NEW smartphone technology designed to increase sales and "enhance the brand experience" has been created by a Worcester company.

Creative design and digital agency Ventutec, based in Queen Street, has launched its iBeacon technology platform after receiving funds from the Proof of Concept programme, managed by Worcestershire Business Central.

Designed to provide "contextually rich mobile solutions" iPyrids are small hardware devices, known as iBeacons, which are placed around a physical venue such as a shop, auditorium or museum. These beacons use Bluetooth low energy to transmit signals to modern smartphone devices. Businesses can make use of this technology by configuring their mobile application to listen out for these signals, and translate them into targeted location based messages which display on the users smartphone device to drive sales, increase loyalty and enhance the brand experience.

Ventutec managing director Kevin Savage explained: "We’re taking iBeacon technology one step further and developing a solution that enables superior management and reporting. Having worked with clients for a number of years, we know how valuable this information is particularly as more and more businesses are looking for digital solutions. We believe we’ve identified an opportunity to not only enhance the customer experience, but also provide greater insight and control.”

As well as designing its own hardware, Ventutec is developing a software development kit to enable app developers to integrate iBeacon technology into their own mobile application projects. This will sit alongside an easy to use content management system to provide marketers with the ability to manage their campaigns and access detailed analytics to help understand performance and customer behaviour.

Mr Savage added: “As a digital agency, it’s important for us to innovate and stay ahead of the competition. Since launching the live demo, we’ve been overwhelmed by interest from both local and national businesses, ranging from small independents to large well known brands. I’d like to thank Worcestershire Business Central, the Central Technology Belt and Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce for their support.”