musicbiz

Fan Engagement, Resources, Sports Business, Sports Marketing

New Ticketing Developments Transforming the Fan Experience

Each week there seems to be a new development in the ticketing space with teams/artists, venues and fans now having access to a wide variety of new technologies which are improving the fan experience.

Having just finished some consulting work for a client in the NFL who wanted to know what were some of the next big and exciting things happening around ticketing I thought I’d provide a quick summary of that research here with a brief post looking at the new advancements in ticketing that fans could see soon at major events.

Summary of advancements in the ticketing space across the course of 2016-17:

1. Concourse Standing Only Passes

2. Face Value Re-Seller Sites

3. Charging for paper tickets

4. Loaded Tickets

5. Virtual Reality VR Ticketing

6. Mobile Only Ticketing

7. Ticketing and ChatBot Artificial Intelligence

8. CLEAR Biometric Ticketing

9. Microchip Tickets

10. Augmented Reality AR Ticketing

11. Fan Created Tickets

12. Innovative Ticket Marketing Ideas

13. Verified Fan Technology

14. *BONUS* Convenience store ticketing

1. Concourse Standing Only Passes

Many teams in the US are now offering fans the ability to just purchase concourse standing only passes. An example of this are the Oilers who announced the availability of $80 “Concourse Pass” which let fans get into the Rogers Place playoff games but which featured no seat and no actual view of the ice. By all media reports, fans were only able to watch via TV’s in the concourses. If the demand is there then fans will no doubt pay for these passes.

2. Face Value Re-Seller Sites

Some music artists who are fed up with ticketing scalpers are re-selling tickets at face value on their own sites. An example of this is Twickets by Ed Sheeran who supports a site where fans can resell tickets at face value and therefore get a fairer deal and chance to offload tickets or buy them for face value if a gig of his is sold out.

3. Charging for paper ticket

Teams like the Canadiens are now charging fans for paper tickets in an effort to make sure fans are coming into the venue with genuine tickets tied to the actual buyer which aims to address ticket fraud. The team also cited security, ease of use and environmental sustainability as reasons for the change. Some fans won’t like teams doing this even if it is the way of the future as for many the ticket stub is a collectable and special memento of the game they went to. In my own opinion I’m all for whatever venues, ticketing agencies and teams can do to stop ticket scalping and fraud however I love keeping my ticket stubs and have well over 1000 from various gigs and games I’ve been to from 25+ years of music and sporting events. Printed A4 ticket slips and mobile phone QR code tickets just don’t have the same appeal for me as a fan.

4. Loaded Tickets

Loaded Tickets are being introduced at global stadiums by teams and venue partnerships which have the ability for money to be ‘loaded’ on to their season membership card for food, beverages, tickets and merchandise while at the stadium to enabling ease, a better fan experience and to keep an eye on and control fan spending.

5. Virtual Reality VR Ticketing

Teams and stadiums are partnering with ticketing agencies to enable fans to be able to see the view of their seat as well as concourse concession options and other facilities like rest rooms and parking before they buy their tickets by having a virtual reality ticketing viewing experience. A good example of this VR feature is the work StubHub and the Nationals did together which allowed future attendees to dawn a virtual reality headset and check out the view from their seats before they even press the “buy” button. Deemed the “virtual view” on StubHub, customers can even use their phone to get a 360-degree shot of their baseball enjoying experience.

6. Mobile Only Ticketing

Teams like the Miami Heat have only recently announced plans to go strictly mobile only. The Heat announced the plans recently to switch to smartphone-only tickets for home games this season. According to a statement from the team, the new policy is due to the fact that about one in every three fans used mobile tickets to attend games in 2016/17. In the NBA other teams such as the Timberwolves and Cavaliers have also switched over to mobile tickets however these teams still offer the option for fans use a driver’s license and credit card to get into the venue. How do you feel about this as a fan? Would you want to just enter the venue with your phone? Too bad it’s probably going to be the standard in the next five years across the US.

7. Ticketing and ChatBot Artificial Intelligence

AI is being utilised in the fan ticket purchasing experience by allowing fans the opportunity to purchase tickets by sending a ‘buy’ text message to platforms like ReplyBuy and having chatbots respond with questions asking how many tickets the fan is after and other key ticket information. This is proving to be a new revenue opportunity for fans wanting to buy tickets to games. In recent weeks down here in Australia teams such as the Perth Wildcats (NBL) and Adelaide Crows (AFL) have introduced their own chatbots which I’m sure will develop over time to enable fans to be able to purchase tickets to games through Facebook Messenger.

8. CLEAR Biometric Ticketing

The ability to enter venues now with just your fingerprints is making some fans breeze through security rather than having to wait in lines to get into the venue. The CLEAR biometric fingerprint technology allows fans to enter the venue gates almost without security screening having already signed up prior to advanced screening like seen for some passengers at US airports. The Colorado Rockies launched this a while back for games at Coors Field and recently Detroit’s Comerica Park was also added to the list of US venues allowing fans to enter this way. What about you though? Do you want your fingerprint data collected? Could there be some big privacy concerns here?

