Today we’d like to introduce you to Ryan McClain.
Hi Ryan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hi, I’m Ryan McClain, Head of Community Engagement in the US at Hello Lamp Post, the interactive platform that helps people to meaningfully interact with their built environment, learn about its stories, and be part of its future. I believe in the power of tech for good and the benefits it has on our society. With over 8+ years of experience consulting with federal, state and local governments, I’ve focused my career on transforming the citizen experience to better connect and engage people with their governments. I started my journey at Hello Lamp Post back in 2021, where I left my role at GovDelivery to join a startup. I jumped in the deep end and opened up our North American office – we’re now one of the fastest growing teams in the company!
Now, let me tell you a little more about Hello Lamp Post…
Hello Lamp Post is the first organization to build a uniquely-engaging communication channel for any public space. Our digital platform makes engagement easier, quicker and more cost-efficient.
Wind back nearly 10 years and the wheels of Hello Lamp Post were in motion – but not the Hello Lamp Post you might know today. Our business actually evolved from a one off digital art installation in Bristol (UK) in the summer of 2013, after Hello Lamp Post won the award for Watershed’s Playable City. The initiative looked to utilize the city’s pre-existing infrastructure and repurpose it to enable playful digital interactions with the community – an idea born out of our observations and frustrations. After Hello Lamp Post received an overwhelming response from the public, we knew we had to do more – we could really make a difference by giving power back to the people. I guess you could say this was our ‘lightbulb’ moment – we saw an opportunity to scale our businesses and potentially have a positive impact on society.
Over the past few years, Hello Lamp Post has been on an exciting journey to make places and spaces interactive – and I’m proud to say that since its inception in 2018, Hello Lamp Post has served more than 300,000 people, we’ve launched in over 60 locations, across 15 countries and 4 continents. This includes: Sydney, Singapore, Tokyo, Roseville Scottsdale, Hyattsville, Texas, Iowa City, Davenport, Rapid City, San Francisco, Vancouver, London and Belfast, supporting sectors from Local and Central Government, Universities, Emergency & Healthcare Services, Visitor Experience & Tourism, Retail & Property Development, Urban Planning and the Private Sector.
… Stay tuned to hear more about our new project launches in the US in 2023.
So, what’s the problem our Cities are facing?
Today, people expect responsive, user led services, but engagement can be costly and time consuming. Organizations are struggling to share information about their local area and services, whilst gathering real-time feedback from their widespread communities – often relying on costly research projects, hiring expensive consultants, town hall meetings, marketing campaigns and awareness events.
So, how is Hello Lamp Post helping organizations to overcome these challenges?
Hello Lamp Post offers a two-way communication platform that can reach any member of an organization’s community, using QR codes and their cell phone. By automating your services, we can help turn community spaces into a new communication channel that will result in better places for people and more efficient service delivery for constituents/stakeholders.
The big question is:
Why should people be restricted to information that’s only provided on a planning notice, a bronze plaque next to a statue or an information board in a parking lot?
The answer is, they shouldn’t!
By inviting citizens to interact with the things that they use every day and the things that make up the world around them (for example: lamp posts, parking meters, bus stops, statues, infrastructure and shop fronts), we are encouraging the general public to better understand an area or space and give real-time feedback. Through text-based conversations simply using their cell phones we are empowering communities to influence the future development of their local area, in the vision of those who use the area most.
So, what’s next for Hello Lamp Post? We have plans to scale our business and make every corner of the world interactive. Subsequently, we want to improve the democracy of our societies, so that we can make a real difference to those who create/ govern our public spaces and those who use our local areas and services the most.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When we first started out, we were bootstrapped by design – we have no regrets about this because it shaped who we are now. However, in the beginning, we did have limited resources and capacity. So, why did we keep going for so long? We knew the opportunity was there if we could scale capacity.
Although we’ve had some lows, they’ve come with the greatest highs. From raising venture capital, being recognised by the likes of Facebook, Microsoft and Telefonica as one of the most exciting techs for good start ups – all the way to being live in three different continents in 60 different locations. The one thing that does stand out to me most is our team! Not only have we scaled from four to 17 in the space of a year, but we’ve built such a brilliant culture that makes me excited to be at work every day. I’m so proud to be part of a team that is both driven by our people and towards our collective opportunity and societal impact.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Hello Lamp Post?
