Home of Carlsberg: Crafting unique digital experiences and lasting memories that go beyond just enjoying great beer
Established in 1847 by J. C. Jacobsen, Carlsberg has been an integral part of Copenhagen’s fabric ever since. From corner kiosks to large supermarkets, as well as from lively bars to elegant restaurants worldwide, Carlsberg stands as one of the world’s leading brewing groups, boasting a compelling array of beer and beverage brands. Yet, amidst its triumphs, the brewery has encountered a distinctive challenge – they needed a visitor center that could live up to the brand’s impressive value and history.
While Visit Carlsberg already existed, the company strove to adhere to founder JC Jacobsen’s ethos of the constant pursuit of perfection for the sake of the greater good. Thus, they envisioned transforming Visit Carlsberg into a cutting-edge physical attraction—an innovative digital experience on an international scale. This transformation sought not only to rival the brand’s prestige but also to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Copenhagen’s most renowned tourist destinations. The aim was to craft the Home of Carlsberg into a captivating and digitally integrated haven, adding richness to the city while broadening the business’ footprint by forging stronger ties between the brand, the visitors, and the global community. To navigate this ambitious journey, Carlsberg selected NaviPartner as its technological ally, leveraging our cutting-edge solutions and extensive experience in the attraction sector.
Online ticket sales surged from 6.4% to
Net Promotor Score
The result
Probably the best digital experience in Copenhagen.
Challenges: From untapped online sales potential and missed cross-selling opportunities to limited data on visitor behavior
In addition to the need for a revamped visitor center that would breathe life into the brand’s impressive legacy and forge a strong connection between the brand, the visitors, and the global community, there were additional challenges within the old visitor center that needed addressing across three key areas:
1. Online Ticket Sales:
– Only 6.4% of the admission tickets were sold online.
– 74% of the guests were walk-ins, indicating a lack of incentive for online ticket purchases.
– An unexploited cross-selling potential and website traffic of 475,000 visits per year remained untapped.
2. Capacity Management:
– There was no capacity management system for ticket sales, leading to overcrowding during peak times and periods of inactivity.
– Guest arrivals were not staggered, resulting in a poor visitor experience and difficulties in optimizing employee schedules.
3. Data Collection and Analysis:
– Limited data collection on guests, capturing information from less than 2% of the visitors.
– This limited understanding of target groups and their behavior, also hindered effective marketing strategies and the ability to collect feedback.
– A lack of post-visit dialogue-based marketing and offerings to enhance the visitor experience.
Creating an innovative visitor center like the Home of Carlsberg has highlighted the importance of addressing all related challenges comprehensively. This involves not just streamlining the initial booking process online, but also guaranteeing that visitors encounter unforgettable digital experiences that linger even after their visit ends. To achieve this seamless experience for their visitors, it was necessary to establish a completely new and robust IT infrastructure. This infrastructure had to be meticulously crafted to support visitors throughout their entire journey, starting from their first interaction with the website to the conclusion of their visit.
UI Design: Every detail is meticulously crafted to reflect the history, heritage,and identity of Carlsberg
The journey toward crafting an engaging digital experience for museum-goers began with the creating of a fresh website. Every aspect of the website’s look and feel was carefully crafted to mirror the rich history and character of the old Carlsberg brewery at Valby Bakke. From the choice of fonts and colors to how they interact with the website, the aim was to immerse visitors in the brewery’s narrative from the moment they arrived online to book their tickets.
The color palette draws inspiration from the classic red, green, and golden tones of Old Carlsberg, enriching subtle micro-animations on buttons and interaction elements to enhance user experience. The UI’s clean design fosters a sense of simplicity and accessibility, providing users with a clear and distinct interface. Information is meticulously grouped and organized, ensuring effortless navigation and easy access to the desired content.
One website featuring two online shops:
Whether you’re purchasing tickets or a bottle opener,
or exploring Carlsberg’s history, you can find it all on the new website
Addressing the challenge of enabling visitors to book and plan their visits from home was one of the key focuses during strategic planning. Based on that, we’ve introduced an online booking system incorporating dynamic pricing, allowing visitors to secure cheaper tickets during off-peak times. This not only enhances the visitor experience but also gives Carlsberg the opportunity to plan staff and thereby optimize staff costs.
