^[1]The following SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity. More about the SMART 100 ^[2].

This innovation initially came to life when…

Our idea came about while we were waiting outside a women’s clothing store for our girlfriends and we saw the same cars circling the block looking for parking. Having been frustrated at the inability to make informed decisions when finding a parking space — and more than often walking past a better alternative on our way to our destination, we decided that it was about time someone found a better way! Digging into the parking space we realised that the rates vary dramatically and are not geographically dependent so we developed a rate comparison tool to allow for custom results.

WHAT & HOW

The purpose of this innovation is to…

Revolutionise the way that people park cars! It finds and compares car parking in urban areas, letting users easily find the best car park based on their specific destination and expected stay — taking into account their individual preferences.

It does this by…

User enters a destination and expected stay. Our website then finds the best options (showing the cheapest and closest) taking into account the rate card as well as any specials or offers that apply. The user then gets results on a map and list and can filter for facilities (e.g., car wash or valet) and choose the best parking! Easy!

PURPOSE & BENEFITS

This innovation improves on what came before because…

Parking was hit and miss. Our service has revolutionised parking and is the only one of its kind! We have a few competitors; however, their websites have very limited features which impact usability and relevance. We are also the only website that has live data (the rates change all the time) to ensure users get up to date information.

Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…

Users easily find the best parking without having to drive in traffic around the city. Find the closest spot for the lazy, or the cheapest spot for the frugal — or a mix — best car park every time!

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

In the past, this problem was solved by…

In the past, the problem wasn’t solved. Only the main car park operators have websites and it is cumbersome to try and find an appropriate car park and compare the rates. Our innovation has put every car park on the map and made it simple to compare the car parks based on rates, distance to destination, services and facilities!

Its predecessors/competitors include…

PREDECESSORS: www.wilsonparking.com.au, www.secureparking.com.au

COMPETITORS: www.parkinglook.com.au, www.parkopedia.com (don’t have live databases so the rates are incorrect)

TARGET MARKET

It is made for…

Locals, tourists, business people, diners, shoppers — all motorists! Anyone who drives and requires car parking! Our target market is broad and we are essentially targeting all motorists and are aiming to let them benefit from our service every time they look for car parking. Our coverage is expanding rapidly and our target market grows with each additional city we cover — we currently cover Australian capital cities, New Zealand capital cities and Singapore.

DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

It is available for sale through…

Via our website www.carparking.info and our iPhone carparking.info app, which is optimised for people on the go who don’t have too many clicks to give (our app’s one-touch results lets you find parking by just launching the app)!

Our marketing strategy is to…

Provide parking feeds into complementary websites to provide relevant car parking information to their userbase, we are also talking to media and motoring organisations about our offering and how it can be best utilised for the public. We also get a lot of word-of-mouth traffic (people are usually amazed at our service and tell everyone!) and of course organic Google searches.

SUPPORTING IMAGES AND/OR VIDEO

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THIS INNOVATION

While the judging is now officially over, you can still show your support for this innovation in one of the following three ways:

1. Hit the VOTE UP button: Top left of each page (Not available for IE users)
2. Trigger a Reaction: Re-Tweet, Like on Facebook, etc.
3. Leave a Comment: Share the love!

To check out the Anthill SMART 100 Readers’ Choice winner for 2010, click here ^[8].