Hello Lamp Post has the ability to support anyone, anywhere, any time.
Here are some examples of our work:
Fighting climate change and supporting Net Zero efforts:
– We’ve been supporting the Environment Agency (UK) with their campaigns to raise flood awareness. Since launching, we’ve been able to reduce engagement costs per capita by 92% which is 12× better value and reduce their carbon footprint by 4.93 tonnes and rising.
– Universities and their sustainability policies – we’ve been supporting the University of British Columbia for several years, with projects around recycling, air quality and transportation. So far, we’ve been able to save staff time by approximately 463 working days and reduced the cost of gathering feedback by approx $86,812.
Tackling Economic Inequality:
– Hello Lamp Post can support Cities with driving footfall to local areas, increasing dwell times and promoting local businesses. This includes our multi-language engagement with the City of Hyattsville and a project much closer to home in the City of Roseville, where we’re asking the community to have their say so they can help shape the future of the City.
– We can also help organizations with raising awareness of local events and offers to help increase consumer spending. Our work at Quayside Shopping Centre has already saved staff 274 days of time spent on responding to frequently asked questions – based on an average conversation lasting 8 minutes.
Waste Management:
– Hello Lamp Post is helping urban environments apply solutions to a range of issues including helping citizens to report incidents of illegal waste dumping in a London Borough.
– We’re also just about to go live in the City of Scottsdale, helping the City to share location relevant information with residents around when they’re trash and recycling will be collected, alongside allowing citizens to ask questions to our talking cans about what items can/ can’t be recycled.
Mental Health & Awareness:
Hello Lamp Post continues to support public sector organizations with community safety. This includes:
– Mental health and suicide awareness with a Scottish authority. Since launching, 60% of users have identified themselves as “at risk” and have been given access to appropriate resources and support services through the use of our platform.
– South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue who have identified 150+ at-risk households through our platform, who have therefore received a visit from a Home Safety Officer, saving the service 371 days of staff time spent responding to common queries.
No matter the use case or sector, Hello Lamp Post can achieve the following for our clients:
– Reduce operating and staff costs
– Inclusive way to gather diverse community insights and sentiment
– Automate customer services
– Change behaviors
– Real-time access to valuable data
… I’m sure you can imagine somewhere that would benefit from Hello Lamp Post… We’re always interested to hear your ideas, so please get in touch to share more with us.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I’ve always tried to shadow top performers in the companies that I’ve worked at – I guess you could say I’m like a sponge around them. I’m always one to ask questions and seek answers. From here, a natural mentorship evolves. One particular example comes to mind, and I’d like to give a shout-out to Dave Worsell – Hello Lamp Post’s Head of Commercial. Dave was my mentor back when I was working at GovDelivery and in 2021 he got in touch about an exciting opportunity to work at an innovative start-up company… Hello Lamp Post. Dave always empowered and encouraged my professional growth, so without hesitation, I took the leap to join Hello Lamp Post – and I’ve never regretted it!
So, the best advice I can give when it comes to finding a mentor is:
- Look for someone who can help you identify and achieve your career goals.
- Seek out someone who’ll champion your work.
- A good listener is key.
- Find someone who is an expert in their field – and the field you’re looking to grow in.
When it comes to networking, Hello Lamp Post has always found speaking at events the most valuable – our product is so unique, it always piques people’s interest! Take the San Antonio Smart City Summit which was hosted back in April 2022, where I was invited to speak as a panelist in a webinar on ‘The Changing Nature of Community Engagement’. This opened many doors for us – I was able to meet new people and loved hearing the feedback that people were excited and inspired by the work we’re doing.
Don’t forget, there’s a lot of value in brand awareness and thought leadership… you never know what conversations you might have as a result of it!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hlp.city/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hellolamppost_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellolamppost
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelloLampPost_
- Youtube: @hellolamppost8104
