Brom.ly Taps Into Events Market

Rob Millis, CEO of Dynamo Player, highlights the latest tech talent from New York Tech Meetup:

The monthly New York Tech Meetup has become known by many as the best place in NYC to scout new tech talent and get a peek into the future of technology. Among an especially strong lineup of tech demos at this month’s event, one startup stood out as a particularly powerful opportunity for marketing: Brom.ly.

The creators of Brom.ly demonstrated what they call a “personal concierge” service. Like many startup products, the system taps into your social network to recommend things you’ll like. What makes Brom.ly unique is the immediate value that comes from its focus on nearby events.

By accessing your Facebook account when you sign up, Brom.ly begins delivering suggestions for things to do as soon as you log in. Based on your location, “likes” and Facebook groups, upcoming events in your area are matched with your profile and appear in a simple interface that lets you casually sift through them.

Tapping into Meetup, Seatgeek and other events management systems, Brom.ly delivers a wide range of events of every possible type. Whether you are interested in wine tastings or $1 beers, punk concerts or cello recitals, you can immediately find events nearby that cater to your tastes.

In the default view, events are displayed one at a time, with current events appearing first. This makes both the site and mobile app immediately useful when you are looking for something to do right now. If you are out for the night and wondering where to go next, you’ve got a list of events that match your interests right in your pocket with the Brom.ly mobile app.

One of the most useful features on the site is a map view that marks events in your area using Google Maps. Unfortunately the interactive map would be most useful for the mobile app, but doesn’t seem to be included in the current version. When testing the app, I could select events in New York City, but it would not get any more specific than that. Zooming in on a map for events within walking distance would have made a big difference.

Since Facebook profiles and likes don’t always reflect our true intentions when it comes to the real world, it’s nice to know you can tweak the recommendation engine behind Brom.ly. Every suggested event has a thumb up/down option, and you quickly begin to tailor recommendations to your true interests.

Beyond the obvious promotion of events that match the user’s tastes, Brom.ly could also be a very effective platform for coupons and daily deals to reach ready consumers. With the map integration, Google’s location-based deals program could easily reach targeted consumers (ironically using Facebook’s data for targeting) who are actively seeking out events while accessing the mapping API. Adding interactive coupons related to specific events could introduce a new field of competition between venues.

Well designed, intuitive and relatively reliable in terms of results, Brom.ly has carved out a niche with a lot of potential.