Contact Light wants you to Embark.
Dubbed ‘the next generation of travel companion’, Embark is an app platform which provides travellers with not only route options and directions, but also bespoke online content and entertainment.
Contact Light created Embark to make getting around simple and fun by including features such as live times,carbon emission details and a newsfeed to inform and entertain users while on the go whether they are riding a train or tram, sitting on a bus, in the back of an Uber, or walking to their next meeting across town.
Launched in May alongside a collaborative partnership with Sydney’s premier arts festival Vivid, Embark took off, wowing Sydneysider’s and visitors to the city alike. Within one month on going live, Embark was ranked in the top three navigation apps in the country. One of the reasons for its success is the matching of comprehensive local information from government transit data, with lives times with the usability and planning power of Google Maps.
Embark now boasts over 70,000 users globally – delivering live mass transit data to users in over 200 cities with hundreds more cities making use of regular timetable information.
Following on from its launch success, Contact Light was successful in a pitch to Transport for NSW and was awarded access to the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon network at Sydney’s Chatswood station as part of the NSW Government’s Future Transport initiative.
Through access to the beacon network, Contact Light is able to expand Embark’s accessibility capabilities and improve the public transport experiences for vision impaired commuters by matching hyper-accurate location information to Apple and Google’s built-in Accessibility platforms.
“We’re very pleased to be adding the NSW Government to our list of technology partners, and we are very proud to be developing a platform that will benefit the lives of commuters around the world,” Contact Light CEO Mike Boyd said.
In addition to daily commuters, Australia has an inbound and outbound tourism market of 7.7 million and 8.9 million respectively, meaning international tourists visiting the country can benefit from the app, when they embark on a trip to our shores.
“We made the app available globally from day one to demonstrate our commitment to global mass transit and to build audiences organically in large commuter markets like New York and London ahead of any local marketing efforts.” Boyd said.
“Commuting is a high priority of every city and that extends beyond our ‘hometown’.” Boyd added. Looking further ahead, Contact Light is looking to major events such as the Rugby World Cup and Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2019/2020 where Embark will provide transport information in English.
Keeping users engaged and entertained during their journey is one of the main features that sets it apart from other transport apps, but it is this feature that provides a unique and exciting monetisation opportunity.
Out-of-home (OOH) screen engagement is another goal for the Contact Light team. By developing the proprietary technology for the Embark app, Contact Light’s innovation allows OOH digital screens – such as those in bus shelters, on rail platforms, and shop fronts – to ‘speak’ with the Embark app, delivering messages that are both geographically and contextually relevant to commuters.
Boyd said, “This ‘frictionless engagement’ opens the door for many revenue opportunities by linking OOH digital advertising with a consumer’s mobile device – a very exciting advancement in OOH advertising.”
“Embark can deliver rich understanding and consumer behaviour thanks to millions of data points based on user locations, out-of-home screen interaction and content engagement,” Boyd said.
“By putting the consumer first and thinking globally, we are extending the out-of home experience to a mobile device – beyond a screen on a wall.”
“There are so many ways we can help marketers deliver deliver content to users via Embark: from enabling users to receive notification when in proximity to an advert; saving content, offers and product adverts to Embark account; and providing access to exclusive content from partners, there is so much commercial potential with our new technology.”
