As they compete for visitors, today’s attractions must find innovative ways to elevate the guest experience. Their challenge is to engage customers in real-time, offer personalised experiences, and seamlessly integrate data from various sources for better service delivery and insights. Enter Chaperone, the brainchild of Dapper Labs Ltd.. This is a ground-breaking integration platform poised to redefine out-of-home engagement as we know it.
Chaperone isn’t just another software platform; it’s a tool designed to bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds. Imagine a world where every interaction, from navigating a museum to ordering lunch, is personalised, dynamic, and effortlessly integrated across various devices and screens. This is the vision that the company has been working towards, explains Martin Howe, CEO:
“At Chaperone, our mission is simple yet profound: to revolutionise out-of-home engagement by delivering personalised, interactive content seamlessly across all touchpoints. We believe that by harnessing the power of technology, we can create memorable and meaningful experiences for consumers and businesses alike.”
Essentially, Chaperone offers a cutting-edge solution that addresses the need for dynamic engagement with audiences out of home, bolstering customer satisfaction and loyalty. In a world where customer expectations constantly evolve, it provides an adaptable, scalable platform that ensures businesses can offer tailored, memorable experiences.
Chaperone’s USP
So, what exactly sets Chaperone apart from other platforms? The answer lies in its core features and capabilities.
Firstly, there is the platform’s enterprise-grade scalability. Chaperone is not just a solution for today; it’s a platform built to scale with tomorrow’s needs. Whether a small boutique or a sprawling resort, Chaperone can adapt to any environment. Therefore, it provides a consistent experience across all touchpoints.
Another innovative feature is its ability to host multiple apps on the same platform, automatically switching between them based on user interactions, location, and other triggers. This eliminates the need for consumers to download multiple apps, streamlining the user experience and increasing engagement.
“These can include GEO location, user interactions, image scanning, and system triggers from any data sources,” CSO/CPO Simon Turtle explains. “This feature is analogous to Shopify, where Shopify is the online platform, and Chaperone is the bricks-and-mortar and out-of-home platform. This makes Chaperone ideal for resort-wide and city and region-wide deployments, effectively turning them into Smart Places.”
It also features real-time responsiveness. In today’s fast-paced world, timely information is crucial. Chaperone leverages real-time data to deliver personalised content and updates instantly. This ensures that users always have the most relevant information at their fingertips.
In 2021, Chaperone won first place in the engagement category at blooloop’s Innovation Awards.
Innovative engagement
However, perhaps the most compelling aspect of Chaperone is its potential to transform entire cities into smart, interconnected hubs of engagement. Think about strolling through a park and receiving personalised recommendations for nearby attractions. Or how about attending a concert and seamlessly upgrading your seats with a few taps on your phone?
With Chaperone, the possibilities are endless, says Howe:
“Picture this: you’re spending a day in a vibrant city, with Chaperone enhancing your experience at every turn, without the hassle of navigating through or downloading multiple service interfaces. From interactive museum exhibits to personalised shopping recommendations, Chaperone seamlessly integrates into your day, making every moment memorable.”
This simplifies life for users, who no longer need to clutter their devices with multiple apps.
Chaperone serves as a singular platform that adapts to provide diverse, tailored interactive experiences based on user behaviour or interactions, location, and other triggers (utilising real-time data). This enhances the relevance and impact of each interaction and enriches customer engagement without the need for multiple installations or setups as customers move through differing environments.
Turtle gives another example:
“Consider this scenario: you’re attending a sports event at a stadium equipped with Chaperone. As you enter the venue, your phone automatically receives a virtual guide tailored to your interests and past interactions. Throughout the event, Chaperone offers exclusive behind-the-scenes content, seat upgrades, and concession deals without needing multiple apps or complicated interfaces.”
Chaperone in action
Chaperone isn’t just limited to sports stadiums. It’s equally adept at enhancing experiences in museums, theme parks, shopping centres, and more. By seamlessly integrating with existing infrastructure and leveraging real-time data, Chaperone transforms ordinary spaces into immersive, interactive environments.
Diving into the above example of a day out in the city, Howe sets out some examples of how Chaperone’s versatility across various display types—ranging from personal mobile phones to large-scale digital out-of-home (DOOH) displays, in-venue screens, and immersive experiential setups—further enriches the user experience.
The day might begin, for instance, with a museum visit.
“As you wander through the museum, Chaperone guides you via your mobile phone and interacts with in-venue displays,” says Howe. “When you approach a particular artwork, the nearby screen lights up with additional multimedia content. For instance, artist interviews or behind-the-scenes videos of the artwork’s creation. This provides a depth of context and engagement that transforms your museum visit into an immersive educational experience.”
