The client
Synergy (synergy.au) is Western Australia’s largest integrated electricity generator and energy retailer, with a strong commitment to creating a greener energy future. The company delivers safe, reliable, and low-emission power to over a million households and businesses across the state.
Synergy is supported by RAPP (rapp.com), a creative marketing agency specialising in delivering personalised, impactful customer experiences.
The campaign
The Synergy Christmas Lights Trail is an annual event that brings communities together to celebrate Christmas. The event is designed to encourage families to explore their neighbourhoods through the use of a custom app, developed by RAPP, giving users the opportunity to navigate an interactive map and discover fun, festive displays outside participating homes in Perth.
The campaign has a charitable element, donating $1 to Ruah Community Services for each house checked in on the app, raising over $8,500. Synergy also contributed $50,000 to Ruah for various initiatives, including $10,000 for energy efficiency upgrades to their crisis services for women and children.
The 2023 edition was the largest yet, with 527 houses involved. 2024 is expected to be even more popular, with even more local homes participating in the festive trail.
The challenge
As the Christmas Lights Trail became more and more popular, Synergy faced the challenge of scaling its app infrastructure to accommodate thousands of users during peak times. The app needed to handle large traffic spikes without any performance issues, ensuring a smooth experience for families navigating the map and checking into homes.
RAPP (formerly Tribal AU), Synergy’s trusted agency partner, needed to find a technical solution that could scale dynamically, allowing the app to remain performant during periods of heavy usage. Given the visibility of the campaign and its importance to Synergy’s brand, it was crucial that the app’s infrastructure was flawless.
The solution
RAPP turned to Just After Midnight (JAM), a technology partner specialising in cloud-based solutions, to provide the scalable infrastructure needed for the Synergy app.
For this project, we designed and implemented a serverless hosting solution to support both User Acceptance Testing (UAT) and production environments. This approach enabled the app to automatically scale based on real-time demand, ensuring a smooth, uninterrupted experience even when traffic surged.
The serverless architecture allowed Synergy to focus on user engagement, without needing to manage servers or worry about performance degradation during high-traffic periods. Our solution handled the traffic fluctuations, automatically providing the computing power needed during peak times, especially in the evenings when families were most likely to use the app to find their next stop on the Christmas lights trail.
We also teamed up with RAPP and Synergy to develop a detailed runbook ahead of the campaign launch. It outlined clear, step-by-step processes to follow during any incident and defined clear escalation paths, ensuring all teams involved knew exactly who to contact and what actions to take based on the situation.
Results
- 99.99% uptime
- Over 8,500 user check-ins across Perth
- Serverless infrastructure supported high traffic spikes without performance issues
- Seamless user experience during peak times
- Successful campaign set to return in 2024 with support from RAPP and Just After Midnight
Conclusion
Thanks to JAM’s support, the Christmas Lights Trail campaign went off without a hitch. By leveraging our expertise in providing scalable and reliable serverless solutions, Synergy was able to offer an app that met the demands of thousands of users, ensuring a smooth, uninterrupted experience throughout the campaign.
With the infrastructure in place, Synergy delivered a seamless experience to families across Perth as well as contributing to a great cause, raising funds for individuals in need and strengthening community ties across Western Australia.
How we can support your next high-profile campaign
For agencies like RAPP working with clients on high-traffic digital campaigns, JAM offers the cloud infrastructure support needed to maintain a smooth user experience. Whether it’s a seasonal campaign, product launch, or any event with fluctuating demand, our scalable solutions help maintain reliable performance, even during traffic spikes. This way, you can focus on delivering results for your clients, without worrying about the technical challenges behind the scenes.
Explore our work with GREY New York on a major Superbowl campaign here or with Rehab Agency supporting the 75th anniversary celebration of the National Basketball Association (NBA) here.
