Purple have teamed up with Arcom IT to provide services to C2i Woking Digital and Woking Shopping (managers of Peacocks and Wolsey Place Shopping Centres).
Together the partnership has delivered:
- Seamless, fast and free WiFi across the town centre
- A mobile analytics platform for smart marketing campaigns
Project objectives
1. To realise C2i Woking Digital’s vision of making Woking a key economic and digital hub in the south-west of London, attracting new businesses and retailers.
2. To provide fast, free WiFi access across the whole of Woking town centre.
3. To create one secure login to the Public WiFi anywhere in the centre and to minimise the need to log on and off disparate networks (e.g. coffee shops).
4. To deliver targeted marketing and promotions through a secure online system, allowing businesses to book advertising on the WiFi in hourly slots.
Installation
Arcom deployed their team of Cisco experts to execute the solution, delivering state-of-the-art Cisco Meraki hardware.
John Owen Managing Director, Arcom IT said: “The implementation went really well. After successful demonstrations to the C2i Woking Digital and Woking Shopping staff, a smooth installation of both hardware and software followed, with subsequent set-up of reporting parameters.
“For Arcom it has put us at the centre of the Woking Digital Town project and cemented our relationship with C2i Woking Digital. It has also allowed our IT specialists to glean immense knowledge and understanding of mobile analytics software and the ability to offer it as a service to customers. We are proud that we now have fast, free WiFi available across the whole of Woking town centre.
Results
The Purple system was implemented in October 2015 and has been running smoothly ever since. The team are now looking to create the marketing campaigns. C2i Woking Digital and Woking Shopping aim to capture 6 months’ worth of data and trend analysis so that the first marketing / advertising campaigns can be started with precise targeting of user groups.
Threefold user growth, month on month
Since October there has been a three times increase in the number of users of the WiFi network, month on month. Woking are now seeing numbers in the thousands, when initially we were looking at hundreds of logins. This demonstrates that word of mouth is spreading about the excellent WiFi provision.
Logging on for 2 hours at a time
The average time spent on the WiFi by user varies widely from 78 minutes to 118 minutes – nearly 2 hours. The variance relates to indoor vs outdoor environment – when indoor, people are spending longer connected. However on the whole the numbers have enabled the partnership to see the real opportunity for communication with those users.
Future plans
Return on investment from the WiFi installation
Arcom are looking to develop an online advertising platform that will encourage local retailers and outlets to add information or promotions that might be of interest to people in the town.
Consumers logging into the free service may see one specific promotion, but one alone, guaranteeing low intrusion for the users, but also some exclusivity for the advertiser.
Arcom will develop the online booking system and assist the retail outlets with the design and format of their ads. All of this is being delivered as a managed service from Arcom, paid for by the advertising revenue.
Network expansion plans
C2i Woking Digital are looking to expand the network to outlying areas such as the Art Gallery and the railway station this year. Further expansion of the WiFi service will naturally happen in line with new town centre developments.
What the partners had to say about it
Gavin Wheeldon, CEO of Purple said: “It’s fantastic to see valued partners such as Arcom and Cisco Meraki delivering on the vision that Woking have of becoming a truly digital and connected hub. We are delighted to be a part of this project.”
John-Paul Jackson, Centre Manager, Woking Shopping, commented: “We are delighted with the installation of the WiFi system within Peacocks and Wolsey Place shopping centres. We are pleased that our customers can now benefit from this new modern facility to improve their visit to Woking.”
Chris Norrington, Business Liaison Manager, C2i Woking Digital, added: “The system installed by Arcom using Purple mobile analytics technology is a fantastic fit for the town centre and reinforces our commitment to making Woking a leading centre for digital business and commerce in the UK.”