This could then be followed by a break for lunch:
“While walking to the restaurant, digital out-of-home displays along your route detect your approach (via Chaperone’s geo-location features) and showcase mouth-watering previews of the chef’s specials and live kitchen feeds, whetting your appetite further. These smart displays enhance the anticipation, making the culinary experience even more enticing.”
A personalised day out
The afternoon might also include a shopping session:
“In the boutique, not only does your mobile guide you with personalised recommendations, but in-store screens also display dynamic content tailored to your preferences. As you browse, these displays highlight exclusive offers, show how different items pair together, and even suggest accessories. This creates a personalised shopping experience that feels both futuristic and intimately tailored to your preferences.”
Finally, an immersive entertainment experience rounds out the day:
“Upon arriving at the concert venue, the seamless integration of Chaperone with large screens and immersive display technologies transforms the space into an interactive entertainment experience. Before the concert starts, massive screens offer a multimedia journey through the artist’s discography, with select songs enhanced by visual storytelling elements.”
“Interactive displays around the venue allow you to explore merchandise, upcoming tour dates, and artist bios. This is all seamlessly synchronised with your mobile device for personalised notifications and opportunities, like VIP upgrades or meet-and-greet chances.”
Seamless, multi-platform engagement is possible throughout the city, thanks to Chaperone’s ability to integrate with and capture content from various displays, from handheld devices to giant urban screens. This creates a cohesive and engaging narrative thread throughout the day. The cross-platform functionality ensures that relevant, engaging content and interactions find the visitor, enhancing their experience in real-time based on their location and preferences as well as their surroundings.
Solving pain points for operators
But Chaperone isn’t just for consumers; it’s also a game-changer for businesses looking to elevate their out-of-home engagement strategies. By leveraging Chaperone’s dynamic integration platform, companies can deliver personalised experiences that resonate with customers on a deeper level, driving loyalty and boosting sales.
Chaperone can address visitor attractions’ specific pain points. Whether it’s increasing customer engagement, bridging the gap between online and offline experiences, or gathering actionable insights, Chaperone offers a solution tailored to the needs of businesses and their end users. This, in turn, can result in increased sales and improved customer satisfaction. It also enables them to offer unique, memorable experiences that drive loyalty.
On a larger scale, Chaperone presents a unique opportunity for Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) and city governments, helping them to enhance tourism, improve public services, and meaningfully engage residents and visitors. By leveraging Chaperone’s capabilities, these entities can create interactive tours, promote local attractions, and also provide real-time updates and information to the public.
“DMOs can use Chaperone to create interactive tours, promote local attractions, and provide personalised recommendations to tourists based on their interests and current location,” says Turtle. “This not only enriches the visitor experience but also encourages exploration and spending in less frequented areas.”
Smart Places
For cities known for festivals, conferences, or cultural events, Chaperone can offer a platform to seamlessly provide event information, updates, and interactive content, improving attendance and engagement. The data collected through Chaperone on visitor behaviours, preferences, and movement patterns can be invaluable for DMOs. For example, it can help in crafting targeted marketing strategies and understanding the impact of their initiatives.
The platform can also be integrated into Smart City projects to provide residents and visitors with real-time information on transportation, public services, and local events, adds Turtle:
“Its ability to deliver content across various displays makes it an ideal tool for engaging the public in urban spaces. City governments can leverage Chaperone to transform public spaces into interactive environments. Parks, public squares, and transportation hubs equipped with Chaperone can offer educational content, historical facts, or even augmented reality experiences that promote local culture and community.”
Plus, it can also be useful in emergencies or public safety situations. Chaperone’s platform can rapidly disseminate critical information, updates, and safety instructions to the public through mobile and public display integrations.
Chaperone can help DMOs and city governments to improve visitor experiences, support local businesses, and provide efficient public services. Data collection and analysis can also inform future city planning and marketing efforts.
Howe says: “Chaperone is a tool that not only enhances the attractiveness of a destination or city but also contributes to its operational efficiency, community well-being and potential revenues.”
Creating truly immersive experiences with Chaperone
Chaperone represents a paradigm shift in how technology is applied in urban environments. The platform’s enterprise-grade, scalable architecture ensures it can grow and evolve with a city’s needs. It is designed to accommodate future technological advancements, including deeper AI integration and expanding IoT ecosystems. Therefore, it is a future-proof investment for any city or business looking to capitalise on the benefits of smart technology integration.
With its ability to seamlessly bridge the digital and physical realms, Chaperone has the potential to revolutionise out-of-home engagement. It can create truly immersive experiences for consumers and businesses alike.
“Designed to interact with humans, devices, and even the local environment, Chaperone integrates seamlessly into urban spaces,” says Turtle. “Whether it’s aiding navigation, providing real-time updates, or personalising local content, it aims to make every interaction in a city more insightful and convenient.
“As we look to the future, Chaperone’s scalable platform stands ready to lead the way in innovative, integrated urban technology solutions.”
