Innovation in Tickets: More than Technology!
182: 7 April 2023
Hey!
Back from holiday. I need another one after the last one.
Today is National Beer Day, celebrating FDR making beer legal again in the United States in 1933.
So…I’ll accept all of your well wishes on this special day for me and all Americans!
Also, I’ll be in Baltimore tonight to see BRUUUUUUCCCCEEEE!
I’m doing a FREE webinar called “Filling Your Seats NOW! 7 Ways to Ignite Ticket Sales!” on Thursday, 20 April 2023 at 11 AM Eastern. The session will be recorded and shared with attendees.
If you dig the newsletter, please share it. It helps me continue to offer insights and grow the community:
To the Tickets!
I. “Want to see 311 on a cruise?” It’s big business:
Love new ways of creating value for folks.
One thing: Back in the early 2000s when I was working with folks like AmEx, YellowTail, and Coca-Cola, creating unique events was at the heart of what made me successful.
One idea that never caught hold was bringing bands to small settings like campgrounds/resorts/etc to have an immersive experience.
What does this mean? I’m jealous of the success of these cruises because it’s only one step from the original idea.
Why does this matter? A few reasons, actually:
Experiences sell. People want a rare, unique experience.
Share of wallet. These cruises show how many different ways you can capture value and create it at the same time.
Innovation. Innovation is about mixing three things: creativity, insight, and courage. Most organizations are struggling because they aren’t acting or being creative.
Use this stuff?
Expand your experience in a new way. Value isn’t always about the location or the physical presence of a typical experience. What can you do to mix it up?
Think about all the ways that you can offer value during an experience? These cruises show that you aren’t limited.
Make an innovation cocktail. Mix insights, creativity, and action together to do something new.
Speaking of new: Can’t wait to see The Atlantis in DC.
I definitely want to see Jeff Tweedy and Foo Fighters, but the IMG team is so consistently great.
I’ll be visiting their venues a few times this summer already including to see:
LCD Soundsystem
The National
And, I think Dave Matthews…(my wife loves them. So…if she wants to go, we go.)
II. Ruth Hartt asks what the arts can learn from the renaissance of golf?
I’m looking at innovation, not problem solving.
Why Have I Shared This?
One thing I’ve been focusing on is getting y’all to move past doing things “the way we’ve always done them.”
One way you can achieve that is to move your lens from your “vertical” to the world at large.
Ruth’s point is to look at the example of golf versus the arts.
I’ll go a step further with some prompts for thinking:
What lesson can you learn from Netflix’s expansion to an ad supported model for subscriptions?
Tesla has been changing their prices frequently. This week I saw a report that said Tesla’s now hold their resale prices less than other cars due to the rapid changing of their prices. What can you learn here and what does it teach you about your marketing and sales?
What can you learn and use from the rise of sneaker culture? Especially since this week the movie on the creation of the Michael Jordan/Nike partnership hits theaters?
III. INTIX posts a list of 19 trends for 2023:
This is from before this year’s conference in Seattle, but check it out.
Why You Should Pay Attention? Experts make predictions. Not all of these things are going to come true, but that is true of everything.
My question to you is which trend or prediction are you going to make about this year?
What are you seeing?
I’ve been doing some bullet points lately and I share this stuff all the time. But I’d be curious to hear from you.
IV. Women’s NCAA Championship Draws Record Crowd & Record Viewers:
Damn! I’m right again!
The Big Thing: Your assumptions are wrong. Listen to the market.
I’ve shown you examples of the AFLW, the popularity of the US Women’s National Soccer team, and research around the potential of the WNBA for years.
I didn’t show you all of this to be contrary, even though that is what people would often seem to take from the exercise.
I showed you these examples to prove the point: LISTEN TO THE CUSTOMER!
Your Job: Ask yourself what opportunities your organization is missing due to assumptions.
Here are some jumping off points:
Do you know your numbers? Like what percentage of the big businesses in your market already have packages? Is there an untapped market of entrepreneurs? Small businesses? Students?
“Light Buyers” or “non-buyers”. You may have different names, but the data is pretty clear that there is more opportunity in getting someone from zero to one event than from a fifth event to a sixth event. Are you paying attention to that untapped opportunity?
Where is your awareness at? Too many folks take their attention and awareness numbers for granted. In my research, awareness has consistently been the biggest obstacle to marketing and sales success. You assume that everyone knows your schedule and your events as well as you do…you are wrong!
V. Links:
Wrexham comes to America to play Man United:
I watched the first season of Welcome to Wrexham during my holiday and it was a good show.
One thing I’ve appreciated about the rise of Wrexham is that it has shed a lot of light on the story of football and its place in the community of cities all over Europe.
P.S. Ryan and Rob lost £3M this year.
Arsenal cancel 2,000 memberships for “touting” violations:
Arsenal has been very serious about limiting resale activity this year as they have had an unexpectedly successful season.
Warrington Wolves set a Super League attendance record:
Congratulations to all my friends at Warrington Wolves!
Also, listen to Wolves’ CEO, Karl Fitzgerald talk about having fans “fall back in love with the club”.
Donate some soccer balls…if you can.
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