n-gage.io builds traction after securing domestic and overseas clients

Providing a powerful software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution with the capability to transform visitor experiences, enhance learning, and improve accessibility within the visitor attraction industry, GCV portfolio company n-gage.io is making international sales progress and helping clients around the world foster more loyal and engaged audiences.

Led by entrepreneur Bryan Hoare and incubated by GCV’s venture builder, GCV Labs, n-gage.io enhances visitor experiences at attractions using a customisable, data-driven SaaS platform with an integrated visitor app.

Over the past year, n-gage.io has achieved significant traction – headlined by a number of international client wins.

A range of organisations within the global attractions industry – from zoos to festivals – have adopted n-gage.io’s technology, with one client describing the platform as a ‘game changer’ for their sector. 

Some of n-gage.io’s key client wins include:

• Northumberland Zoo
• Alameda Wildlife Conservation Park (AWCP)
• Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park
• Cape Town International Jazz Festival

Each of these clients are utilising the customisable n-gage.io platform to drive visitor and audience engagement and promote new channels for educating customers digitally, and each have applied its technology in a number of different ways.

Northumberland Zoo

A family-run organisation spanning 17 acres in the North East of England, Northumberland Zoo is the original pilot partner of n-gage.io and a vocal advocate of the platform. 

n-gage.io is assisting Northumberland Zoo to embark on a digital transformation programme that includes the introduction of the attraction management software and mobile visitor app to enhance the visitor experience, gain valuable insights and drive revenue.

Maxine Bradley, Founder and Zoo Curator, believes that this technology will assist the zoo and aquarium sector in reporting on and developing their customer behaviour strategy using the valuable data analysis that the cloud-hosted platform can provide. 

Bradley states: “The zoo industry is all about making the right impact on visitors and shifting their behaviour by encouraging a sense of conservation in people and generations to come. Ongoing research and measurement as to what visitors take away with them from a visit to their local zoo, safari park, or wildlife sanctuary, is critical.”

Bradley’s aim is to fully integrate the audience engagement platform and app with other digital channels, such as TikTok (on which the zoo already has 165k followers) and YouTube, to continuously track and measure audience reaction and subsequently grow income whilst educating their audiences.

Alameda Wildlife Conservation Park (AWCP)

Based within the Alameda Botanic Gardens in Gibraltar, Alameda Wildlife Conservation Park (AWCP) is renowned for protecting exotic animals, raising awareness of endangered species, partaking in international conservation projects that play a crucial role in conservation efforts, and for being Gibraltar’s only wildlife park.

n-gage.io’s first overseas deployment of their SaaS was to Alameda Wildlife Conservation Park in December 2022. AWCP partnered with n-gage.io as part of its digital transformation strategy, using interactive technology to modernise the attraction and better engage with their visitors. 

Jessica Leaper, manager at AWCP, stated: “Now that we have implemented the app, we are looking to build on our school and education offerings and campaigns. We will also see how our corporate supporters can play a more meaningful role in what we do and where they can benefit too.

Our conservation message is paramount to us, and I believe that through this app we will be able to convey this information, as well as reach more influencers who can help change the way people see things.”

The improvement in visitor engagement metrics that Leaper has observed from the implementation of the n-gage.io platform have been impressive, to the extent that the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens, within which AWCP is located, are also considering the platform.

Jimmy’s Farm & Wildlife Park

Based in Suffolk and owned by Jimmy Doherty – British TV presenter and farmer – Jimmy’s Farm and Wildlife Park have adopted the n-gage.io software to transform their digital visitor experience.

Jimmy’s Farm and Wildlife Park is recognised as one of South East England’s leading visitor attractions, also featuring in the popular Channel 4 documentary TV series, Jimmy’s Farm, which takes a unique look at life on the farm and wildlife park through the eyes of Jimmy Doherty.

n-gage.io have been working alongside Stevie Sheppard, General Manager at Jimmy’s Farm, and his team, to deploy the attraction management software and mobile visitor app across their site, helping to enhance the visitor experience and gain valuable insights into audience behaviour, and have tracked a positive initial response from both visitors and staff

With over 4,000 app downloads during the first few weeks of launch, the attraction is now benefitting from new ways to engage with their audiences, both on and off site, whilst beginning to utilise valuable insights about how guests are spending their time during a visit.

Sheppard explains: “What attracted us to this solution was the highly customisable nature of the base app, and the feature-rich operator platform behind the scenes that powers it. Whilst the app itself has so many engaging features, it’s also what we can do with the platform to understand more about our visitors' on-site behaviour that’s been truly eye opening.”

Cape Town International Jazz Festival

The largest music event in sub-Saharan Africa, Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF) is another of n-gage.io’s overseas customers. 

The organisation has adopted n-gage.io’s technology ahead of their 2024 event and is using the platform to bring CTIJF into the digital era, engaging with festival goers both in the run up to the event as well as during the time of the festival. 

This different use case of the product is proving the n-gage.io software in the Festivals sector, highlighting the overall versatility of n-gage.io and the different ways it can provide value to clients.

Looking ahead

n-gage.io is expanding on the considerable traction achieved to date by developing and implementing plans to further grow the platform’s capabilities and presence on both a domestic and international scale.

With a number of new potential clients in the pipeline following n-gage’s successful implementations across multiple industries and geographies, the team plans for further development and growth following GCV’s live investment opportunity, from which a proportion of capital raised will be allocated to supporting the growth of n-gage.io.

Bryan Hoare, n-gage.io Founder & CEO, commented: “We're delighted with the client progress n-gage.io has achieved over recent months, but more than anything, the overwhelmingly positive feedback we've received from our clients and their audiences on the impact of the software at their locations.”

“Having already proven that n-gage.io can deliver valuable visitor insights and unrivalled digital experiences across a number of sectors and use-cases, we're now looking ahead to scaling n-gage.io's capabilities further and supporting more visitor attractions globally in harnessing the power of digital.”