Talking Tickets 9 July 2021: Short But Sweet, I'm At the Beach! Harry Potter! Viagogo! All-In Pricing! And, More!
Episode 92
Hey!
Today’s note comes to you from my hometown of Fort Lauderdale!
I don’t come back very often and haven’t over the years. But I am here this week for a few days. I am going to show the lady the sights of the City of Oakland Park! Then I’m back to Miami Beach for a few days before I start making my way back to DC at the end of next week.
Hopefully, our family hasn’t drunk all of our wine, beer, and bourbon while we’ve been away!
So off to another abbreviated edition of ‘Talking Tickets’.
Get your tickets to Ticket Summit in August. I’ve got a great panel on pricing! You won’t want to miss it!
The new DaveWakeman.com is live! Give it a look.
To the Tickets!
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1. Viagogo is under investigation for potentially breaking anti-tout laws in Australia:
Big Ideas:
Viagogo is under pressure in Australia because of a New South Wales law that caps resale to 110% of face value.
The secondary market can often reach a different audience than the primary market.
Each market deals with the secondary market in its own way.
My refrain when looking at the secondary market outside of the United States is that it is a different beast.
In looking at this story, you should see that this is a fight that Viagogo has been fighting around the world and is probably at the heart of the battle to get their merger with StubHub approved in the United Kingdom over the last year or so.
You also should pay attention to the arguments that are being used to combat the secondary market because it shows the challenges and the opportunities for both the primary and secondary market.
When I chatted to Steve Lee early in the podcast, he talked about the ability for the secondary market in the UK to source tickets, service clients, and reach different audiences.
From my experience in the secondary market, I know that a lot of times the brokers are reaching an entirely different audience.
At the same time, I don’t know that a free for all helps anyone.
Keep an eye on this and the stories about the secondary market in Asia, Europe, and South America as well.
2. Harry Potter will return to Broadway and the West End with a twist:
Big Ideas:
This is Market Orientation in action. Give your customers what they want.
This can also drive new demand because it is two different versions of the show.
In the after times, flexibility will be a big thing.
My neighbors went to see Harry Potter before the pandemic. Two shows, six hours, two nights is a huge commitment.
I’ll barely sit through a 60-minute episode of Love Island with the commercials.
This story highlights the need to adapt to your market.
In NYC, that means one show. In London and other places, the original show goes on.
One thing we are going to see a lot of going forward is adaptability. I think splitting the show into different formats is a pretty smart move and allows the show to still reach audiences, but also to reflect the demands of specific audiences.
In NYC, theatre space is tight. It is also expensive for people to come and stay in NYC. And, what happens if you can’t get tickets to both halves of the show for some reason?
Also, production costs.
Also, attention.
Just on and on.
This is a really great example of market orientation in action. Putting yourself in the shoes of your market and figuring out what they value and providing it to them.
If I was also betting, I’d say that the two different presentations probably feed into the desire for more Harry Potter content because if you are in London and you see both shows, a huge fan might go see the one show version in NYC.
I think this is very smart.
3. All-in Pricing on the Secondary Market:
Big Ideas:
All-in pricing needs to be everyone or no one or it will confuse customers.
The FTC is likely going to come back to tickets at some point.
Making things confusing for customers is a bad idea.
I was at the FTC hearing, it was entertaining.
For years, we’ve been hearing the siren call that fans “demand” more transparency. I don’t know if that is true or not, but tickets are always an easy target for people that don’t get a ticket, legislators, and consumer advocates because the system can be confusing, the way decisions are made can be opaque, and the targets are almost always easy marks.
The case for all-in pricing isn’t as straightforward as people would like to make it.
In a lot of situations, we don’t have all-in pricing on a lot of things.
You go to buy a car, you don’t always know the final price with tax, tag, and title when you walk in.
If you go to the store, there is often a tax on your bottle of soda or your slice of pizza.
On and on.
But the big thing here is that you want to make the purchase process easier for customers because you don’t want to turn people off. And, as I’ve mentioned before, when things get too confusing or there are too many choices, people say no.
Without the FTC stepping in, I don’t know that we will ever see all-in pricing. But we are also dealing with an FTC and regulators that are facing a new environment, one where antitrust legislation is back on the table and the definition of what defines consumer harm might be different.
We will have to keep an eye out on this. And, all-in pricing is likely to be a topic that I bring up during my panel at Ticket Summit!
You’ll have to be there to find out what we say on this.
4. The Columbus Crew uses technology to sell tickets…whoa!
Big Ideas:
Using long-term brand building, combined with short-term activation can grow your business.
Technology should give you more flexibility in the sales process.
Marketing begins by recognizing that you don’t decide on value, your customers do.
I chatted with LifeBlue’s former CEO, Nicki Purcell, back early in the pandemic because they had been having some really good success helping their partners sell more tickets online with creative packages and choose their own packages.
This case study builds off that initial conversation as LifeBlue worked with the Columbus Crew to sell tickets to their new building.
I’ve been a bit of a nag for a while about the need to modernize ticket sales practices, change the nature of sales, and focus on marketing.
This is a pretty good example of combining the long-term brand building stuff and using it to create short-term activation.
What I really like in what LifeBlue does is that the allows the team to offer flexible terms to their customers. At the same time, the customer can mix and match their package.
Combined, winning.
Enabling your fans to buy more easily and customize their purchases leads to more purchases, more revenue, and a better understanding of your market.
Take a look at the options that LifeBlue has presented their partners and think of the ways that you can use technology to create more sales.
5. BTS sells 1.33 million tickets to a streaming show:
Big Ideas:
Streaming is a viable business option.
You don’t define value, your customers do.
Creativity going forward will allow artists to grow their businesses.
At the end of last year, I did a pod with Sean Kelly from Vatic and he talked about an arts organization that was able to almost get the same price for streaming events that they did for in-person events.
Sean’s takeaway, you don’t define value…your customer does.
This is also the case for Market Orientation, meaning you have to figure out what your customers value and give it to them.
In this case, BTS realized that their customers liked a lot of options to see the group perform and they were willing to pay for the stream and the merchandise.
$71M in tickets and merchandise sales is a big nod to the power of developing a fan base, understanding them, and giving them what they want.
Going forward, I can think of a lot of bands and artists that could build on this idea that BTS has just unfurled. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility to see artists like Taylor Swift, The Dead, Pearl Jam, and more do something similar.
I mean I just spent $50 on some Funko Pop dolls of a band!
The key is that you have to step back and let your audience point you towards what they value. Simple as that.
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