LW Theatres puts customers centre stage using Microsoft’s Intelligent Data Platform
Highlights:
Accurate, real-time customer insights enhance audience experiences
A powerful, unified solution using Microsoft’s Data Intelligent Data platform combines AI with an intelligent data strategy to futureproof the business
The cloud-based technology environment on a trusted, secure platform aligns with company mission to delight audiences
About the organisation
LW Theatres owns and operates six of the most prestigious theatres in the world, including the iconic London Palladium and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Wholly owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber, one in three of all visits to a London musical is at an LW Theatres venue. LW Theatres is the venue of choice for some of the world’s best musicals and plays, as well as a variety of star-studded concerts, spoken word and comedy events. The portfolio also includes His Majesty’s Theatre, home of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera for 37 years in London, the Cambridge Theatre, the Gillian Lynne Theatre, and the Adelphi Theatre (co-owned with Nederlander International Limited).
The challenge
LW Theatres is continually looking for ways to innovate, experiment and improve to make every customer experience exceptional. From booking the best possible seats with high availability, through to leaving the theatre, LW Theatres aims is to ensure that each customer enjoys their theatre journey.
As an entertainment business, LW Theatres relies on its data to provide insights into audience behaviours and preferences, allowing it to create the best customer experiences. To optimise this data, the company needed to modernise its data infrastructure and enhance its analytical capabilities. Current systems were limiting its capacity to personalise interactions, predict trends and deliver engaging experiences tailored to its future audience’s needs.
By combining centralised data, AI, improved analytics and security, the business could unlock the power of its data to create increasingly transformative experiences that continue to inspire its customers.
Shaun McKay, Director of Technology at LW Theatres explains “Our goal was to develop a unified technology suite that aligns with our broader business vision, with data at its core. Embracing an intelligent data strategy to create a single source of truth, it would give us deeper insights into our customers so we can deliver experiences that truly resonate with our audience.”
Solution
Taking advantage of Microsoft’s fully funded catalyst programme, LW Theatres chose Microsoft Inner Circle member for Business Applications, Xpedition, to run a business value assessment. This provided a clear understanding of the best technology fit. A key priority was to centralise the company data and facilitate better analytics to support company objectives.
Xpedition’s Data and Insights team developed a data migration plan for LW Theatres and deployed Microsoft’s Intelligent Data Platform, a cost effective, integrated cloud platform designed to unify data management and analytics across Microsoft services. AI tools are combined to extract audience behavioural insights to improve customer processes.
Shaun continues, “We were already running the Microsoft 365 suite with Azure, so it made sense to extend it. Using Microsoft Intelligent Data Platform and Azure Synapse Analytics we can bring the power of Microsoft’s intelligent technologies and AI innovation into a modern, secure platform. We are also looking at how Microsoft Fabric can be incorporated in the future to accelerate our capabilities.”
Analytics delivers valuable customer insights
Using the powerful analytics tool Azure Synapse, LW Theatres adopts a flexible, data-driven approach to data warehousing and analytics to transform its data into actionable insights. The business can extract detailed customer behaviour information, making audience analytics a key driver for the company to achieve complete customer 360.
Priority audience data, such as where and how a customer bought a ticket, what discounts were offered on other ticketing platforms and food and beverage habits, is being used to boost the customer journey.
Shaun adds, “For LW Theatres the customer is centre stage, and interacting with them to deliver an enhanced customer experience is our priority. Building a clear picture of our customer’s journey and learning how best to interact with them helps to continually deliver the best experiences.”
Working with Xpedition
“It was very important for me to partner with like-minded people that I knew I could work with. I was really pleased with the way the Xpedition team engaged and collaborated with our teams across the board. It was a real partnership throughout the development building of the new stack and any challenges that arose were quickly dealt with and action plans put in place. The project was delivered on time and within budget, so I was delighted with that.”
Shaun McKay, Director of Technology, LW Theatres
Benefits
• Valuable customer insights
LW Theatres has a complete picture of the customer journey to highlight how best to interact with its audiences and deliver the best end-to-end experience.
• A personalised customer experience
The business offers a more personal touch by tailoring omnichannel communications specific to the individual.
• Single source of truth
The company’s data is now on one innovative cloud data platform and is updated in real-time to provide a cost efficient single source of truth.
• More efficient processes
Improved business processes through automation has reduced manual processing and increased efficiency.
• Better decision making
Accurate, more relevant information leads to more detailed reporting to stakeholders to speed up business decision making.
• Swift, simple implementation
Migrating to the cloud and connecting all data streams was straightforward with implementation taking under five months to complete.
• Experienced Microsoft Partner
Engaging with a Microsoft Business Application Inner Circle member ensured LW Theatres also maintained a closer relationship with Microsoft for continued expert support.
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