Iron Girl - ACTIVEendurance.com

CASE STUDY - ACTIVE ON-SITE
IRON GIRL
SAVE 5 MINUTES
PER PARTICIPANT
WITH MOBILE
REGISTRATION
Keys to Success from Judy Molnar, Vice President of Iron Girl
Iron Girl successfully used the ACTIVE On-Site mobile app to GET more
participants registered quickly, MANAGE the admin work better, and
BUILD a connection with participants during the registration process.
GET More
Participation
We’re processing
registrations in one
to two minutes where
previously it could take
five minutes or more.
MANAGE Events
Efficiently
On-Site syncs with
ACTIVE Works so it
saves a lot of time and
data entry work.
Find out how ACTIVE On-Site can help your event:
ACTIVEendurance.com/On-Site
1.888.543.7223 | ACTIVEendurance@ACTIVEnetwork.com | ACTIVEendurance.com
BUILD Strong
Relationships
Our participants like it
and think it’s fun… At
every event we’ve used
On-Site, I hear them
saying ‘that’s cool’ or
‘well that was easy.’
CASE STUDY - ACTIVE ON-SITE
IRON GIRL
BACKGROUND
Iron Girl’s mission is to empower women toward a healthy lifestyle. Launched in 2004 with
just two events, the Iron Girl brand has grown to include 18 events nationwide, varying
in distance from 5K, 10K, and 1/2 marathon to duathlon and triathlon. In 2013, this hugely
popular event series will celebrate its 10-year anniversary.
In 2011, Iron Girl volunteered to be the first customer to use the cutting edge ACTIVE
On-Site mobile app at their Del Mar event.
Q&A with Judy Molnar, Vice President of Iron Girl
WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO GIVE ON-SITE
A TRY?
Iron Girl’s philosophy is to provide
participants with a great event experience
that gives them more than they expect, so
we’ve always been early adopters. For
example, at our first event in 2004, we
didn’t do cotton t-shirts. We had technical
shirts that were sized for women, which
no one was doing at the time (and now
it’s common practice). We were also
one of the first events to put registration
completely online and offer recyclable
totes. For us, it’s about staying with
the trends and the new technology out there. On-Site is part of that. This product is
dramatically changing the registration process.
HOW DID THAT FIRST EVENT WITH ON-SITE GO?
We debuted it at our Del Mar event in 2011. There were four or five of us handling
registrations with iPhones, and a few of ACTIVE’s team members were there to make sure
the process went smoothly. We also timed the process because we wanted to know exactly
how long it took. We found that registration went so much faster! It was great to be the
guinea pig for On-Site because once we had it, we continued to ask for it again and again.
HOW MUCH TIME DID IT ACTUALLY SAVE?
I think it saves about five minutes on every person’s registration. Traditionally, you walk
up, fill out the paper registration form, sign the waiver, stand in line to submit that paper
form, wait to get your bib and timing chip, and then pay. On-Site eliminates so many of
those steps—the registrant simply walks up, we swipe their driver’s license*, type in their
bib number, swipe their credit card and off they go! Done and done. We’re processing
registrations in one to two minutes where previously it could take five minutes or more.
And there’s also the back end that most people don’t think about. Now our timer doesn’t have
to enter paper forms into his system. He can just log into ACTIVE Works ten minutes before the
race starts and download all of those new registrations, and then upload them into his system.
On-Site syncs with ACTIVE Works so it saves a lot of time and data entry work.
HOW EASY WAS THE PRODUCT TO USE?
It’s simple. If you have a computer or any type of smart phone†, you know it already. It’s
swipe and go… and if something doesn’t autofill, you just type it in. It’s a snap.
WHAT ARE THE TOP BENEFITS OF ON-SITE?
There are a few things:
1. It’s a big time saver for everyone, like I mentioned. Participants have less stress and
my staff and team can focus on event production.
2. We can keep registration open longer. Previously we would close registration 30
minutes before the race started to make sure we got all the registration forms to the
timer to manually input the info into his system. Now we keep registration open until 10
minutes before the race. That means we get more women registered and I don’t have
to make an insane dash over to the timer with the reg forms.
3. Our timer and volunteers don’t have to try to decipher handwriting—the data entry
and typos that go along with it are gone. It saves time, and “Sara” isn’t confused
because she’s listed as “Sona” in the results.
Ultimately, On-Site is just a much more efficient way to process race day registrations and
every race director wants to be able to do that!
* The ability to swipe driver’s licenses is not guaranteed for all states and versions
† All iOs 4.0+ devices (iPhone, iPads) and most Android devices will run the On-Site app
1.888.543.7223 | ACTIVEendurance@ACTIVEnetwork.com | ACTIVEendurance.com
CASE STUDY - ACTIVE ON-SITE
IRON GIRL
WHAT WOULD YOU TELL OTHER EVENT DIRECTORS WHO ARE THINKING OF
TRYING ON-SITE?
I would tell other event directors to give it a chance. Don’t let the barrier of learning new
technology prevent you from giving it a try. If you have a smart phone now, it’s just an
extension of what you’re doing. If you don’t have a smart phone, get one.
Even if you have participants register themselves on laptops on race day, you still have the
problem of assigning the bib. On-Site takes it to a whole new level. Your volunteers and
registration team are mobile, it just takes a few swipes, it’s easy to assign bibs, and you
don’t have to worry about Wi-Fi. It’s so much easier.
HOW DO YOU PLAN TO USE ON-SITE IN THE FUTURE?
For us, our learning is ‘get more devices.’ Mobile registration is so popular and the
reactions are so positive, we’re always trying to use more devices.
The other function we’re planning to use this for is packet pickup. Like many events, we
do early packet pickups the week before the race. We can use On-Site for that now—it’s
not just for race day. Our participants can simply walk up, swipe their driver’s license, and
grab their packet. They don’t have to look through lists of tiny type or search for the right
line to stand in. It’s just swipe and go.
Find out how ACTIVE On-Site can help your event:
ACTIVEendurance.com/On-Site
WHAT DO YOUR PARTICIPANTS THINK OF ON-SITE?
Our participants like it and think it’s fun. People who have smartphones, iPhones
especially, are very familiar with the process of paying for things with them and not
hesitant about it at all. At every event we’ve used On-Site, I hear them saying ‘that’s cool’
or ‘well that was easy.’ We get them through the process fast and they’re relieved that
they have time to go to the bathroom, go back to the car, whatever they need to do.
1.888.543.7223 | ACTIVEendurance@ACTIVEnetwork.com | ACTIVEendurance.com