The newly launched <a href="<a href="www.cso.org.>(www.cso.org.“>Chicago Symphony Orchestra web site (<a href="www.cso.org.>(www.cso.org.) raises the bar for arts organizations online. The site was developed by Chicago-based digital agency Oncall Interactive, with design provided by IA Collaborative.
With a fresh look, innovative new features, easy-to-navigate pages, and an improved, quick-view calendar, the site provides a simpler, streamlined way for patrons and visitors to learn about everything the CSO has to offer.
State-of-the-art features include enhanced ticket purchasing, real-time seat selection in a 3D environment, digital downloads and streaming media player, and a sophisticated e-commerce presence. New options enable patrons to share itineraries and concert plans with friends or fellow concertgoers; patrons are also able to access personalized content, promotions, and recommendations based on their attendance history and musical preferences.
“The <a href="<a href="www.cso.org.>(www.cso.org.“>Chicago Symphony Orchestra prides itself on being a cultural arts innovator, and this site is a resounding example of our dedication to meeting our patrons’ needs through a holistic online experience,” explains Kevin Giglinto, CSO Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “The team at Oncall Interactive created one of the most innovative web sites in cultural arts today.”
A Symphony of New Experiences
A full ensemble of patron-focused elements includes the much-anticipated Listen & Watch section as well as a Concert Concierge for planning an entire evening to the CSO.
1. 3D Seat Selector Tool
The new CSO.org offers what no other online ticketing site can – a complete 3D, contextual-view seat selection and purchase process.
2. Listen & Watch
The CSO had a catalog of music just waiting to be explored by its fans around the world. Research found that patrons were turning to other online sources to experience CSO performances in the past. The new CSO.org features a growing collection of downloads and streaming media.
3. Support
As a not-for-profit organization, the CSO looked to Oncall and IA to find easier ways for patrons to provide support. The new CSO.org enables user-created fundraising efforts along with micro-donations and a variety of additional donation streams.
4. Plan Your Experience
Research found that patrons had to create their own systems for inviting a group to a performance and planning their evening. The new “Concert Concierge” section enables patrons to create an entire evening of experiences, from planning parking to the best spot for post-performance coffee. Patrons can then share itineraries and concert plans with friends and new concertgoers.
5. Shop
The CSO closed its physical store on Michigan Avenue and has transitioned all sales to the new CSO.org online store. Oncall created a system that enables seamless fulfillment and inventory tracking for the CSO to enable patrons around the world to purchase CSO-branded products.
A Cherished Classic, Digitally Remastered
The new CSO.org was created with more than just the patron in mind. The Oncall Interactive team worked with the CSO to fuse the institution’s existing Tessitura installation with new technologies to create a powerful administrative component and flexible data architecture that manages site content, ticketing, e-commerce, and digital media.
“Tessitura is a powerful tool that we enhanced with new functionality that allows CSO administration to manage the site seamlessly,” notes Adam Brown, Oncall Interactive‘s Managing Partner.
The CSO staff is now empowered to update, maintain, customize and most importantly, expand the site over time. Also, the back-end systems enable patrons to access personalized content, promotions, and recommendations based on their attendance history and musical preferences.
User-Centered Design
Powered by the team at IA Collaborative, the new CSO.org is a defining example of user-centered design. “Every element of the new CSO.org was designed with a deep understanding of what the <a href="<a href="www.cso.org.>(www.cso.org.“>Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s patrons truly need to optimally experience this world-class institution,” explains Dan Kraemer, co-founder and creative director at IA Collaborative.
About Oncall Interactive
For over 15 years, Oncall Interactive has helped companies create digital experiences that engage, enlighten and evolve. With a unique blend of innovation, design, and technology, the award-winning Chicago-based digital agency boasts a proven track record of successful executions for some of the world’s leading brands. For a trusted partner in the ever-changing digital world, make the right call… Oncall.
About the <a href="<a href="www.cso.org.>(www.cso.org.“>Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA is consistently hailed as one of today’s leading orchestras. Live performances by the CSO are much in demand at home and in the most prestigious musical venues around the world. In collaboration with pre-eminent conductors and guest artists on the international music scene, the CSO performs well over 120 concerts each year at its downtown home, Symphony Center, and at the Ravinia Festival on Chicago’s North Shore, where it is in residence each summer. With the launch of its new Institute for Learning, Access and Training, the CSO will engage more than 200,000 Chicago-area residents annually. Music lovers outside Chicago enjoy the sounds of the <a href="<a href="www.cso.org.>(www.cso.org.“>Chicago Symphony Orchestra not only through its BP <a href="<a href="www.cso.org.>(www.cso.org.“>Chicago Symphony Orchestra Radio Broadcast Series and best-selling recordings on its new highly acclaimed in-house record label CSO Resound, but also through frequent sold-out tour performances in the United States and around the globe. Since 1971, the CSO has undertaken 35 overseas tours: 26 to Europe, six to the Far East, as well as one each to Russia, Australia and South America. For more information about the CSO, visit cso.org.
About the CSO.ORG site
Over a year in planning and development, the new cso.org.is a collective and ongoing effort between the entire CSO Association and CSO’s creative and technology partners, Oncall Interactive and IA Collaborative, with critical support provided by the Tessitura Network, RayDust Studios, Answers Media, Ektron, Flowplayer, and Rackspace. Beginning in February 2010, the site will be released in several phases throughout the rest of the year.
