TECHNOLOGY

from Bay Biz Vol. 11/ Issue 4 (Fall)

POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE

Technology In Business

by: Mark Sheldon, Managing Member/Chief Operations Officer, PCB Entertainment

In the past 10 years we have seen major changes in the festival business. Most people just think of the “experience” they are having at a music festival. Patrons want ease and great vibes. As a festival owner, we strive to provide an amazing experience for our fans. Part of that experience is making the events user friendly, whether that is using a mobile app., cashless transactions, touchless entry, or free Wi-Fi. Beyond the fan experience, we use technology heavily on the operations side of the festival. Technology offers our team the ability to communicate and collaborate on several projects at any given moment.

Using technology opens many facets to our festival, allowing for a more well-organized event, while keeping our staff and fans in constant communication. A company we are all familiar with, Google, which offers a suite of products called Google Docs Editors Suite. Our festival relies heavily on Google Sheets, Google Forms, Google Drive, etc. to perform our day-to-day tasks. We use Google Sheets for our marketing content calendar, ticket tracking, marketing stats, etc. Our team collaborates with one another within these documents to build effective and detailed files. Using this method, we are able to access the documents using any of our electronic devices, and work from anywhere that the internet is available. Often when building the festival, our team will keep a working document for “Improvements” and following the close of the festival, we will discuss the items as a team. From there, we can work as a team and take the necessary steps towards bettering the festival and the fan experience. This not only leads to better organization and communication, but it provides a historical reference when working on the next year’s festival.

Organizing an event of this magnitude requires a variety of essential technology.

When marking the festival grounds for the location of the tents, stages, vendors, sponsors, etc., we use iPad devices with photos from previous years. These photos are created by using a professional drone that takes thousands of photos, and then stitches the photos into a single image using proprietary software. This type of image creates a fast and incredibly accurate reference from years past. Without these images or tablets, we would rely solely on blueprints, creating a more arduous build out of the festival grounds.

Early on in our festival development, we partnered with a Mobile Application developer to build our festival mobile app. on both the Apple and Google platforms. It is vital we formulate a plan for how we want to utilize the mobile app to provide the best experience for our fans. We take many things into consideration when developing our mobile app. Safety is a crucial aspect of our mobile app. We can reach fans swiftly using Push Notifications in the event of an emergency. Whether that be an evacuation due to lightning,

or sharing information about our exits to better navigate our fans through the festival grounds. Clearing the festival grounds quickly, but orderly, provides a better experience to our fans.

Working closely with our mobile app. developer, we are exploring our options to provide an online or mobile app. order-ahead system for our fans. This feature would allow them to order merchandise, drinks, etc., ahead of time and “skip the line”. It would provide us the opportunity to put our full menu of items available in front of them, rather than requiring them to make the walk to the vendors until their order is ready. Not only would this provide a much faster purchasing experience for our fans, but it would allow us to make a more accurate initial product order when deciding on things such as merchandise inventory or liquid inventory.

We include exclusive content on the mobile app. to entice our fans to make the download before attending our festival. Our lineup, with artist performance times, is available exclusively on our mobile app. This helps our fans plan their vacation to beautiful Panama City Beach while confident they will not miss their favorite acts. We do this exclusively on the app, to give us the ability to directly communicate with them during the show. The festival map is uploaded closer to the event, when it is in its final stages of design, so our fans can find their way around the festival grounds.

Cashless transactions provide a safe, secure, and effortless way to pay for goods at our festival. Offering cashless transactions has received a positive reception from our fans. It begins when our fans receive their RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) wristband in the mail prior to the festival. Each wristband has an individual UID (Unique Identifier) number. When a wristband is registered, a prompt appears for the user to input their credit card information and a unique PIN of their choosing, to store on the RFID wristband. While making a purchase at the festival, the RFID chip in the wristband is placed on a designated area of our POS system, and the user then enters their unique PIN they set up when registering their wristband(s). Providing this to our fans allows them to attend our festival without the use of physical cards. We have seen a large reduction in credit cards being left in “Lost & Found,” and we believe it is due to the RFID wristbands.

Utilizing RFID wristband(s) has provided us with numerous technological advantages over the standard cloth wristbands. Using RFID wristband(s), we offer touchless entry. At each entrance of our festival, we have pedestals that act as verification for entry into our festival. It removes the need for security to verify each wristband. Not only does this provide a more efficient experience when walking through our gates, it also provides important data we use for future planning. The data displays the number of wristbands scanned through a specific portal or access point during a specific time. Staffing is impacted by using this data, as it tells us what access points get busiest and when they need extra support. This goes for our food vendors, bars, merchandise tent, military appreciation tent, etc. If we know a certain access point scans more wristbands than a separate access point, we can place more staffing at the busier access point during certain shifts. This provides an all-around better experience for not only our fans, but our staff as well. Allowing our staff ample time and help to do their job leads to a better interaction between them and our fans. One major aspect of all of this “on-site” technology is our Wi-Fi network. We mobilize and build a network designed for a city so we have hundreds of access points throughout the festival grounds. That is the way that all the RFID works at each location for purchases and access. This network is state of the art and travels to events around the country each week to give fans the best possible experience without worrying about carrying cash around with them.

Technology is arguably one of the most significant aspects of the festival. So much so that our sponsors, and their activations, utilize technology in various ways while at our festival. Our sponsors use technology to build interactions and activations to draw our fans into their marketing area. From there, the sponsor can request contact information, if the fan expresses interest; or the sponsor could just simply promote their product. Moving forward, the sponsor could actively contact the fan to promote a special discount at their place of business, or company. This is an old practice, but technology has brought it to the forefront, allowing instant marketing to the prospective client/buyer.

Today’s technology has allowed the festival world to grow in unimaginable ways. The direct contact with our fans in the event of an emergency has the potential of saving thousands of lives. Working away from our offices using the Google Docs Editor suite, yet still collaborating with the rest of the team has increased our efficiency. Initiating cashless transactions in this day and time is fundamental to providing a safe and clean environment. Our company has embraced today's technology and advancements, and we are always looking for ways to launch new objectives for our team.

Technology is ever evolving, and I am personally excited to see what the future holds for us and future technology. We have seen gigantic leaps in just these past few years, which gives us hope for what is to come. It has made a tremendous impact on my day-today life, as well as for our team, allowing us to be more efficient yet provide a great experience for our fans.

Does Bank Compliance feel like a never-ending maze? CIWEB can help.

With over 30 years experience, the Compliance Individualized (CIWEB) team provides Federal Regulatory Compliance solutions for banks which help provide peace of mind around compliance. CIWEB offers many customized reviews and compliance solutions. Here are just a few:

Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager (CRCM) Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering Reviews BSA Risk Assessments Consumer Compliance Reviews for Loans & Deposits Outsourced Compliance Officer Bank-specific Consulting Compliance Training Compliance Policies HMDA Review