New Bounce Life platform boosts campus event management for clubs

The MSU makes Bounce Life its centralized management platform for campus events and club activities

The McMaster Students Union has teamed up with Bounce Life to streamline event management and boost student engagement on campus. Announced on Instagram on July 29, Bounce will be the official community and events platform for the MSU and its affiliated organizations and student clubs.

The platform will serve as centralized hub, simplifying event planning for campus services and student clubs.

In an interview with The Silhouette, MSU president Jovan Popovic detailed the platform's benefits and its prospective impact on students.

“It’s about transparency … showing people everything that’s going on, connecting people, showing you which of your friends are going to certain events. There’s a lot of nifty features where I think people can see the best of what’s happening on campus … and connect them better than any other platform that we currently have,” Popovic said. 

Bounce, accessible via a mobile app, offers robust event management tools and features to make make event organizing streamlined and to increase engagement. Most important to the MSU, its services and student clubs is that users can host and manage event listings, track attendance, communicate with participants, and offer real-time updates during events.

One key feature is that it handles ticketing and paid events. Before, student clubs would have to choose their own service, such as Eventbrite, to sell tickets and collect fares.

Other notable features include an invite back option for re-inviting previous attendees and free SMS blasts for event-day communication.

Popovic explained that other universities, including the University of British Columbia and Western University, have already chosen Bounce as their event management system for student organizations.

"It’s a relatively newer product, but it’s being rapidly adopted. UBC and Western have integrated it, and many larger student unions across the country are taking a serious look at it. We all share the same vision of unity, connection, and belonging,” said Popovic.

The rollout of Bounce is ongoing and the first MSU events of the school year are now listed on the platform. Tickets for the upcoming homecoming concert with Loud Luxury and Lil Tecca became available on Bounce on August 30.

Popovic mentioned that him and his team promoted the app during welcome week, offering incentives such as free items to encourage sign-ups. “Now it’s about seeing how students experience it and letting them use it. We’re at the stage where we can start communicating with them through the app and posting our events,” said Popovic.

Popovic noted that with the usage of Bounce, he hopes to see more event attendance and engagement. "We've seen a significant boost in the number and quality of events on campus and I think a lot of that will be reflected on Bounce. Bounce will help us raise awareness. Once students attend our events, it's easier to keep them coming back," he said.

Students can access Bounce by downloading the app and signing up with their university email. For updates on campus events, follow the MSU and @bouncelifemac on Instagram.