Kirkcaldy Town Centre

The Challenge

Kirkcaldy Town Centre already had a public WiFi solution in place but had opted to turn off the network due to a lack of return. The system was unreliable, provided no analytics, and contributed little in terms of improving visitor engagement and profits for local businesses. Kirkcaldy 4 All preferred to have no public network in place than spend money on a system that delivered minimal return.

Cost and security were also important factors for Kirkcaldy 4 All as the money they have to spend on local area improvements and development projects is funded by a levy that is charged to all businesses in the vicinity. They required a WiFi network that would deliver a return on investment, securely capture visitor details, improve customer communications, and filter inappropriate content that is unsuitable for younger network users.

Discussions & Installation

Rapier Systems originally reached out to Kirkcaldy 4 All at the beginning of 2016 via marketing communications to discuss the concept of implementing WiFi and analytics. The team at Rapier Systems was tasked with convincing the BID organization that they should reactivate their public WiFi and consider using analytics.

Following a thorough demonstration of the Purple solution, Kirkcaldy 4 All started to recognise that analytics could provide them with the kind of return they sought from a WiFi solution. With Purple, Kirkcaldy 4 All could securely collate detailed visitor data, including people’s names, ages, locations, interests and even frequency of visits. This information could then be utilized to drive engagement, promote events, increase dwell time and revenue amongst local firms.

In July 2016, Rapier Systems overlaid Purple onto Ruckus access points and implemented a fully branded WiFi splash where users can login to the network with ease. This splash page not only features the branding for Kirkcaldy Town Centre but also includes the local weather and live feeds of their Facebook and X pages.

In Full Operation

The public WiFi network available in Kirkcaldy’s town center has achieved a good level of traction, with 18,400 people logging on. Users of all ages can now browse the internet, access APPs, browse their social media accounts and read emails with peace of mind that no inappropriate content can be accessed thanks to Purple’s content filtering solution. Acquiring this quantity is extremely valuable to Kirkcaldy considering the fact they have never collected visitor data prior to the installation of Purple.

The platform has identified that 75% of WiFi users choose to access the network via their social media accounts, which correlates with the fact that Kirkcaldy’s Facebook page engagement has dramatically improved. When people access the network, they are prompted to ‘like’ the page and thanks to this trigger it has received 2,387 likes in the last year. Prior to Purple, the Facebook page received an average of 755 likes per a year, so this is a 208% annual increase. By attracting more people to the Facebook page, it helps to spread awareness of the town, promotes local offers and creates a positive impression for prospective visitors.

Now that Kirkcaldy 4 All is using the Purple solution they have gained access to a plethora of customer insights and data. The CRM data that has been collected is used to distribute communications about upcoming events and offers. The team sent out a number of communications during the 2016 festive period that helped to increase visitor numbers, including emails about a Christmas family firework event and information about Christmas gifts, parking and recommended destinations. Without the Purple platform, the team would struggle to acquire the necessary data needed to effectively engage with town center visitors.