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“We wanted to raise the bar with a bigger, better, more immersive fan experience that creates stories and moments worth travelling for, talking about, and revisiting.”
Jordanne Grey, Head of Brand and Marketing at HKCR
About Hong Kong China Rugby
Hong Kong China Rugby (HKCR) is the governing body for rugby in Hong Kong and a member of World Rugby and the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong China. Over the past 70 years, HKCR has built a reputation for innovation, excellence, and community engagement. In 2026, HKCR hosted the 50th Anniversary of the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens – a world-class, weekend tournament and one of Asia's most popular annual sporting events.
About Tixserve
Tixserve is a digital ticketing platform trusted by leading sports and live event organizations. Tixserve provides digital ticket fulfilment and data acquisition solutions that enable clients to own and engage with their audience, capture verified first-party data, and unlock new commercial revenue streams.
The Challenge
A historic milestone event with massive attendance, but struggling with siloed engagement and ticketing systems that fragment the fan journey
For the 50th Anniversary of the annual Hong Kong Sevens tournament, HKCR wanted to create a more connected fan experience across ticketing, engagement, and fan data.
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Some problems they wanted to address:
- Ticketing and fan engagement existed in separate systems
- Fan data was fragmented across platforms
- They were lacking a unified view of fan participation and engagement
- Fans were repeatedly asked to enter the same information
The goal: Create a seamless, mobile-first experience that connected authenticated ticket holders directly to fan engagement experiences in-app.
The Solution
Bringing in Tradable Bits and Tixserve to bridge the gap between fan engagement and ticket fulfilment, centralizing fan data in real time
With over 60% of ticketholders spending 7+ hours in the stadium and village per day, HKCR wanted to elevate the match-day experience and create an in-app digital HQ where fans could find schedules, scores, activations, and other key details in one place.
1. Centralized engagement with Tradable Bits
Fans could access Tradable Bits engagement campaigns within the HKCR Ticketing App, connecting fan data straight to their FanCRM database. Through Tradable Bits' Token Pass technology, fan information was automatically filled in, eliminating the need for repetitive data entry and reducing barriers to participation.
Campaign spotlight: #HK7sForever
To celebrate 50 years, HKCR launched the #HK7sForever campaign, inviting fans to share their favourite Hong Kong Sevens memories through an upload campaign to be shown on a digital photo wall on their website and on big screens throughout the event.
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Hundreds of fans submitted stories, photos, and videos from the last five decades – creative costumes, legendary moments, love stories, childhood rugby firsts, and heart-warming anecdotes – showing just how much the event means to people.
To incentivize participation, several winners were given an ultimate Sevens experience, including complimentary tickets, a heritage jersey, ambassador meet-and-greets, and exclusive behind-the-scenes tours.
“The integration created a seamless path from smart-stadium screens to the mobile event app, turning passionate spectators into engaged fans. As a result, we have scaled and centralised fan data and partner activity with measurable and memorable campaigns that are easy for our team to support and customise.”
Matt Rosslee, Head of Digital at HKCR
2. Seamless ticketing with Tixserve
Within the app, Tixserve powered the ticketing experience, enabling secure delivery and authenticated fan identity.
This meant:
- Tixserve’s track-and-trace solution followed the ticket journey from the point of purchase through to stadium entry
- Every ticketholder entered the stadium with the HKCR Ticketing app and was known to HKCR
- The event app featured a match center, partner activity, and communication via app content and push notifications
“A digital ticket can achieve far more than grant entry. It can be the beginning of a lasting fan relationship. By combining secure digital ticket fulfilment with fan engagement and first-party fan data, we're helping sports organisations create more personalised supporter experiences while unlocking long-term commercial value.”
James Kirby, Co-Founder and Head of Operations at Tixserve
Together, the three organizations integrated secure digital ticketing, authenticated fan identity, and in-app fan engagement into a connected fan experience, enabling ticket holders to move seamlessly from ticket access to fan activations without requiring additional logins or repetitive registration forms.
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The Results
| 180% | 50% | 35% | Record-Breaking |
| Increase in campaign participation compared to previous Hong Kong Sevens events | Reduction in average campaign completion time through pre-filled data entry | Year-on-year increase in web sessions |
Ticket proceeds with the biggest Saturday attendance in tournament history |
Across a single weekend, HKCR successfully transformed tens of thousands of ticket holders into an enriched database of engaged fans. By creating a centralized digital HQ natively connected to their ticketing system, they eliminated friction, resulting in increased campaign participation and entry efficiency.
With ticketing and engagement data now unified into a centralized FanCRM environment, HKCR can create new opportunities for sponsorship activation, audience development, and long-term fan engagement for years to come.
Frequently Asked Questions