The Bournemouth Pavilion

About The Bournemouth Pavilion

Organisation Type

Public Venue

Size of Operation

Theatre and Ballroom

Client Since

2017

Product Suites

Guest-access WiFi
Tailored User Experience
SPARK® Managed Service
24/7/365 Service Desk
Data & Analytics

Customer Profile

Built and opened in the 1920s, The Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre and Ballroom is Bournemouth's stunning Art Deco venue, occupying an acre of the town’s impressive seafront. Boasting a capacity of almost 1,500, it is home to providing year-round entertainment to its visitors. From West End shows, Opera, Ballet and Pantomime, to Comedy, Concerts and more. The Ballroom provides an exquisite backdrop for banquets, receptions, social functions and even small fayres and exhibitions.

Bournemouth Pavilion logo

Goals

Deliver high quality WiFi to guests, visitors, and staff throughout the venue including outdoor terrace, cafés and bars.
Create a branded User Experience Portal where users can easily access the WiFi and be linked to general company information
Filter content and harvest user analytics
Ensure the solution is futureproofed and built with robust, quality hardware
Fully compliant WiFi service to follow GDPR guidelines
Offer and receive reliable support from the UK helpdesk, available 24/7/365
Install a WiFi connection that is capable of reaching high-capacity crowd requirements
Provide a fast, safe, and secure internet connectivity to guests, visitors, and staff

Goals

Deliver high quality WiFi to guests, visitors, and staff throughout the venue including outdoor terrace, cafés and bars.
Create a branded User Experience Portal where users can easily access the WiFi and be linked to general company information
Filter content and harvest user analytics
Ensure the solution is futureproofed and built with robust, quality hardware
Fully compliant WiFi service to follow GDPR guidelines
Offer and receive reliable support from the UK helpdesk, available 24/7/365
Install a WiFi connection that is capable of reaching high-capacity crowd requirements
Provide a fast, safe, and secure internet connectivity to guests, visitors, and staff

About

The Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre and adjoining Ballroom is a Grade II Listed venue, which was originally constructed in the 1920s in an art deco design. Bournemouth Pavilion is a vintage theatre that retains its original and elegant styling. It is the town’s regular home for hosting visiting shows from the West End, Opera, Ballet, Pantomime, Comedy, and concerts.

There is also the Terrace Bistro at the Pavilion, which is great for pre-show dining, and also offers an extensive selection of its popular Afternoon Teas, cakes, scones and sandwiches, which are served in a traditional afternoon setting.

Managed by social enterprise BH Live in partnership with Bournemouth Borough Council, The Pavilion Theatre and Ballroom is operated alongside its sister venue, Bournemouth International Centre (BIC), an award-winning premier conference, events and entertainment venue which also welcomes thousands of guests and visitors through the door each year.

Our Solution

WiFi SPARK built a strong relationship with BH Live over the years and back in 2017, won the contract to provide WiFi at Bournemouth International Centre, and now provides a full enterprise grade wireless network with total coverage throughout the venues combined. Working alongside partners Renovotec, WiFi SPARK was able to implement its unique WiFi solution and tailored user experience (UX), after being recognised for its quality and trusted services.

WiFi SPARK developed the UX portal which welcomes users upon their connection to the WiFi. Displaying Bournemouth Pavilion’s images, colours, and logo, the UX is entirely customisable and can be modified to reflect upcoming shows, events or special occasions happening across the year. The UX also offers an opportunity to develop local awareness; much like a webpage, the UX can contain a variety of information regarding the theatre, from itineraries to guides about the nearby café and bars. Further contributing to the building of a community, the Marketing team can reach out to subscribers and keep them in the loop with the Theatre and Ballroom’s spectacular events, with the hope of welcoming back local residents or entice new tourists to continue to drive business.

For Bournemouth Pavilion to further understand its visitors, WiFi SPARK’s Analytics package will allow for data to be fed back to the theatre’s unique CRM. A greater understanding can be gained on the success of the WiFi solution through statistics, such as how many people have connected to the internal or external WiFi, how many of those connections are first time users and how long did they remain connected for e.g., their dwell time. This is on top of the analytical reporting surrounding the success of their email campaigns and the engagement with content on the UX. By gaining data such as this, the Bournemouth Pavilion as a whole, can understand the success of investment and the key areas to where visitors are drawn, all aiding in creating a dynamic and futureproofed solution.

Finalising the solution is WiFi SPARK’s Managed Service, featuring content filtering, full legal compliancy, 24/7/365 remote monitoring & support help desk and bespoke User Experience Portal development. Meaning that Bournemouth Pavilion can confidently focus on its core business initiatives, leaving the management of the WiFi to WiFi SPARK.

After successful deployment, a great relationship has been nurtured between WiFi SPARK, Renovotec, BH Live and Bournemouth Borough Council. This has opened a door to the potential of rolling out similar WiFi solutions to other neighbouring venues and areas across Bournemouth in the coming years.

Challenges Solved

The well-loved Grade II Listed Bournemouth landmark underwent refurbishment in 2007, which comprised a large number of external repair projects. With this in mind, at the time of the WiFi installation, the challenges of the historic Listed venue were overcome as the flexibility of WiFi SPARK’s solution integrated perfectly into the buildings’ existing access points, causing minimal disruption to the structure or its elegant features.

Together with creating a unique branded user experience, Bournemouth Pavilion is now able to engage with their visitors through useful analytics to increase brand awareness, as well as provide a premium WiFi service like never before due to WiFi SPARK’s innovative design, which enabled everyone within the theatre and external areas such as the cafés, bars, and Terrace Bistro to get connected to the WiFi and remain connected during their visit.

The Goal

The Bournemouth Pavilion and Ballroom had an existing guest-access WiFi solution that they were looking to upgrade and enhance. The auditorium and theatre would see over 1,000 visitors at one time, and the previous connection was incapable of reaching high-capacity crowd requirements. As well as the need for a fast, reliable, and secure connection in place throughout the venue and external areas, the main objective was that the public WiFi remained free for all users.

There also needed to be a comprehensive Analytics system via the User Experience Portal for the business to monitor and help them build and develop their strategy. GDPR compliance was also an important factor for the venue. By having a secure login page, the venue is able to collate data and utilise it for marketing purposes, meaning possible extra revenue for the business.