14 juni 2023
Innovation in live music competitions: Tactile and the Mentos Grote Prijs van Nederland introduce a unique hybrid voting experience
Event type
Music event
Visitors
2.000
Duration
2 days
Services
Voting
In a first for live music competitions, Tactile, in collaboration with the Mentos Grote Prijs van Nederland (GPNL), developed a unique voting experience that enables real-time interaction between artists and the audience.
Tim Leunissen
Over the past year, the semifinals and the final were held at TivoliVredenburg, where the organizers aimed for greater interaction with the audience. Willem Bloem, director of De Grote Prijs van Nederland, came up with the idea that with a few small adjustments, a live voting module could be integrated.
Managing director
The Mentos Grote Prijs van Nederland (GPNL) is a leading platform for emerging musical talent. This prestigious competition has contributed to the careers of well-known artists such as Brainpower, Eefje de Visser, Typhoon, and internationally successful DJ and producer Junkie XL.
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GPNL provides new talent with a stage to present themselves to a wide audience. Winners receive recognition, professional coaching, and opportunities to perform at major music festivals. It remains an essential stepping stone for musicians aiming to build a professional career in the music industry.
Audience interaction
To make the voting experience more accessible to a broader audience, Willem Bloem, director of De Grote Prijs van Nederland, introduced the Sounders Music app as an additional voting platform.
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However, as Bloem explains:
“The essence of De Grote Prijs lies in the live events. It was crucial for us to preserve that experience.”
As a solution, Bloem partnered with Tactile to develop a unique music competition format. The GPNL audience, both physically present and online, could vote in two ways: online via the app and on-site using a Tactile wristband.
“Our mission at Tactile is to support live experiences digitally, without disrupting the intimacy and spontaneity of the moment,” says Tim Leunissen, founder and director of Tactile.
“With GPNL, we were able to bring this vision to life by designing a unique voting experience that combines both digital and live elements.”
During the semi-finals and finals at TivoliVredenburg, both visitors and music professionals could vote for their favorite act. Visitors cast their votes by scanning their wristbands at dedicated voting stations.
An innovative and creative feature was the addition of unique GIFs displayed on the voting station screens after each vote. These not only confirmed that the vote was successfully registered but also gave each act a personalized touch to engage their fans.
When calculating the total score for each act, the expertise of music professionals was taken into account by assigning greater weight to their votes. This combination of voting methods, both online and live, created a dynamic and engaging competition experience.
For both the semi-finals and the final, the scoring was distributed as follows:
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25% pre-event online votes
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25% audience votes on-site via wristbands
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50% votes from approximately 30 experts on-site, using wristbands with a special expert role
Reflection and outlook
“The support from Tactile leading up to the event was fantastic,” says Bloem.
“I was truly impressed by how seamlessly their system was integrated and how smoothly everything ran.”
“This experience has shown that technology and live experiences can blend seamlessly,” Bloem concludes.
“We were able to create an improved voting experience for the audience, and that’s something we’re very proud of. We look forward to continuing to innovate with Tactile in the future.”