9. Microchip Tickets

As crazy as it seems, some teams are now offering fans the ability to be microchipped with their ticket or membership information implanted into their arm through a tiny incision of a pill like microchip. The fan then is able to scan their arm at the gates to enter with ease at the venue. One team doing this is Argentine football club Tigre who have launched these implantable ticketing microchips in for die-hard fans. This is something from way left field but I think it’s pretty innovative and I’m putting it out there now, if there’s a team/stadium anywhere in the world that wants a test case for this then I’m 110% in! Just pay for all the flights, accommodation, match tickets and surgery and I’m there.

10. Augmented Reality AR Ticketing

Innovative new augmented reality technology was utilised to bring match day tickets alive at the most recent Rugby World Cup in England through the use of tech company Blippar’s Augmented Reality technology. The Rugby World Cup 2015 tickets were able to come to life and provide fans with unique activations developed as part of the ticket design. In a first for a major sporting event, the technology allowed fans to create a 3D interactive experience through their smart phones by scanning any Rugby World Cup 2015 match ticket with the app. The fans were then able to unlock exclusive content with England 2015 ambassadors. Having been playing around with a few AR apps recently I expect more interesting AR developments will come into our match day tickets provided some of them stay as a physical ticket!

11. Fan Created Tickets

Teams like the Green Bay Packers are turning social posts from fans into commemorative tickets that feature fans own generated content which is then featured on the match day ticket. The Packers aren’t the first team to do this with other NBA and NFL teams also allowing personalised messages and photos to feature on tickets.

12. Innovative Ticket Marketing Ideas

Teams are constantly creating new and innovative marketing strategies to get bums on seats from retro ticket prices to game day merch ticket bundles and the endless variety of US ‘event’ nights however one that stood out recently was the Bucks who announced a special 10-win pass ticket offer which saw fans have access to however many games it took the team to get to 10 wins. Fans were guaranteed a seat to see the next 10 home victories as part of this unique new ticket package, inviting fans to attend the next 10 home Bucks victories for just $149 through the exciting and affordable 10-Win Pass. I haven’t had a chance to follow this up but does anyone know how many games these fans were able to actually get? 11, 12, 15? How many did it take for them to get their 10 wins?

13. Verified Fan Technology

Some ticketing agencies like TicketMaster US are creating a ‘verified fan’ ticketing process which enables fans to sign up and access tickets by completing tasks or buying other items like merchandise. Some commentators see this as a bit hard on genuine fans to have to do this but the idea is that this is cutting out the bots and scalpers and making it a fairer process for genuine fans. Would you complete tasks like sharing a team/artists social posts to then have access to buy tickets? It sure would beat those pain in the butt Captcha’s that keep reloading on ticketing websites no matter how many times you click all the damn street signs or cars!

14. *BONUS* Convenience store ticketing

 


While in Japan recently I was amazed at the ease of being able to buy match day tickets to a Japanese baseball game from a machine inside a 7/11 store. With a little help from the helpful staffer, the ticket machine which presumably also doubled as a printer, fax, coffee and internet machine was simple to use and allowed me to easily grab a couple of tickets to the game at Osaka’s Kyocera Dome. How about this stadium!

So there ends a quick summary of some of the developments around ticketing and how it’s going to or already is impacting the fan experience. Feel free to throw in some other ideas in the comments and if you’re looking for a creative and enthusiastic problem solver to help you engage and grow your fan base please feel free to touch base with me at @MrBlairHughes and WWW.MrBlairHughes.com.

About Me:

Blair Hughes is a passionate advocate for fans and an authority in the fan engagement/experience space who consults around analysis, ideation and implementation for global sporting leagues and teams to help deliver creative and innovative fan engagement solutions that grow fan bases as well as increase revenue opportunities. Blair brings a diverse and creative approach to his work as well as a knowledgeable background in adolescent sociology and fan psychology as a result of a career and valuable life experiences gained from the education, sport, music and digital sectors. More information can be found on his website https://mrblairhughes.com/

Fan Engagement, Personal Branding

My Kind Of Scene: The Brisbane Sounds Project 10 Years On

Brisbane Sounds Logo 2010 (Moonshine Madness)

Brisbane Sounds Logo 2010 (Moonshine Madness)

Launching Brisbane Sounds 2008

Launching Brisbane Sounds 2008

 

September 9 2006: Brisbane Sounds is born at approximately 2am on the back steps of the Zoo Nightclub after an Iron On gig. With a scrapbook in one hand and a cold Cooper’s Green in the other and the smell of rock and roll (a delightful mix of vom, sweat, sugar soap and beer) in the air after the clean up I took the first steps in putting together a project that was designed to promote Brisbane’s exceptional music talent.

