ECAL has partnered with Venues NSW, to deliver smart and dynamic sports and entertainment events content directly into the calendar of members and fans.

For ECAL, the world’s leading ‘Sync to Calendar’ software, it’s another venue integration set to drive new customer acquisition, increase in sales and fan engagement, and enhance the overall member experience. The famous Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) and newly rebuilt Allianz Stadium are the first venues to add ECAL’s ‘Sync to Calendar’ functionality to their respective websites.

The SCG and Allianz Stadium hosts hundreds of sporting and entertainment events each year, from matches across Australia’s domestic football codes (AFL, NRL, A-League, Super Rugby) to the world’s biggest international entertainers like Bruno Mars, Elton John and Justin Bieber. Now, at the click of a button, sports lovers, music enthusiasts, venue members and local and international visitors can easily ‘sync’ events they are interested in, straight to their personal digital calendar of choice.

Events dynamically update in the calendar, so if there are any event updates or changes, they’ll be the first to know. Events include handy alerts, event details, gate opening times and member access information, with direct access to purchase tickets, premium experiences, or book dining, all from the convenience of your personal calendar.

Visitors to the SCG and Allianz Stadium sites can choose to sync single events coming up, or sync events of their favourite team or category, so they receive all future events suiting their profile of interest. This way, they’ll never miss a moment.

Founder & CEO of ECAL, Patrick Barrett, is excited by the partnership: “ECAL is the perfect solution for stadia and venues, enabling a smart and intuitive digital transformation of event schedules, for both general fans and members. Members need to know what’s on and when, and what facilities are available for access, and they desire relevant, personalised communications. They also increasingly care about positive ESG practices, and cutting wast including digital waste.”

Visit allianzstadium.com.au and sydneycricketground.com.au now to see what’s on, and sync events you’re interested in to your calendar.

Challenge

Increase EFL fan engagement via the calendar with valuable new content offerings.

Solution

Deliver final match scores and video highlights post-match directly in to the user calendar.

1. Introduction

The EFL (English Football League) was formed in 1888 and is widely known as the world’s original league football competition. As such, the EFL has often been considered the first template for football leagues all over the world.

The EFL is the largest single body of professional clubs in European football and is responsible for administering and regulating the EFL, the Carabao Cup, the Papa John’s Trophy, and the reserve and youth football.

2. Objectives

• Deliver valuable new content outside of match times
• Satisfy strong fan desire to engage with video content
• Make it timely, relevant and compelling for fans
• Make it easy to manage (automated)

3. Strategy

Deliver an automated service for final match scores and video highlights post-match, delivered at the right time, in the right place, direct to fans with one-click access to watch highlights.

4. Solution

Subscribers will receive an ICYMI (in case you missed it!) entry in their calendar the morning after a match, with the final scores and direct access to highlights, whenever their favourite team wins or draws. The match scores are contained in the event title, with a brief match description and a strong ‘Watch Now!’ ‘call to action’ link, with direct access to the relevant match highlights.

• Entries only placed in calendar when their favourite team wins or draws
• Entries appear in the calendar the 24 hours after kickoff, with an alert at 5 minutes prior to prompt response.

5. Outcomes

+ 400%	+ 651%	+ 2052%	Watch Now
increase in click-through rate	increase in clicks from the calendar	increase in total engagement when compared to the same period one year prior	‘Watch Now’ (highlights) is the most clicked link across the EFL Digital Platform (73% of total clicks)

* Two month sample size. 1/8/2021 – 1/10/2021 and 1/8/2022 – 1/10/2022

The official EFL ‘digital calendar’ service is the only way to keep up-to-date with a busy schedule, including all league fixtures and Cup ties. Don’t miss a moment this season. Sync your favourite teams schedule here.

16 teams, 5 nations, 2 hemispheres and now 1 solution to connect them all. URC fans, it’s finally here, the official United Rugby Championship digital calendar service!

Are you a die hard URC fan, keen to know the full schedule and watch every game? Easy. You can now sync all the matches straight to your calendar. Or maybe you are a committed Dragons supporter? No problem. Just get the Dragon’s games delivered straight to your calendar. Or maybe Dad wants you to be a DHL Stormers fan, Mum is determined you support Benetton, but secretly you’re with Grandpa and it’s all about Glasgow Warriors? Not an issue. You can add multiple team schedules to your personal calendar and keep the whole family happy and up-to-date this season!

