Revamping a Student Discount Platform for the Digital Generation

We partnered with a youth-focused membership organisation to redesign and modernise their digital discount platform, transforming it from a legacy product into a fresh, engaging ecosystem tailored to the evolving needs of students and young professionals.

Previously known as a traditional student discount card, the offering was reimagined into a multi-faceted platform that also provides proof of age ID and lifestyle content. Our involvement spanned the entire journey from initial ideation through to design, build, and ongoing support.

Customer

The original product, though well-established in the student space, was beginning to lose relevance. It struggled with a dated mobile app and an underwhelming offers catalogue, and competitors were gaining ground with stronger digital presence and better user engagement.

In collaboration with the organisation’s in-house teams, we took a strategic decision to create a standalone platform with a new identity and improved value proposition. Key drivers included better user retention, enhanced revenue opportunities, and a modernised user experience.

Vibrant Collaboration

Award-Winning

Not-for-profit organisation

Situation

Market pressures had impacted both user numbers and revenue. Competitors were delivering a richer online experience and more attractive discount schemes, causing existing users to migrate elsewhere.

To address this, we worked together to define a long-term vision centred around three goals:

Improve ease of use for a tech-savvy audience.
Provide an experience beyond discounts, such as proof of age and lifestyle benefits.
Create a scalable platform to support future innovation.

Key features were identified to support this vision:

A completely new website.
Native apps for iOS and Android.
A back-end system to manage offers and promotions.

These needed to be underpinned by a marketing push to reintroduce the platform with a new name and refreshed appeal.

Strong Competition

Android Mobile App

iOS Mobile App

Solution

We started by reassessing the product’s strategy and identifying opportunities to meet and exceed user expectations. This involved guiding creative and marketing efforts, while also developing a digital ecosystem that would support long-term success.

Key deliverables included:

Native mobile apps to connect with users on the go.
A redesigned website for discovery, content engagement, and marketing.
A sales portal for purchasing both new and renewed discount products.
A content and discount management system to publish and curate compelling offers.
A microservices-based back-end, enabling scalability and streamlined service integration.

We adopted a robust, open-source tech stack, incorporating:

AWS cloud infrastructure.
Java microservices.
AngularJS, ReactJS, and VueJS for frontend applications.
Native Android and iOS builds.
Contentful CMS and containerised services.
DevOps pipelines with Bitbucket, Jenkins, CircleCI, and AWS DataDog.
Data analysis and optimisation tools like RedShift, Power BI, Google Analytics, and VWO.
Integration with messaging platforms including SendinBlue and OneSignal.

Throughout delivery, we retained legacy infrastructure while transitioning to the new system ensuring no disruption to ongoing operations.

A team of 30+ professionals from across engineering, design, architecture, product, and data supported the build. Using a hybrid Agile methodology, we launched the first major release in under six months, with the full transformation completed within a year.

Hybrid Agile Delivery

Flexible Digital Ecosystem

Best of Breed Technology

3rd Party integrations

Outcomes

The reimagined platform helped re-establish the product’s relevance and appeal in a highly competitive sector. Tangible outcomes include:

Over one million active users.
More than 10,000 daily active users across mobile platforms.
100,000 unique website visits per week accessing new offers.
Improved ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) through higher-value propositions and smarter targeting.
Enhanced B2B engagement, with better product offerings for brand partners.
Revenue growth reinvested into innovation, supporting continuous improvement and a stronger foothold in the student market.