Revolutionary, seamless customer engagement, from browsing information to final transaction in digital way
HONG KONG, May 3, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- The Hong Kong Jockey Club (the Club) had launched a whole new way for customers to enjoy the excitement of horse racing at Happy Valley racecourse's rejuvenated adrenaline bar and lounge with the establishment of an IBU Zone yesterday. The IBU Zone integrates with technology and social entertainment, propels the industry into a new era of racing entertainment.
Horse racing is popular in Hong Kong. Its major appeal to customers is the skill involved in the mental challenge of picking winners. However, in today's dynamic entertainment business environment, with rising demand for social entertainment, the Club has seen significant changes in customer needs and expectations. These include the study and exchange of sport-related information through digital channels in a social and interactive manner.
As a global leader in the horse racing industry, it is critical for the Club to address the needs of customers who command a lifestyle surrounded by multi-touch devices and enjoy communal interactions in their leisure-time entertainment. The club must enhance their enjoyment and appreciation of the sport and racing entertainment that accompanies it.
"Hong Kong horse racing already sets world-class standards both in sporting achievement and racecourse social entertainment," said Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer of The Hong Kong Jockey Club. "We have taken the challenge of horse racing being wrongly perceived as only for mature customers. We listened closely to our customers, and researched extensively into their needs and wants. We found that younger customers face significant hurdles when taking the first steps into the analysis needed to play this intriguing mind game. They prefer something intuitive and interactive which suits their technology-savvy lifestyle. They also enjoy more sociable environments to connect with each other. The Club is at the forefront of technology application. We moved forward with state-of-the-art technology to provide a whole new horse racing experience that matches the lifestyle of the younger market segment."
The IBU Zone at adrenaline is the crystallisation of concepts gleaned from in-depth customer studies conducted by the Club, which confirm that customers increasingly expect social, interactive entertainment in a trendy, relaxed venue. The IBU Zone mixes social interaction, the racecourse's unique energy and the meeting of mental challenge, all in the casual and relaxed adrenaline. The Club now delivers a revolutionary experience of horse racing that is digitally interactive, intuitively simple, graphically attractive, and matches the lifestyle of the younger generation. Furthermore, racing information has been redesigned in a new simplified and accessible format to facilitate customer familiarization, and to enhance customer's abilities to capture racing knowledge for a more enjoyable mind game experience.
Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges said he was proud of the many breakthrough elements that IBU represented enable customers to enjoy the sport in a whole new way. "IBU seamlessly integrates multi-touch technology to create more customer engagement, from browsing information to making transactions with the cashless smart card," he explained. "It offers a completely new social experience at the racecourse that fulfils the Club's vision in many ways."
The Club's concepts for IBU were realised through a disciplined strategy and innovation implementation process in the proprietary enterprise platform, together with the advanced technology and digital man-machine interface design experience brought by Possible Worldwide (PWW), a global interactive marketing agency.
To further enhance the brand new racing entertainment experience, the Club also emphasizes on customer experience and service design Friendly horse racing ambassadors are available at adrenaline providing customised racing guidance and analysis. All these essential components are integrated into this new IBU - adrenaline experience that enables leisure and novice customers to enjoy racing sports in a digitally immersive and social entertaining environment.
Appendix: Speech of Mr Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, CEO of The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Good afternoon all, welcome to join our press briefing today.
Horse racing has always been Hong Kong's most popular spectator sport and our races have won international acclaim for being truly world class. However, in recent times, horse racing has been perceived by the younger generation as a touch outdated, a sport for the more mature, and not easy to learn and follow.
To better understand our current and potential customers, we did a lot of research. The findings from the younger customer segment indicated that there were too many hurdles to participate in the game because younger customers did not understand the rules of the game and the terminologies used. Also, the environment was designed too much for hardcore mature racing customers and did not match their lifestyle. Younger customers did not want to fill in tickets which they didn't understand and they did not like queuing up at betting counters with hardcore fans.
Their feedback was positive in some ways that after some probing they found racing interesting; but they wanted to understand and enjoy racing from something that's intuitive, something that's interactive: a leisure experience more in tune with their technology-savvy lifestyle. What we also learnt was that they want more sociable environments in which to connect and socialise with each other, and they want to have fun. Social experience is important to them.
Tonight, I would like to unveil to you a totally new experience for horse racing that is digitally interactive, intuitive, simple, graphically attractive, and matches the lifestyle of this younger customer segment.
IBU, the largest multi-touch interactive table in the world, together with the IBU Zone, is designed to create a new racing experience - one that mixes social interaction, the racecourse's unique energy and the meeting of minds to crack the sport's intriguing puzzles, all in a casual and relaxed environment here at Adrenaline.
As you can see, the table is much more than say, a tablet that you are familiar with. I want to emphasize its breakthrough elements. It is a completely new and easy way for customers to learn about horses, explore the performance potential of horses, their chances in the race and what are the determining factors.
It offers new and seamless customer engagement, from browsing information to placing a bet with the cashless electronic smart card. The IBU Zone offers an entirely new social experience with the IBU at its heart. Tonight, you will "Connect to Racing" via this new IBU at Adrenaline.
Thank you once again for coming and I wish you a very enjoyable evening!
The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Founded in 1884, the Hong Kong Jockey Club is not only one of the world's leading horse racing organisations but also a world top 15 charitable organisation and Hong Kong's largest community contributor, donating HK$1.6 billion in 2011. It is also a major taxpayer, Hong Kong's single largest by far, generating over HK$15 billion a year for public funds. The Club pioneers technology applications for sporting and betting entertainment, striving for the highest levels of customer service. As a membership club, it is recognised as one of Asia's most prestigious, with more than 23,000 members. These multifaceted roles make it a well-respected and remarkable organisation, dedicated to its mission of enhancing the quality of life for all Hong Kong people.
Possible Worldwide
Possible Worldwide is a global agency that creates meaningful and measurable interactive marketing. The firm serves a broad range of Fortune 1000 clients, including AT&T, Barclay's, Comcast, Dell, P&G, Nokia, Microsoft, Mazda and Starwood.
Headquartered in New York, Possible operates 23 offices worldwide, with major operations in London, Shanghai, Delhi, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Dubai, Los Angeles, Cincinnati and Nairobi. For more information, please visit possibleworldwide.com. Possible Worldwide is part of WPP Digital, which is the digital investment arm of WPP.
SOURCE:The Hong Kong Jockey Club