Spending funds on artistic productions rather than on managing admin

"To ensure as much of the budget goes to artistic production we needed to simplify production management, improve visibility, and cut our admin overheads" says Pierre Van Diest, Administrative Director at DE SINGEL.

Every production at deSingel is a complex operation. To manage these, deSingel used a plethora of disparate documents, databases, spreadsheets, and email. In fact, during the Sparklink audit we discovered more than 114 different documents in circulation. Without a centralised system, data often had to be entered in multiple places, resulting in duplication of effort, as well as poor visibility for the team.

Simplifying auditorium bookings

We now have all the information on productions and auditorium bookings in Salesforce, as well as historical data going back 35 years.

The team at DE SINGEL can click through to more granular details such as the heat, light, and humidity requirements for each performance or event. With all venue information in the same place, any one of us can view and update it, which removes bottlenecks and ensures consistency.

Head planning De SINGEL

Allocating technical resources to productions

DE SINGEL has gone on to launch eight other apps that help ensuresmooth running their organisation, including an app that allocates staff to productions. “With the app, we can assign the right skills to the right productions, and provide staff with clear visibility of their working hours well in advance.” The App syncs confirmed planning withe people’s G Suite Calendar.

An integrated website with real-time ticketing info and automated content updates

As the centre’s first point of contact with the majority of its visitors, DE SINGEL’s website is an important marketing tool, and must be up to date. Built on Heroku and Angular, the site is linked with the centre’s planning application so that whenever production details are amended, website content is automatically updated. Videos, soundbites, and images linked to productions are also automatically uploaded to the site via a digital assets management app we’ve built on the Salesforce platform.

Building individual experiences for audiences at scale

To ensure visitors are aware of new performances and events that may interest them, deSingel wants to expand customer engagement beyond the website. So they have started to build and automate Customer Journeys within the Salesforce Marketing Cloud that will enable them to send tailored communications based on a person’s artistic preferences. More personalised and relevant information on upcoming shows at key times will increase repeat visits and customer loyalty.

Journey builder

Apps we've built for DE SINGEL

  • Auditorium Planning App

    All venue information in the same place, removing bottlenecks, ensuring consistency.

  • Resource Planning App

    Contracts and Planning of people that syncs with G Suite Calendars.

  • Room rental Sales App

    Inquiries, quotes, orders and invoices for room rental all in one place.

  • Budget, Orders & Invoices App

    All production related budget data, orders and invoices available in one place.

  • Website CMS

    Allowing for all text content on the DE SINGEL website to be managed in Salesforce.com.

  • Asset Management App

    Allowing digital asset mgt (pictures, pdf’s, soundbites, video, …) to be done in Salesforce.com.

  • Intranet App

    Basic intranet application facilitating central information sharing.

  • Website App

    Website built on Heroku and Angular allowing for 100% automatic content updates from Salesforce.com.

Want to know more?

Sparklink made our organization more efficient and leaner. They are a one-stop shop: analysis, architecture, involving end-users, building apps, training, integrating, user-friendliness, and state-of-the-art technology. Sparklink prepared us for the 21st century.
Pierre Van DiestAdministrative Director at DE SINGEL