GigExpert: a system for promoting events in pubs and other independent local venues via customer relationship management (CRM) and digital channels

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Pubs are a key part of UK local life and regional economies. The pub industry employs nearly1M people in the UK and contributes £19.4bn/yr GVA to the economy. The industry facesfinancial pressures with 2% of pubs closing each year.Events such as live music in pubs increase footfall and raise revenues by an estimated 44%.Increasing the number and attendance of such events would boost the pub industry and localeconomies. Other types of venues e.g. comedy and sports clubs could also benefit.Consumers are increasingly using digital channels to discover and sign up for live events.Effective promotion of local live events via digital channels benefits enormously from CRMapproaches: that is, building and maintaining opt-in lists of past event attendees, promotingfuture events to these people via appropriate channels such as email and Facebook, and crosspromotions(with user consent) between multiple nearby venues. Large pub and bar chainscan invest in these approaches, but managers of independent pubs lack both skills and time touse these techniques.This project proposes a solution – GigExpert – which will package state-of-the-art digitalCRM techniques for local event promotion in a SaaS tool that: is simple enough for nonspecialistmanagers in venues to use; manages customer contact details; automates bestpractice for event promotion via digital channels; and supports consent-based local eventdiscovery for consumers and hyperlocal cross-venue promotions.This proof of concept will create a basic prototype of the GigExpert system and demonstratevia limited, localised live trials that (a) pub managers can adopt the system (b) it is acceptableto consumers (c) uplifts in event attendance and revenues can be achieved.Total UK revenues for GigExpert will be £4M/yr by 2020. The GVA benefit will be £50M/yr.Wider societal benefits include reducing pub closures, increasing footfall in town centres andincreasing individual participation in local communities.