The URC’s ‘digital calendar’ is dynamic, and syncs all the latest match and important event information, straight to your personal digital calendar, so you’ll never miss a moment. Match details are updated throughout the season and complete with direct access to URC.tv and localised broadcast information. Links will also take you straight through to the Match Centre, Latest News, App and URC Predictor and Fantasy competitions at the click on a button.

The first 8 games of the season have already been announced and it’s going to be an explosive opening weekend with Benetton taking on Glasgow Warriors on Friday 16th September at Stadio Monigo in Italy. Make sure that you don’t miss a moment this season and sync your favourite URC team(s) here.

The 2022/23 English Football League (EFL) is underway, with an action packed opening weekend of football across all three Sky Bet Leagues.

This season, the EFL is keeping fans engaged long after the final whistle flag with its ‘▶️ Match Highlights’ calendar event. Fans can now ‘catch-up’ on all the action, reaction and highlights with match scores and one click access to the match highlights video all within their digital calendar.

Match Highlights entries are dynamically added to calendars when your selected team(s) wins or draws the day after match at 9am. We don’t really like reliving a loss do we!. Entries include the match scores in the event title, description and Watch Now! call-to-action.

The official EFL ‘digital calendar’ service is the only way to keep up-to-date with a busy schedule, including all league fixtures and Cup ties. Don’t miss a moment this season. Sync your favourite teams schedule here.

Embed Rolls Out the Industry’s First Publishing-to-Payment Events Marketing Platform in Partnership with ECAL

SINGAPORE, 28 June 2022

Transforming the business of fun since 2001, Embed, the ultimate cashless solutions provider for the amusement, entertainment, and leisure industries, launches another industry-first innovation at the International Bowl Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada, from June 29 to 30. True to its commitment and legacy in technology innovation, the developer of the award-winning Mobile Wallet – the first of its kind since its launch in 2019 – proudly unveils EVENTS:

EVENTS, an end-to-end events marketing platform that gives FECs and guests in-sync in-venue events, is the life of the party! EVENTS is one of the software solutions under Embed’s TOOLKIT suite that connects all business touchpoints in one integrated solution.

For this innovation, Embed partnered with ECAL, the world’s leading events and calendar marketing platform, on a mission to communicate events better, setting the global standard for effective events content management, publishing, marketing and smart, dynamic communications to calendar.

Guests will never miss out on an event or promotion when they sync in the fun! EVENTS automatically syncs to customers’ calendars – driving more revenue, foot traffic, traction, and conversion to events. Embed Solutions Group CEO Renee Welsh talks about how FECs can greatly benefit from the platform:

“70% of adults rely on mobile & desktop calendars to manage their daily schedule. Imagine your events and promotions mapped on your customer’s day-to-day, keeping your business top-of-head! We’re excited to have our customers experience the EVENTS difference and see a dramatic increase in their events awareness, a doubled ticket purchase or booking rate, and more engagement in their marketing efforts with this new channel.”

FEC operators who will subscribe to the service will be receiving a free EVENTS Creative Toolkit, specifically designed to drive uptake and adoption of EVENTS with end-users. This includes EVENTS messaging that covers the entire consumer journey (with zoning strategy) and customizable creatives for each customer touchpoint – from strategic to tactical, including how-tos, and employee cheat sheets.

“We at ECAL are thrilled to collaborate with Embed to share our beautiful event displays and smart ‘Sync to Calendar’ technology with its customers. This rich, dynamic events connection will deliver the right message, at the right time, in the right place, to drive increased sales and engagement, and backed by deep consumer data and insights,” says Patrick Barrett, Founder & CEO of ECAL.

Create > Automate

EVENTS can now be automatically synced to customers’ digital calendars. Any fun event activity published on an FEC website, like gaming tournaments, brunch parties, the big game, and even Happy Hour, can make their way into guests’ social calendars – all in a seamless guest journey, from your website to booking, payment, and confirmation. Pre-payment means low-risk to the FEC operator.

