We’re excited to offer VenueConnect attendees a great session of top ticketing thinkers and leaders discussing trends, challenges, and opportunities affecting venues in the near future. The panelists include Jacquelyn Holowaty, vice president of ticketing for Spectra Venue Management; Joe Kustelski, CEO of Etix; Blaine LeGere, senior vice president of AXS Digital and Ticketing; and Marla Ostroff, executive vice president of strategic accounts and the arts segment for Ticketmaster.
In anticipation of the discussion, we asked some of the panelists for a preview of their session topic.
What specific development in ticketing could be a game-changer (for good) in the coming years?
Holowaty: Ticketing in recent years has become so much of an extension of the marketing department, and I think that is really only going to improve the way we continue to do business. With all the new technology that ticketing systems are providing, and all the social fan engagement that comes with ticketing, marketers need to be more box office minded, and box offices need to be more marketing minded. When you find that perfect combination, the possibilities are endless in what types of results venues like that can produce. In ticketing, our job is not just to provide the platform in which the ticket sells, but to know the numbers better than anyone. Know the daily trends, know when re-pricing makes sense, and know how to scale your venue for maximum revenue potential. One of my favorite quotes was from a panel about a year ago with Live Nation:
“You can be smart if you want to pay attention. Does your building have a box office manager who pays attention? I have 100 shows; you have three. Tell me how I’m doing on your three shows” [Brad Wavra, senior vice president, North America Touring, Live Nation]
“The strongest point in your building is your box office manager. There’s a guy at Madison Square Garden who really understands what he does. Even in smaller markets, the people who pay attention get our attention.” [Gerry Barad, COO, Global Touring, Live Nation]
The box office manager who understands and interprets the numbers “will make all of you GMs look so much better,” [Wavra].
Ticketmaster: The most transformative change has already occurred: integrating primary and secondary inventory inside a marketplace—basically giving fans all their options in one place. This price and inventory transparency is great for both fans and industry stakeholders.
For one, it’s more convenient and less risky for ticket buyers. In authorized marketplaces like Ticketmaster Resale (formerly known as TM+), fans also receive verified tickets, ensuring they get into venues to see the shows, artists and teams they love. In turn, industry stakeholders achieve true market value of their tickets, gain buyer data, and maintain the integrity of their brand. It’s a win-win.
The next big development in ticketing is the influence of digital in the fan’s live event journey; how they discover events, how they experience events and how they manage their events. Mobile alone enables some truly revolutionary possibilities.
Kustelski: 1) Delivery and tracking of mobile tickets is creating a direct connection between venues and fans; 2) Mobile payment options; 3)Web-based mobile push notifications will empower marketers with the ability to target fans at specific times and locations to sell more tickets, all without the need of a native app; 4) The aggregation of cross-platform data sets will help venues better understand customer behavior and target ticket purchasers to drive conversion rates, and better sell sponsorships; 5) Wearable technologies that enhance the event experience.
Which new data, new features, or new possibilities is the ticketing industry experiencing now that wasn’t possible in the recent past?
Holowaty: We are in a world now where there is a great opportunity to engage fans better than we ever have before. With technology, consumer, and demographic data, we can communicate with fans before, during, and after the event and create a relationship with them to keep them coming back. The event has become so much more than just one night, and with this new trend of fan interaction, we are now working with the idea of the “ARC of the event,” where we create an amazing experience with our customers even before they purchase the ticket. With new ideas and technology behind marketing automation push notifications, iBeacons, mobile technologies, loyalty programs, and a better customer interface with ticketing software, fans will feel more involved and understood than they ever have in the past. We can send an email to the fan the moment they walk in the door thanking them for coming, and based on their demographic profile, let them know the areas of the venue, or event, they may be the most interested in, and when they walk by those areas, send them a push notification to let them know.
Ticketmaster: To keep bringing fans into venues, our industry must focus on four big digital trends: 1) mobile and multi-screen behavior; 2) hyper-local content and media; 3) digital ticketing; and 4) fine tuning with big data.
Digital has opened up so many new ways for venues and promoters to engage fans, such as enhancing the in-venue experience, to identifying and reaching otherwise anonymous fans. These are just a few examples leading to more event revenue.
Some specific Ticketmaster digital innovations that are driving ticket sales and fan engagement are 1) the ability to for fans to seamlessly buy, manage, sell and transfer a ticket in mobile apps or on the mobile web (as well as via an improved desktop experience); 2) the power to truly predict which show a fan wants to see based on not just prior purchase behavior, but using big data’s predictive models, and then 3) the capabilities to smartly deliver that event content throughout various, personalized marketing channels.
Kustelski: 1) Google’s continued attention to the event marketplace makes it possible to present ticket purchase information directly in search results, saving fans clicks and improving conversions; 2) Continued NFC, RFID, and Bluetooth development is redefining access control and ticket-holder identification. 3) In-venue marketing and interactions drive fan engagement and data collection (and sponsorship $$’s) through dynamic promotions; 4) Better tools for re-marketing and re-targeting online and mobile ticket shoppers.
For the full conversation and to talk further with our ticketing panel, join us at “Ticket Tomorrowland: What’s New, Next, and Needed,” on Sunday, August 2, 9:30-10:20 a.m., at VenueConnect 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland.
