2011 AIMES Award WINNER Apollo Entertainment - Excellence in Innovation/Excellence in Technology Awards 2011
Technology, innovation & Customer Service
In just two short years, Whangaparaoa based Apollo Entertainment has established itself as a world leading supplier of recreational, mobile entertainment technology, and has been recognised with two awards at this year’s Auckland North Business Awards.
"You have to be
spot on with the
customer service,
especially in such a small industry, and you have to be innovative with the product."
Setting records for the year, Apollo was the only company to take two awards - The Spyglass Excellence in Technology Award and the 3M Excellence in Innovation Award – and only just missed out on a third, the coveted Best Start Up Business Award.
The company, founded by Chris Hart and Duncan MacMillan, specialises in the design and build of 12 Volt entertainment systems for the global marine and RV industries.
Being recognised for its technology and innovation was perhaps inevitable, as innovation and technology form the very basis of what Apollo is founded upon – it holds the patents and exclusive rights for its own unique range of products, designed and built in-house through a joint venture with its Korean supplier.
“We started this company because we wanted to offer a better product to the market, than was currently available,” says MacMillan.
Between them the pair had the technical knowledge, the contacts and the experience – over 20 years in the industry – to make it work.
“There are two real key factors that have played into the success of the company: you have to be spot on with the customer service, especially in such a small industry, and you have to be innovative with the product.”
Innovation is the key to success and to be innovating you need to be bringing something new to the game, changing it and updating it.
One example is Apollo, who were the first company to introduce LED TVs into the industry. While they’ve been around for a while, no one had ever thought to adapt LED to 12 Volt format for mobile entertainment applications.
As simple as it sounds, it was an innovation as LED is a lot more efficient than anything used previously.
“Before we came along it was a very stagnant industry, nothing new was happening,” says Hart. “They were still using technology that was seven to 11 years old, all we did was bring it up to date.”
And as a result Apollo have cornered a niche industry, which they effectively control across two markets – Australia/New Zealand and UK/Germany – with plans for further expansion throughout the rest of Europe and the Middle East.
In New Zealand, Apollo fit out the majority of rental RVs in the country with after-market entertainment systems. This includes companies like Kea, Juicy or Auckland Motorhomes, who not only have a standing fleet of vehicles to be converted, they also bring in up to 70 additional new vehicles each year, which all need to be upgraded with Apollo systems.
It is difficult to emphasis the importance of innovation in a company such as this. Running the risk of resembling a catalogue, the list of products that Apollo has either created on its own, or where it has vastly improved on an established idea, comprises the entire company product range. Even something as mundane as an aerial has been upgraded to the 21st century to work beyond the traditional analogue or FM frequencies and now incorporates all digital, radio, UHF signals in one antenna, replacing the need for multiple aerials on one vehicle.
There is also a marine division, which is on the cusp of releasing a brand new satellite unit that is set to revolutionise the way these systems have traditionally been used – for lower cost than its predecessors and competitors.
The products are innovative, the technology exciting, but returning to Hart and MacMillan’s earlier theme, customer service is the other pillar upon which the company rests. Great customer service is what makes the sales and ensures a flawless reputation and continued growth.
“We have focused on building and maintaining good relationships with our customers and distributors,” says Hart. “Nothing is too much trouble and we’ll do everything we can to ensure our customers are happy, whether that means jumping on a plane and flying to the other side of the world for three days, or problem solving through an issue on a customer’s behalf.”
“That’s what we do, we really do look after the customer service and it is the main thing we have made sure of since the start,” adds MacMillan. “When we say this is what we’re prepared to do for our prospective customers, we make it happen.”
There has also been a conscious decision to retain quality over price reductions. Apollo is a product superior to anything else in the market, and people are always willing to pay for quality. While there are cheaper options, Apollo technology, innovation and customer service have worked together to build a brand known and respected around the world as a world leader.
The numbers speak for themselves. On the day that Channel met with the pair, they had just taken an order for US$90,000 that morning from the UK, and are projecting the European market is worth about US$30 million.
That’s just one market – the Middle East for example is another promising contender for Apollo’s innovation and personalised customer service to tap into – there’s Asia, North America, and the marine applications haven’t even been fully exploited here in New Zealand yet.
Like its name sake, the future for Apollo is looking bright indeed.
