Responding to the interests of their target audience
At first sight, a bank adding a sports feature to their mobile banking application might be considered redundant. But adding Goal Alert to the KBC mobile app is actually a brilliant move. Over the years, KBC expanded its banking application with various services. They do this to ensure their audience only needs one platform for different goals. Think of services like buying a ticket for the train or the bus, paying for your parking spot, booking a Cambio, ... and so on. These all link with payments, so they're a logical addition to the KBC Mobile app.
On the contrary, Goal Alert seems somewhat distant from KBC's core business. Still, it emerged from a market study investigating the interests of their target audience. They found that their users and potential new customers have a thing in common; sports. That's when KBC decided to invest in a new plug-in, allowing their users to keep track of their favorite teams, rewatch highlights, receive updates, ... So it's distant from their core business but close to their target audience's interests and thus an excellent addition to the mobile application.
Drawing up the playground
We started this project with a thorough technical and functional analysis in close collaboration with KBC's internal architects and designers. Since we launched this project during the Covid pandemic, we set this up remotely. After the broad concepts started to take shape, we started with the development set-up to ensure not to waste any time. Once the technical and functional analysis was finalized, we were ready to start the development.
Ready, set, implement
We didn't build a standalone application for the Goal Alert project since the KBC Mobile app already existed and only needed to be expanded with a new implementation. We built a framework we deliver to the KBC Mobile development team; we offer this as an SDK so they can incorporate it with the rest of the application. KBC added other services to its mobile application, think of Olympus, NMBS, De Lijn, ... but the integration of the Goal Alert SDK is unique and has more complexity. Since this is a part of the application that partially runs on its own, we had to add the possibility to make in-app purchases using Google Play Billing (for Android) and StoreKit (for iOS). Push notifications for live updates during the game and an in-app video player for highlights and match scores needed to be built, which indicates a more complex setup.
Implementing these different services and features brings the app to a new level, giving users multiple possibilities within the application and creating a platform that answers the different needs of their target audience. Servicing existing customers and attracting new potential users and, therefore, new customers for their core business; banking.
Delivering Goal Alert without extra time
The goal was to set up the project within a time frame of only 4 months -start to finish- with a hard deadline, the start of the football season. This was achievable if we could get the set-up clear from the start. But still, it was somewhat challenging, knowing that it's a live experience, and there's no time for bugs or hiccups. We needed to consider the technical complexity of developing this SDK, which seamlessly needed to be integrated into the KBC Goal Alert and made it extra challenging. In that way, this project was truly unique for both us and KBC.
Another factor that made this project challenging was the collaboration between different parties. Although we quickly found our way of working, we needed to gather data from these different sources, create an overview, align stakeholders, ...Luckily, we could count on a reliable team committed to delivering a stable and user-friendly application within the foreseen deadline.
Real-time on your own time
When you start using Goal Alert, the app guides you through an onboarding flow where you can pick your favorite team, choose to receive notifications of your chosen team(s), and buy a video pass that will allow you to watch videos in the live games. The main feature of the Goal Alert app is to follow games in real-time, with small videos of highlights and goals. As the game proceeds, the user receives extra information like game highlights, the line-up, possible injuries, cards, substitutions, and goals. Both highlights and goals can be rewatched on video. We also developed a CMS, content management system, where content can be added and published in real-time during the game. That way, the user can get a more personalized game experience.
Taking care of the fanbase
Our collaboration with KBC is not the typical Care solution we offer. For this project, we set up a particular, tailor-made offer to ensure the essential bit of Goal Alert: engaging a football enthusiast during each game of their team. To achieve and ensure this, we started with several dedicated testers who follow each game the same way a supporter would. They watch the game, keep an eye on what happens in the Goal Alert app and provide us with valuable feedback on the events, on what went well, and on the things that went wrong or didn't work. On top of that, they are in contact with the Service desk so that swift action can be taken if anything unexpected occurs.
The service desk is stand-by during every game and is the core of the support solution. They know exactly how information flows and what the input of all third parties is. In addition, they get feedback from our testers and various monitoring solutions. This allows them to initiate actions when needed and thus keep the supporters' experience as smooth as possible.
Of course, something unexpected can happen that we cannot resolve during the games. Therefore there is frequent communication between icapps, the Service desk, the testers, and KBC to ensure that nothing is lost and that we can correct what needs to be fixed between games. On top of that, KBC receives a detailed report on the games' success and a dashboard indicating the level of success for each game and match day.
