Connect&Go’s ID bracelets to be used at Super Bowl
The year is off to a super start for Montreal tech company Connect&GO.
A team of six employees is on the way to San Francisco, where Connect&Go will be providing the electronic wristbands for one of the gala pregame events of this weekend’s Super Bowl 50.
It’s the first involvement in the football summit for the company, which in the space of three years has gone from three employees to almost 40.
“We got a call just before Christmasfrom the organizers. The Super Bowl is such a big deal that when they ask you to jump, you say ‘How high?’” said Anthony Palermo, cofounder and chief executive officer of Connect&Go.
For this weekend’s festivities, a massive warehouse on San Francisco’s Pier 70 has been converted into a sprawling three-storey night club where the featured entertainers will include The Dave Matthews Band on Thursday, Pharrell Williams on Friday and a mystery superstar on Saturday.
The event is exclusive for the 35,000 people who purchased VIP packages for the football game.
Connect&GO’s smart wristbands will determine who gets into the DirecTV and Pepsi SuperNights and which sections can be accessed once inside. Patrons who’ve linked their wristbands to credit cards also will be able to charge food and drink with a simple swipe.
The company’s devices use radiofrequency identification (RFID) to determine who has a valid pass, send message and photos directly to the registrants’ Facebook pages and alert their contacts they’re at the event.
The Super Bowl is one of a projected 120 events where Connect&GO will be providing its technological expertise this year, up from 70 last year and 30 the year before, Palermo said.
“We got a call last Friday for a festival series in Dubai. The first event is this Saturday, and we’re doing it. There aren’ t many companies in the world that do what we do,” he said.
The Osheaga music festival (its first major contract in 2013), Just for Laughs and C2 MTL are among the local showcases for its innovative technology, but these days, about 85 per cent of its business is in the U.S.
That’s worked out well, not only because the U.S. economy is rebounding, but because of the 40-per-cent currency boost from U.S.-denominated revenue.
“We seem to be at the right place at the right time,” Palermo said.