Case Studies

British Airways i360

British Airways i360, a 162m observation tower on the seafront of Brighton, England is a 25-minute “flight” in a fully enclosed viewing pod, where visitors experience 360-degree views across Brighton, the South Downs, and the English Channel.

Its fitted with a “Sky Bar” that serves locally sourced beverages; plus a cafe, restaurant, and gift shop on-site.

In July 2019, Purple in partnership with Curve IT and Ruckus enabled BA i360 to deliver smarter marketing campaigns and enrich their customer data.

4.50

Average Tripadvisor score of reviews driven by Purple

5/5

Safety, cleanliness and appropriate PPE

162m

Observation tower

Challenge

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourists have become concerned about spending time in an enclosed space.

To aid their financial recovery from the pandemic, British Airways i360 needed to assure customers that the attraction is fully compliant, safe and clean through the use of guest WiFi.

Objectives

Gather feedback from visitors about conditions at the attraction, and use this to drive change that will increase customer satisfaction and safety.

Drive Tripadvisor reviews – 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as a friend’s comments [1 ]. Research has proven that “customers are likely to spend 31% more on a business with excellent reviews” and “a one-star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5-9% increase in revenue” [2 ]

Use the guest WiFi as a tool to communicate changes, achievements, and build visitor confidence.

Solution

Purple Responsibility Survey was implemented to monitor hygiene ratings and the subsequent results published in a newsletter to raise awareness of the action being taken.

Guest feedback is also communicated to the Head of Guest Experience to use in team briefings.

The reports are readily available on our Corporate Social Responsibility dashboard, so little work is required to segment, view, and distribute data.

Tripadvisor connector then implemented to drive reviews, sending simple emails to visitors through Purple after their visit, prompting them to leave a review of their experience.

Company branded splash page updated to include relevant achievements: “We’re Good to Go” accreditation from Visit Britain and the highly regarded “Tripadvisor Travellers Choice 2020” award.

Front of House staff briefed on the solution so they are able to advise customers of the communications they will receive and why it is important to provide feedback.

Results

Since the survey and Tripadvisor connector were launched, visitor numbers have increased week-on-week, with significant growth in the number of WiFi sign-ins and also the average number of ‘opt-ins’.

Following 1 month of survey responses, 70% of visitors gave the attraction 5/5 for safety, cleanliness, and appropriate PPE. However, only 50% gave 5/5 for social distancing.

These results have been communicated to the Head of Guest Experience to discuss at team briefings, and subsequently, staff are more vigilant when it comes to enforcing social distancing.

From Tripadvisor reviews collected in the first month, the average score of organic reviews was 4.4,

The average score of reviews driven by Purple was 4.5, increasing the venue’s overall score

Several of the reviews have specifically mentioned their excellent safety procedures relating to COVID.

The attraction has also moved from #15 to #14 in Tripadvisor’s “things to do in Brighton” rankings.

Anna Prior, Head of Marketing, says “The team at Purple has been really proactive in their recommendations and implementation of the Responsibility Survey and Tripadvisor connector for us at BAi360. The data is very easy to access on the platform and quickly led us to make improvements to our operation. Purple has become one of our core marketing tools.”