In addition to the possibility of buying tickets online, the museum introduced an additional webshop on its website, highlighting a variety of its branded products. Visitors can now browse and purchase a diverse array of merchandise, spanning from clothes to unique home bar accessories such as PVC bar runners, coasters, bottle openers, and bar towels. The integration with a shipping platform ensures seamless delivery of the purchased items to the desired address. Furthermore, the online brand shop now boasts enhanced customization options, including advanced country validation capabilities. This feature allows visitors to verify whether delivery is feasible to their location, enhancing convenience and satisfaction for all visitors.
The entire new website is based on the Magento 2 platform, which seamlessly connects with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, an ERP solution. This system records all data, including ticket and merchandise sales from the website, as well as sales made at the physical location during visits, ensuring comprehensive management of all transactions.
Video case study: Probably the
best experience in town
Dynamic Ticket Pricing Strategy:
Simplified purchase of discounted tickets during
quieter times for a more enjoyable museum experience
As stated earlier, to enhance the museum’s ability to manage ticket sales capacity efficiently and incentivize visitors to buy cheaper tickets during quieter periods, the decision was made to introduce dynamic pricing. To enable this option, our team developed the NP Ticketing solution for online ticket sales entirely from scratch, tailoring it precisely to meet the museum’s specific needs and requirements.
The online ticketing process is designed with efficiency and convenience in mind, comprising four simple steps. Initially, visitors select from three ticket types: Adult, Youth, or Child. Next, they reach a pivotal stage where they choose their visit date and time, benefiting from discounted rates during off-peak periods, ensuring a more enjoyable museum experience with fewer crowds. In the third step, visitors can reserve slots for events like “Beer Tasting” or the “Historical Tour” at their preferred time slots. Our system intelligently prevents event slot overlaps, allowing seamless scheduling. Events can only be booked on the same day as the museum visit ticket, thus streamlining planning. Finally, the visitors complete their payment, receiving tickets via email with a QR code for easy entry to the museum, where they collect their digital wristband. This whole process is seamlessly integrated with Carlsberg’s marketing CRM tool, which monitors visitor behavior during online ticket purchases. By collecting key data, it provides valuable insights into visitor preferences, enabling continuous improvement of the overall customer experience.
Moreover, each visitor has the option to create their account, thus enabling a convenient monitoring of their complete history of past online orders in a single location or an opt-in to receive the museum’s newsletter for valuable updates.
”Due to the limited capacity in our original brewhouse, dynamic pricing has been vital in balancing our guests between peak and off-peak days and hours, and thereby ensuring the best possible guest experience.
Marc Keene, Senior Manager, Digital & Insights at Carlsberg
Digital wristband: A journey that continues beyond the museum’s confines, ensuring visitor engagement remains long after their return home
In collaboration with external agencies, NaviPartner enabled a unique digital experience during museum visits, allowing visitors to collect personalized experiences from their visit that are available for download afterward. This advancement not only elevated digital engagement but also seamlessly integrated RFID technology, delivering a holistic and enhanced visitor experience.
At the forefront of enhancing the visitor experience, RFID wristbands were introduced as a pivotal innovation. Upon arrival, visitors are provided with digital RFID wristbands, serving both as entry tickets and tools to capture their experiences throughout the museum. These wristbands empower visitors to tailor their journey through interactive encounters at various museum stations. They serve as conduits for gathering digital content, such as photos and videos at immersive displays, which visitors can subsequently download, resulting in a personalized and unforgettable visit. For instance, if a visitor crafts their own beer and designs a custom label, they can save these experiences on their wristband. Many guests also choose to purchase their personalized beer afterward. The exhibition is envisioned as a continuous journey that extends beyond the museum’s walls, ensuring that the visitor’s engagement persists even after they return home. By collecting visitor interests in their CRM, the museum can maintain this personalized experience, offering tailored campaigns and content long after the visit has ended.
The fusion of digital and physical experience: From buying
tickets to enjoying a beer and exploring exhibits, every aspect
of the visit is crafted to provide a memorable and enjoyable experience
One of the key aspects in crafting this exceptional digital visitor experience was the integration of NaviPartner solutions on-site, which has significantly enhanced the physical experience at the Home of Carlsberg. These solutions have streamlined the process of purchasing tickets at the venue, facilitating ticket scanning at the entrance for seamless museum entry, enabling the purchase of branded merchandise in the on-site brand shop, and ensuring the smooth service of premium beer in the museum bar.
