused as you walk in.
So they know that you've beenthere because you paid on your
credit card so they can see youwere there and you left.
Maybe Maybe you used yourloyalty card so they can see you
transacted through them thatday, but all of that is when
you're leaving, not when youarrive.
So it seems like a lot ofmarketing effort happens at
(14:15):
potentially the wrong time.
If they engage with you as youwalked, in that receptive
moments as you go around thestore, that's when they should
be tailoring their message.
I think what we're seeing nowis brands are understanding that
and they realize that if theycan start to engage with you the
second you walk into theirvenue, if they can offer
something to you at the righttime and at the right place with
(14:37):
the right message, you are farmore likely to be influenced in
your purchasing decision, andthat literally leads to you
going back more often.
So, more frequent visits.
You're going to spend more youraverage wallet spend and
hopefully it's going to drivegreat loyalty for you and, as we
know, loyalty means spendingmore from a lifetime value point
of view over time.
So we're seeing connection,wi-fi all of those things we
(15:00):
talked about being a key partnow of a digital marketing
strategy for most brands andmost venue types.
Speaker 1 (15:07):
Interesting.
Yeah, it's clear Google's doinga lot in this strategy with
location-based services andmapping and local commerce and
of course, they're getting allthe juicy juicy data not so much
the retailers or theiradvertising customers, so
they're accruing all thebenefits there.
Just curious on theinfrastructure side how that
(15:29):
works when it comes to theaccess points, the
infrastructure, networkmanagement.
How do you get that done withand for the brands you work with
?
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Yeah, great, great question.
So most venues have usuallysome form of access points.
Maybe they're quite old, maybetheir legacy.
The challenge they tend to faceis that they might have
different brands because overtime they've grown and they've
changed and maybe they've takenadvantage of offers in the
market today and what it'scapable of.
(16:04):
And, and once again, becausewe've been around for quite some
time, because we're a globalplayer and we partner with a
huge amount of the hardwarebrands, we can push our software
out across all of that.
We're completely agnostic.
Um, so that makes their life alot easier.
That they are working inmulti-brand environments.
It's not going to cause them aproblem.
But not only that in terms ofdriving that engagement with you
, the customer, but also itallows them to look at how that
(16:25):
network's performing, and what'sreally important is to be
proactive in understanding howthat network's performing.
So the first thing you saidtoday was you've had some
terrible experiences, so that'sthe last thing they want.
If they're investing into thisinfrastructure and your feedback
is it doesn't really work, thenthat could be, you know, that
breaks their entire strategy.
(16:45):
So what's important is that youknow, working closely with
Purple, we can obviously supportthe marketing teams and we can
help create the engagement, allthe fun things.
But also we work very closelywith the IT teams and that's
making sure those networks areworking well, they're
predictable, they're safe.
We want to make sure that youknow we're avoiding any form of
potential liability and all ofthat means we have a happy IT
(17:07):
team using the infrastructurethey've got and supporting them,
making it future-proof as theychange and grow, and also
driving that benefit throughmarketing, like we discussed
earlier.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Wow, amazing value proposition.
Congratulations onwards andupwards.
Can't wait to check out mypurple Wi-Fi in the future.
Perfect, thank you.
The future.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Perfect Thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Thanks and thanks everyone for listening, watching
, sharing and be sure to checkout my other show, techimpacttv
on Bloomberg and Fox Business onSaturday.
Thanks everyone, thanks guys.
Speaker 2 (17:39):
Thank you.
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