Houston’s PickleJar Enhances The Digital Signage Toolset In Its Broader Live Music Venue Tech Offer

August 26, 2024 by Dave Haynes

A Houston company is going at the model of putting revenue-generating digital signage in bars from a different angle – making it part of a broader software and managed services model for bars that operate as  live music venues, that includes e-commerce engines for ticketing and tips for performers.

PickleJar Entertainment Group says an enhanced PickCaster 2.0 digital signage platform includes support for multi-zone layouts that increase advertising and sponsor opportunities for venue. A PickleJar  integrated ticketing platform now incorporates a kiosk hardware package for point-of-sale tickets at the door, including cover charges and check-in functionality for tickets sold across its platform.

What’s interesting here is that the digital signage component is stitched into a multi-platform offer that is mainly built around a mobile app and includes ticketing and the ability to generate and collect tips for performers, and promote events.

“Customer experience is now a must for all live music venues,” explains Jeff James, co-founder and CEO. “We want to demonstrate to our partners how they can win with PickleJar’s integrated VMS technologies and how it can be a differentiating factor for their customers.”

“In the recent 2024 State of the Industry Survey by Bar and Restaurant,” PickleJar notes in PR advancing the enhanced tech, “over 30% of respondents said they are planning to invest in new on-premise technologies and 33.5% of respondents indicated their investment in new entertainment options for patrons in the coming 12 months.”

“Building on our success with Artist Promotions, the new PickleJar VMS platform is built for the small to medium live music venues, making it easy for them to monetize the moments on their stages with on-brand visual content that drives new revenue streams,” adds James. “With PickleJar’s integrated approach to the Fan’s customer experience, strong record of product innovation and proven ability to deliver products that empower venues of all sizes, Venue Managed Services offers an unparalleled combination of deep transaction and advertising expertise business leaders and fans can trust.”

It’s a different way of going at this market, and reflects what a lot of companies find out when they start targeting a specific vertical market with a narrowly-defined solution. Customers want service providers with solutions stacks that address multiple day-to-day challenges and needs. They also want to control the number of vendors, and the amount of finger-pointing between them when some aspect of technology goes sideways.

The longest-running model for these kinds of venues has been curated content channels supported with DOOH advertising – like those of Atmosphere, Barvanna and Loop – and other companies like the recently-acquired Upshow, which gradually refined its operating model and became an on-premise entertainment and performance marketing platform.

As noted numerous times, it is relatively easy for software companies that do other things, like e-commerce functionality, to add on basic digital signage tools. Given that PickleJar is celebrating the ability to do simple stuff like multi-zone layouts, we can assume this is not the most sophisticated offer available to bar operators with screens. BUT … it may be enough, given the realistic needs of these venues.

Bad Photoshop job from company website gives an idea of how this looks in venues …