MTR delivers rail riders an enhanced omnichannel experience

To do this, MTR needed to unite two separate reward programs into one.

The previous MTR Club program focused on transit customers, and MTR Malls had its own membership programs. By joining these into one new MTR Points program, loyalty members would have a single profile across experiences.

Using Microsoft Azure technology, the updated MTR mobile app intelligently guides customers to their destinations while also providing rewards and promotions based on their activity and personal preferences. MTR chose Contentstack as the content management solution (CMS) for this unified experience. Ease of integration between the headless CMS and existing MTR channels was a key deciding factor. Contentstack, deployed on Microsoft Azure, allows customers to experience comprehensive, multilayered security, including the largest compliance coverage of any cloud provider.

Ready to scale

The MTR app has been downloaded by millions of users and is used daily by many people across Hong Kong. The solutions that support it need to be able to scale to handle frequent changes in customer behavior. Contentstack provides the in-app content that mobile users rely on. In certain periods, such as when train services or loyalty promotions are announced, the number of visitors viewing content can quickly double. As a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution, Contentstack can quickly scale resources to meet the demand.

Omnichannel content

Previously, MTR used individual CMSes (bespoke and enterprise suites) for individual channels. With headless content delivery from Contentstack, MTR is now able to quickly modify the structure of content and publish the same content in different channels and formats.

MTR now considers headless CMSes as the standard for public-facing channels, and is currently using Contentstack to fulfill the mobile app, the website, and even to deliver content to certain station kiosks and digital panels in the shopping malls.

From transit app to lifestyle platform

The whole direction of the project is to transform MTR mobile from a transportation app to a lifestyle app. One of the key factors is offering more variety of content via the app, such as news around MTR stations, updates on the railway network and malls, and relevant lifestyle articles. User interaction with this content helps MTR deliver more useful information to customers, such as relevant train services and lifestyle content.