Purple, the intelligent spaces company, has sealed the deal on a 5-year contract with Leicester County Cricket Club to deliver WiFi and analytics that will improve fan engagement and marketing.

Leicester County Cricket Club, home of the Leicestershire Foxes, sought the services of Purple and Sempervox, the unified business communications provider, to deliver WiFi to its spectators. The club wanted to deliver a secure WiFi solution that would allow fans to get connected at events hosted at the Fischer County Ground whilst also enabling their marketing team to capture detailed data about fans that are accessing the network.

With Purple, visitors can log into free WiFi using their social media accounts or a short form, which then enables the venue to see who is online, how often they attend events and what they’re most interested in. This data will allow Leicester County Cricket Club to send relevant updates to audience members, ranging from announcements about upcoming events, to adverts about merchandise and travel updates post-match. All of this means an enhanced experience for their fans.

Commenting on the installation of Purple at the grounds, Jasmine Chauhan, Marketing Manager for the club, said: “It has been great working with both Purple and Sempervox, the service that they have delivered has been so efficient and the whole solution was installed within a matter of days. Purple’s solution allows us to gain a much deeper insight into our audiences and provides us with the relevant data needed to make both simple and complex decisions within our business.”

Before the installation of Purple and Aruba wireless hardware by Sempervox, the club was only able to offer WiFi to staff and press officials. Without guest WiFi, fans were prohibited from sharing social posts about events at the ground, downloading promotional emails or apps and communicating with friends and family whilst on site. It also hindered the club from effectively capturing visitor data from those who actually pay visit to the ground, rather than just collecting details from online bookings.

Free, fast WiFi has already been rolled out to those visitors who pay for hospitality tickets but will eventually be deployed across the whole stadium. Data captured in Purple’s portal will be used to develop and distribute email and SMS communications and will also prove useful when deciding what events and merchandise to have to suit their core demographic. The team will also be able to identify those who frequently visit the cricket club and potentially reward them with bespoke offers.

Jasmine adds: “Of course our ultimate aim is that we want to be able to deliver free WiFi connectivity to all of our members and to those who visit the Fischer County Ground so that they can connect with friends and family, share updates about events and help promote both the ground and the Leicestershire Foxes.”

Commenting on working with the club, Mike Kapur, Director of Sempervox, said: “We’re proud to have a longstanding relationship with Leicestershire County Cricket Club. The Club has taken significant strides forward in developing services for spectators and we remain committed to supporting its communications strategy in the years ahead.”

Gavin Wheeldon, CEO of Purple, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Leicester County Cricket Club on board as a Purple customer. Delivering secure guest WiFi to fans at sporting events and stadiums is a key method of dramatically improving engagement. By effectively utilising Purple, the club will gain access to a wealth of CRM data, unlock new revenue opportunities and be able to interact with fans on a whole new level. I look forward to hearing what results the club achieves going forward.”