Hospitality venues across Australia are being presented with a new way to think about their marketing with the launch of the dynamic promotions platform SHOUTback.
Taking established promotional and offer-driven platforms to a whole new level, SHOUTback is the new cashless marketplace, designed to help venues engage with a growing millennial audience.
While existing third-party promotions platforms rely on specials and discounts, SHOUTback provides the venue itself with 100% autonomy, allowing venue managers to choose the price-point that suits them. The platform provides complete control to the venue over all elements of their promotions, including specific products and dynamic timing and capacity limits. This means that venues can still offer discounts, but they can now also promote special cocktails or interesting food and drink combinations to attract consumers – and still charge full price.
Speaking about their goals for SHOUTback, co-founder Mitchell Stapleton-Coory said: “Having worked in the hospitality industry, we understand that while some venues are willing to offer a discount, not all venues want to employ this strategy. Especially for high-end restaurants and cocktail bars, there are a lot of fine establishments out there who need a digital channel that is not entirely focussed on bargains and deals. The truth is, hospitality is a very transient space and every venue is different, so these businesses need a customisable platform that lets them reach their customers on their terms. That’s why we leave price point up to the venue to decide.”
The platform is also unique in that venues can specify precisely what they are offering. So whether it’s 20% off a table, a particular brand of beer or bottle of wine, or even concert tickets or VIP door entry, venues have complete control over their content.
“Think of in the same way that you think about posting to Facebook. There are no restrictions on what you can offer to your customers. The only difference is that on SHOUTback, they can actually make a purchase at the same time.”
In addition to solving issues on the venues end, SHOUTback is closely focused on providing users with a greatly enhanced discovery experience. As the world of digital marketing embraces the power of video content, SHOUTback will be the first platform of its kind to allow users to experience the venues digitally through high-quality video footage, on-demand and before they make their purchasing decision. Every venue will have the ability to embed video content into their offers, thereby making the experience on SHOUTback vastly more interactive and engaging for the users.
On the video integration into the platform, Stapleton-Coory said: “The digital atmosphere is dominated by video content. It is by far the best way to engage people with your business, and these venues look incredible on camera. But it goes even deeper than that too. We’re already collaborating with brands to do sponsored product placement within the video content which opens up a whole new dimension to the business model. It’s very exciting.”
The platform works as a simple web-based dashboard for venues. It requires no POS integration and is free to use, making SHOUTback highly scalable and easy for businesses to adopt. Venues can jump onto their laptop any time, day or night, and post a promotion (called a ‘shout’) in under 30 seconds.
The shouts go live instantly, and last from anywhere between 1 and 24 hours. Users access the platform via a mobile app, where they are immersed within a live map and can interact with ‘shouts’ as they appear and disappear in real-time. Punters can then watch the videos to discover new venues, browse their content and then buy their products and services with the tap of a button.
This unique combination of functionality has the SHOUTback team confident that they are opening new doors for the industry: “There were a few elements that we felt were really important to build into this product. First, it had to be cashless. This is the direction that commerce is headed in generally, and we wanted to help venues to get on-board with this trend early. Also, in limiting the time on the shouts to 24 hours, our users always know that any content they see in the network is never more than a day old. To engage the younger crowds, your content has to be fresh and relevant. It’s what millennials interact with, and this is our way of ensuring that we remain on-trend.”
SHOUTback is a free platform for venues with no sign up fees and no monthly costs. There is a minimal commission charge to venues for any products sold through the platform, and this is currently less than half the price of those charged by larger third party platforms.
SHOUTback is poised to launch within the Adelaide market in within the following fortnight, and is collaborating with the likes of Diageo in order to activate the platform in a number of high-end cocktail venues. Following the launch, the platform will be rolling out nationally, with distribution deals in the works with Coca Cola Amatil and Food & Beverage Media.
For venues looking to sign up, please contact:
Mitchell: 0431 203 008 / mitchell@shoutback.com.au