Party Pusher

EVENTS turns digital calendars into a powerful new communication channel with patrons, as well as an effective replacement for event marketing efforts that offer limited tracking and reporting.

Syncing Deep

Enjoy in-depth customer data and insights that enable FECs to plan events that give customers more of what they want and run promotions against the contact details to drive return visits and customer loyalty, ultimately future-proofing the business.

Demos, Drinks, and Bling

Visit booth #146 and catch free demos of EVENTS from the Embed Mavericks, along with the roster of breakthrough innovations like the KIOSK+, the award-winning Mobile Wallet, the integrated cloud-based software solution TOOLKIT, the smartTOUCH arcade debit game card reader, and a full range of wearables and game cards from Embed’s famous Bling Bar! Participants are also invited to daily Happy Hour sessions from 12 PM to 4 PM.

About Embed:
Embed is the worldwide leader of the cashless business management systems and solutions for the amusement, entertainment, and leisure industries. Designed to deliver a superior guest experience, the platform is a complete integrated cashless solution for business owners to maximize revenue and operational efficiency while reducing costs.

With Embed’s platform, a business (single or multi-location) has real-time visibility and control across its entire operation: from guest party-planning and bookings via mobile to integrated point-of-sales, including bundles and upsell packages, a full range of games management, real-time prize inventory, game card kiosks, and more – all integrated and accessible via mobile.

With over 1,000 customers and more than 3,000 installations around the world, Embed is equipped and ready to empower Family Entertainment (FEC) businesses with direct sales, services and support anytime, anywhere.

GLOBAL Media Contact:
Kathleen Goy
Global Head of Events
kathleen.goy@embedcard.com

About ECAL:
The world’s leading events and calendar marketing platform, ECAL is trusted and relied upon by some of the world’s biggest brands across sports, media, ticketing and payments, servicing over 10 million users. ECAL is on a mission to communicate events better, and sets the global standard for effective events content management, marketing and smart, dynamic communications to calendar.
For more information, visit: https://ecal.com/

Contact Details:
Patrick Barrett
Founder & CEO
patrick@ecal.com

Celtic fans, it’s here! The official Celtic FC ‘digital calendar’ service is the only way to keep up-to-date with a busy schedule ahead, including the 2022/23 cinch Premiership, Champions League action, Scottish Cup and more.

The Celtic FC ‘digital calendar’ is dynamic, and syncs all the latest match and important event information, straight to your personal digital calendar, so you never miss a moment.

Check out Celtic FC’s promotional ‘sync fixtures’ video below! (you gotta love this!)

Match details are updated dynamically throughout the season, complete with direct access to the Match Centre, CelticTV, Latest News, Shop, Social Media and lots more.

Celtic kick-off their title defence at home against Aberdeen on Sunday 31st July at Celtic Park.

Every match. Every moment. In sync. Sync up with the Champions this season here.

Premier League, the world’s most popular football league, has released its 2022/23 season fixture to football fans across the globe.

For ECAL, Premier League’s official ‘digital calendar’ provider, the official release to millions of fans all over the world requires a major technical effort with a well-crafted and co-ordinated strategy.

Pre-promotion for the release began seven (7) days prior, with a ‘Sync Fixtures’ takeover on the Premier League website, encouraging fans to sync now to receive the fixture as soon as it’s released.

Promotion ramped up through the week leading up to release day, with a ‘splash’ page on site entry, home page masthead banners, run of site banners, social campaigns and direct email promotion. On launch, a drive to ‘Sync Fixtures’ was also included on the official release articles.

The campaign saw excitement and antiicpation build leading up to the release, and worked to smooth out the enormous demand to subscribe to the ECAL service. Over the week, ECAL serviced hundreds of thousands of new subscribers to the Premier League ‘digital calendar’ service, whilst keeping millions of existing users up-to-date with the new fixtures.

The highly advanced ECAL service is dynamic, and rich with details, with game entries updating automatically in the calendar, as the finer details of the fixture change throughout the season. Users receive localised broadcast information, and direct access to tickets, merchandise, video, social media, fantasy and more.

The 2022/23 Premier League season kicks off on 5th August with Crystal Palace facing Arsenal at Selhurst Park. Defending champions Manchester City begin their title defence against West Ham United at London Stadium. Will Tottenham Hotspur continue its rise under Antonio Conte or will the Premier League again be painted blue?

