Since the Checkers and Rally’s team had never built an app before, they needed a lot of support. Joe felt at ease throughout the entire process. CrowdCompass provided Joe with timelines and regular phone calls to walk him through the process of setting up the app and support in managing it.
Checkers and Rally’s restaurants is one of the largest chains of double drive-thru hamburger restaurants with close to 800 restaurants across the United States. The company operates Checkers and Rally’s restaurants in 28 states and the District of Columbia with 120 franchise groups.
of attendees downloaded the event app
views of sponsor-focused banner ads
opted to share contact info & network with attendees
Checkers and Rally’s had never used a mobile event app for its national convention. Executives were skeptical that convention attendees would be willing to pass on paper programs in favor of a new native event app.
After the event organizer used a CrowdCompass mobile event app at a different conference, Checkers and Rally’s took the first step toward going paperless by creating an event app that complemented its printed materials. The app was so easy to use and provided so much valuable information for attendees that it quickly became a must-have. Event organizers loved how attendees were able to register for the convention through Cvent and have their personal schedule automatically synced and accessible in the CrowdCompass app.
The event team was excited to kick off the convention with an outdoor welcome reception. When rain started to fall, it threatened the success of one of the biggest nights of the convention. The team was prepared with a backup plan, but they had to quickly redirect 550 people—many of whom were just arriving and hadn’t checked in yet. Through CrowdCompass’ content management system, organizers were able to send a push notification with a new location to everyone who had downloaded the app.
“The push notification was a huge hit. You could see it go out and then quickly they all started to move, staring at their phones,” said Joe Ventimiglia, operations services at Checkers and Rally’s Restaurants.
Push notifications were also used to alert attendees when speakers were running long, when breakfast was being served, and even when special taste tests were being offered.
Joe’s executive team was so impressed they sent him personal emails thanking him for the success of the push notifications.
“CrowdCompass customer service was on top of everything from the beginning, through the event and after the event.”
– Joe Ventimiglia
This approach allowed Joe to make changes to the app on the go since the CrowdCompass team was always available to help him. According to Joe, the on-call team made a huge difference during the event since they were constantly available to chat online or to take a quick phone call.
Checkers and Rally’s reached out to vendors and suppliers prior to the convention to find out if they wanted to be part of the app. Joe leveraged CrowdCompass’ customizable sponsorship presentation to help potential sponsors understand the benefits.
Sponsors were able to engage deeper with attendees through banner ads located at the top of the app. Each banner ad linked attendees to information on products and services, coupons, and sponsor websites. In the end, banner ads received more than 26,000 views during the convention.
What’s more, the app sponsorships proved so strong that the cost of the app was recovered. At the end of the convention, vendors who had opted out made commitments to take part in future sponsorship opportunities.
Attendees, vendors, suppliers, and the Checkers and Rally’s team all benefited from the event app, and its success made future apps a no-brainer. Since the app was such a big win, Joe has been given additional resources for the next convention.
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