What began as a mobile app to follow minor hockey teams across North America has found new life reaching out to Halifax's local theatre and performing arts crowd.
With just a few modifications, the smartphone application developed by Nova Scotia-based Buzzer Apps Mobile Solutions has been re-released for the first time as an event listing and ticketing service for the AV俱乐部 Arts Centre.
Currently available for Apple, Android and Blackberry phones, the new application lists all the shows coming to the Arts Centre, and allows users to buy tickets through the centre鈥檚 online ticketing system.
鈥淚t鈥檚 slick,鈥� says Heather McGean, director of the AV俱乐部 Arts Centre. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very convenient. Even if users don鈥檛 buy a ticket, they can quickly see what we have鈥rom today right up to next fall.鈥�
For example, as of this story's publication, people who download the new Arts Centre app would see postings for such upcoming events as the DalTheatre's play The Triumph of Love, which will have its final performance on March 30; Ballet Jorgen Canada鈥檚 performance of Swan Lake on April 18 and 19; and for those planning far in advance Steve Smith 鈥斅燽etter known as TV's Red Green 鈥� brings his one-man "How to Do Everything" show to the Rebecca Cohn on October 29.
Browse and buy
After finding a show they like, users can connect to the Arts Centre's secure, mobile-friendly ticketing service in just a few swipes, selecting their seats and buying tickets.
McGean points out that the app also includes links to a seating chart for the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium, along with links to the AV俱乐部 Art Gallery, and the university鈥檚 Departments of Theatre and Music, which all share space in the Arts Centre.
Andrew Smiley, one of the founding partners of the company that developed the app, says it was originally developed as a low-cost, easy-to-manage solution for minor hockey teams that can鈥檛 afford custom-built apps like those developed for pro teams, but are still looking for another way of engaging with their devoted fans.
鈥淚t all started with an app for the Halifax Mooseheads,鈥� Smiley says of how his company got off the ground. Word of their solution quickly spread among other teams in the Quebec, Ontario and Western Canadian junior hockey leagues and before long 22 of the 60 teams were using team-branded versions of the application.
鈥淲e built something that鈥檚 reasonably priced, but provides you with 80-90 per cent of the functionality of what you鈥檇 get from a big budget, build-your-own app,鈥� explains Smiley.
Connecting with Halifax's arts community
He says if the Arts Centre app is a hit, they鈥檇 like to offer it to organizers of the Stan Rogers Folk Festival, Buskers, and other festival groups across Canada 鈥� a market that鈥檚 a perfect fit for his small eight-person company.
鈥淲e鈥檇 love to work with that kind of business,鈥� says Smiley, adding that they鈥檙e hoping that future versions of their app will integrate with social media sites like Facebook and YouTube, and offer app owners the ability to send push notifications to their customers. 鈥淎nything to make the app more engaging,鈥� he says.
While skeptical at first, it didn鈥檛 take McGean long to see the value of what Mr. Smiley and his team had to offer. And with the launch of the new mobile app, Ms. McGean is happy the Arts Centre is able to be one of the first venues of its kind in the region to offer a simple, convenient way of connecting performers with their fans.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a nice, little tool,鈥� says Ms. McGean. 鈥淲hen people first started talking about apps I thought they鈥檙e not really necessary because of the easy access everyone has to websites. But this is really slick.鈥