Don’t miss a moment of the world’s most popular football league! Follow your favourite team like millions of others around the world, and sync to calendar here.

The countdown to the NFL season is officially on with the release of the 2022 season schedule, including the highly anticipated Sunday Night Football (SNF) match-ups. The Sunday Night Football schedule features the league’s biggest matches and NBC’s exclusive coverage has been America’s number one primetime show for eleven years running.

NBC ‘Sync to Calendar’ feature will continue to provide fans with rich, up-to-date match information, with one click access to Stream Live and on the go via Peacock, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports App. For NBC, ECAL’s world-leading technology will help drive tune-in and more fan engagement than ever, with direct access to streaming, latest news, video, statistical insights and lots more, delivered at the right time and in the right place to passionate NFL fans everywhere!

Love Sunday Night Football? Don’t miss a moment of the action on NBC and Peacock. Sync the official Sunday Night Football schedule to your personal digital calendar now.

Awesome ways to display, share and sync your events!

ECAL’s amazing new Event Displays are here! Available in four (4) modes to suit you, ‘Calendar’, ‘Page’, ‘Carousel’ & ‘Column’ Event Displays are highly customisable, high impact, and rich in features to drive awareness, participation and action.

Key features include:

• Four modes incl. ‘Calendar’, ‘Page’, ‘Carousel’, ‘Column’
• Timezone auto-detection
• Sync to Calendar feature ‘built-in’
• Share single events (social, email)

• High impact banner imagery
• Filter menu
• Direct action links
• Easy to implement!

Calendar View

ECAL’s new ‘Calendar‘ display provides a stylish, rich and interactive display of your events, perfect for a ‘Events’ or ‘Calendar’ page of your website. Filter events by ‘month’, ‘week’, ‘day’ (timeline), ‘list’ or ‘stack’ view, according to your preference. Click to reveal the event details pop-up with direct action links, share with friends, and scroll through the carousel to discover next events upcoming.

See live demo here.

Page View

The ‘Page‘ mode provides a detailed, interactive and attractive display of your events, perfect for your ‘What’s On?’ or ‘Events Calendar’ page! Filter events by schedule type (or category), sort by month, expand the event tiles for details, take direct action (links), share with friends, and ‘Sync to Calendar’!

See live demo here.

Carousel View

The ‘Carousel‘ mode provides a high impact, high attention display of your events, perfect for your homepage, beneath your site masthead! Scroll through events upcoming, sort by month, take direct action (links), share with friends, and ‘Sync to Calendar’!

See live demo here.

Column View

The ‘Column‘ mode provide a neat, highly flexible, high impact display of your events in a vertical column, perfect for a side margin across the inside pages of your website! Scroll through events upcoming, sort by month, take direct action (links), share with friends, and ‘Sync to Calendar’!

See live demo here.

ECAL has partnered with the Marathon Center for Performing Arts (MCPA), to help promote their world-class events direct to calendar.  For ECAL, the world’s leading calendar marketing platform, it’s another venue integration that will drive new customer acquisition, increase the ticket purchase rate and improve the customer experience.

Located in Findlay, Northwest Ohio, The MCPA hosts over 300 events each year across a wide range of genres including rock concerts, theatre, literary and community events.  Now, at the click of a button, theatre goers, music enthusiasts and local visitors can easily ‘sync’ events they are interested in, straight to their personal digital calendar.

Events dynamically update in the calendar, so if there are any event updates or changes, they’ll be the first to know. Events include handy alerts, event details and even pricing information, with direct access to purchase tickets straight from the calendar. In addition to the event entry, 🎟 Ticket Alerts are automatically placed into subscribers calendars seven days prior to help drive purchases.

ECAL’s ‘Sync to Calendar’ technology is integrated across the MCPA website, with ‘Sync to Cal’ icons located on individual event tiles, Sync to Calendar buttons on each individual event page and main widget with genre selection on the upcoming events page. The feature is a great addition to the mcpa.org website, designed to increase awareness and engagement for events at the venue.

Visit mpca.org now to see what’s on, and sync to cal!