Here’s how it looks in practice: If a visitor has no purchased online ticket, they can easily do so upon arrival at a self-service machine or at the ticket center, where our NP Ticketing solution efficiently handles on-site sales. With their ticket, the visitor proceeds to the entrance, where a quick scan converts it into a wristband. This wristband grants entry to the museum and allows them to collect digital memories throughout their visit. Our NP Self-service and NP Access Control solutions ensure a smooth self-service process and timely entry, providing a hassle-free experience. Inside the museum, visitors embark on an interactive journey that unveils the rich history and stories of Carlsberg. The engaging exhibits provide an immersive and educational experience, captivating visitors with the brand’s legacy. After exploring the exhibition, visitors can unwind and enjoy their time in various ways. They might relax in the historical courtyard and sculpture garden, savor a freshly tapped Carlsberg beer at the museum bar, or explore additional attractions like the horse stables and vintage cars. To provide the utmost attention and convenience, our mPOS and NP Pay solutions are implemented in the bar. This allows museum staff to serve guests anywhere in the bar or courtyard and enables contactless payments directly at their table, enhancing the overall visitor experience. Additionally, RFID scanners integrated in the bar allow guests to easily collect the beer included with their ticket. This feature enhances convenience and ensures that visitors can effortlessly redeem their included beverage, contributing to a more personalized and enjoyable visit.
At the end of their visit, if a visitor wishes to purchase any of Carlsberg’s branded products, they can do so in the brand store. We have implemented our NP Retail solution within the brand store, ensuring that all transactions—from purchasing tickets online and on-site, to transactions in the museum bar and both the online and physical brand stores—are recorded in a single system. This integration with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central provides the museum with a comprehensive 360-degree view of its operations in one centralized location.
“Through the use of the RFID wristband, we can merge the physical and digital touchpoints, and create a unique personalized guest experience that continues long after their visit to the Home of Carlsberg.”
Marc Keene, Senior Manager, Digital & Insights at Carlsberg
Results: Probably the best digital experience a museum visitor can have, leaving a lasting impression that resonates for years
The newly-unveiled Home of Carlsberg is more than just a fleeting campaign; it’s a long-term investment in Carlsberg’s future success. By forging strong connections with customers and telling a clear story about the brand’s innovations, it becomes a vital strategic asset. This investment promises not just short-term gains but enduring value for the brand. Since its launch on 1 December, the immediate results have been impressive:
1. Online Ticket Sales:
– Online ticket sales surge from 6.4% to 60%, a significant feat in an industry dominated by walk-ins and third-party sales.
– Conversion rates for online ticket sales spike from 1.71% to 4.3%, indicating a marked improvement in customer engagement.
– Cross-selling and add-ons between beer tastings and guided tours witness a notable increase, rising from 9.9% to 25% and 7.6% to 19%, respectively.
2. Capacity Management:
– Implementation of timeslots enhances guest dispersion throughout the day, enhancing overall guest experience.
– The so-called “dead” days (Monday-Wednesday) witness a boost in guest numbers owing to dynamic pricing strategies.
– Reduced personnel costs both at the physical ticket center and booking department, thanks to the shift towards online and self-service sales.
– Streamlined staffing planning facilitated by accurate ticket sales forecasting.
3. Data Collection and Analysis:
– Collection of first-party visitor data jumps significantly from 1.98% to 39.4%, facilitated by online sales and RFID wristbands.
– Improved overall visitor experience rating on Google Business Profiles, soaring from 4.2 to 4.7, the highest in the industry.
– Exceptional Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 88 for the entire guest experience.
– Nearly 29% of the physical guests explore subsequent content on the website post-visit.
– Encouragingly, 3.2% of the website visitors chose an opt-in for the newsletter, facilitating personalized marketing efforts.
– Introduction of personalized marketing initiatives.
– Rise in the number of brand ambassadors sharing their digital memories on social media platforms.
Key takeaways
Today, when visitors step inside, they delve into the essence of Carlsberg’s heritage, crafting memories that go far beyond simply enjoying a great beer. The Home of Carlsberg isn’t just a brewery; it’s a vital part of Danish culture and Carlsberg’s worldwide reputation. According to leading global media like The Guardian, Corriere della Sera, Le Monde, and Timeout, the Home of Carlsberg stands as a significant tourist attraction worldwide, one that’s definitely worth a visit.
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