Viper Marketing & Communications Group

O2 Arena Customer Journey

Author: Neil Wilkins

Neil learnt his marketing with the likes of Orange, NatWest, BP Castrol and Ordnance Survey and now helps individuals and businesses to communicate more effectively. He trains and mentors marketers on professional Chartered Institute of Marketing qualifications through to post-graduate level.

From the moment you log into the O2 Website to book your parking in the 5,000 capacity Car Park 1 you know this is going to be a special customer journey.

Simple and effective booking system comes as no surprise but when the automated barrier to the car park recognises you from your credit card that acts as your virtual ticket and puts up a 'welcome Neil' message you know you are somewhere very different.

The walk from the huge car park is well signed with partly covered walkways but the Dome is always visible at every point.

Animated posters and big screens draw you into the Arena. I'm sure there are bluetooth and wifi things going on but if your stomach is telling you to head for the food mall then you don't pause.

At every corner or junction you realise there is a person, a real live person, guiding you efficiently and very politely to the next. It's only when you stop to think that you realise that these people are helping create a pleasant and welcoming environment that will very likely entice you back again very soon.

There are just so many people. Obviously many there for the gig but so many there to help you find your way around. This is a large logistical exercise, getting many people through a process without them feeling like cattle. At no point do you feel like part of the crowd. This is a very personal and intimate experience bearing in mind you are one of tens of thousands in the Arena.

Enter stage right Bon Jovi, past masters of the stadium rock performance.

All the old favourites are in the set plus a sprinkling of new material. For me though it was the transformation of what initially appears to be a bland stage set into a breath taking show of robotic excellence the like of which I have never seen despite decades of attendance at concerts large and small.

RoboScreen is the technology and it's quite amazing and this state of the art presentation to those at the far reaches of the arena seating will likely become the new standard in high definition and automated stage intimacy.

Based on a number of scalable and modular big screens the stage set literally changes automatically with every song. The arms, cranes and movement of literally tonnes of hardware above the performers' heads is staggering when you watch it evolve through the show. For one song the screens are all together providing a huge single close-up view of the singer and then within seconds they have broken up into 64 separate modules each showing a video of an individual fan singing along with the band. The stage set is different throughout the entire two hours of the show, providing everyone and even those right at the very back with a stunning visual feast.

I am really not over selling this technology, it's awesome.

And so the customer journey continues with the clearance of tens of thousands of people from a single location by means of easy walkways and escalators. For the second time in two weeks at O2 it took less than 5 minutes from getting into the car to be back on the road and yes again many stewards helping the flow of people and vehicles, quickly, quietly and efficiently.

O2 is a benchmark for customer journey with a great linkage of three key elements:

1. Technology that works for the customer

2. Real people who care and add to the personal experience

3. Efficient processes that run like clockwork

So as I exit stage left I check the Ents24 website for the next gig....

(thanks to Ents24 for making this possible)

- Posted on Friday 18 Jun 2010 at 09:56 by Neil Wilkins

Tags: customer journey (5)