I became a fan of the Brisbane music scene in the late 90’s as a teenager hooked on Aussie alternative music of the time thanks to Brissy bands like the Gurge, Custard, Powdies, Gota Cola, Rhubarb, Screamfeeder, Butterfingers and well the list goes on. I always had such a great time hanging out with mates supporting local bands at The Zoo, The Arena, The Step Inn, X and Y Bar, The Troubadour and The Tivoli while grabbing local bands merch and records at Skinny’s, The Record Exchange and Rockinghorse. In my opinion Brisbane music and the history of where it came from was something to be commended and promoted and I was always looking at ways in which I could do that and get people from home and far away places in to our music history.

10 years ago to the day and I was finalising an education degree and getting set to take up my first teaching post in Mildenhall, England which was due to start in December. Having also wanted to do something to promote the Brisbane music scene while living in the UK, I decided I’d make a compilation album and give copies out to local radio stations, PR agencies, A&R reps, venues and anyone who would listen to me talk about Brisbane bands throughout my travels. I owe a lot at this point to the crew I was working with at The Zoo Nightclub in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley who offered up a lot of ideas and support to make Brisbane Sounds happen. From Joccy, Jase and Vicki to Bridget, Roger and Chris and Matty and Will- you guys were all such legends and I was extremely lucky to have learnt many skills and life experiences from you.

The Zoo Nightclub Crew 2007

The Zoo Nightclub Crew 2007

The first edition of the Brisbane Sounds record titled ‘Brisbane Sounds 2007‘ was made out of supplies courtesy of in-kind support from one of my jobs at the time in the department store Target in Buranda, Brisbane, a budget of about $100 and a six pack of our go to post Zoo shift beer (Cooper’s) for ideas generation. The CD lacked any real design unless you can call the word doc printer ink DIY job I did a design and was pressed completely unprofessionally without any mastering or any real idea of what I was doing. I literally had no skills in anything to do with production, marketing, PR, social, design but I did have a vision. I had my heart in the right place and was just trying to do something positive to promote Brisbane music from back home which I was so proud of.

Brisbane Sounds 2007

Brisbane Sounds 2007

While hardly a professional start, the first edition of the album and the subsequent learnings that took place as I networked with music industry reps in artist management, PR, marketing, social media and venue operations across the UK, Europe, USA and Australia paved the way for improving Brisbane Sounds year after year as well as developing my skills in these areas in what was always a very kinaesthetic and practical way.

Promoting Brisbane Sounds in Amsterdam, 2007

Promoting Brisbane Sounds in Amsterdam, 2007

Brisbane Sounds lasted a solid six years and produced some really beneficial outcomes for the Brisbane music industry locally and globally for which I’ll always be proud of. On a personal level it was also one of the greatest things I ever did to invest in myself and learn as much as I could about the music business and also about fan engagement, marketing, social media which has helped me get to where I am now in my current role. While tertitary educational music business courses (and any study for that matter) are worthwhile, nothing will ever compare to investing your own money, taking calculated risks, getting your hands dirty and throwing yourself passionately into a project you love in order to make a difference. I found it so important to make mistakes, learn from those mistakes and come back stronger with my skills every time and I’d often go on to talk to my students about this and why resiliency is so important in our lives. That is the power of life long learning and in more simple terms, getting off you’re arse and making awesome shit happen.

Over the years I was privileged enough to have a chance to work in the industry at venues in Brisbane and London (Hammersmith Apollo), promoting gigs and putting together and executing the BS vision which was always to shine a light on our local music industry.I worked my butt off for those years traveling the globe on my teacher salary and some grant funding and doing whatever I could to be a spokesperson and advocate for the Brisbane scene. I owe plenty of thanks to everyone who helped me along the way from street press, radio, record stores and graphic designers to photographers, website designers, venue managers, bands and artists and of course our fans all over the world who helped our team. I must have worked with hundreds of different individuals over the years so it goes to show how large the arts scene is and why its important for our local and federal governments to continue to support it.

Without throwing myself into Brisbane Sounds I wouldn’t have been able to work at QPRFC or now have a dream gig at audioBoom where I get to talk about fan engagement all day long (to the chagrin of many I bet). But alas I love everything to do with fan engagement with looking after and going the extra mile for people, customers and fans and always will.

Here are some stats to recap on the Brisbane Sounds project:

  • Showcased 100+ artists on the five compilation albums and associated gigs.
  • 100+ events from nightclub gigs, school showcases, music industry workshops and of course our Pop-Up shop.
  • 13,100 FREE Compilation albums produced and distributed worldwide.
  • Received 21,000 in grant funding. Thank you BCC, Brisbane Marketing, QMusic and QLD Government as well as any one who bought a copy or came to the gigs which all helped with running costs
  • Developed the first ever Australian gig guide app, BRISSOUNDS in 2010 (Thanks DevGeeks)
  • UK/USA/Europe showcases along with a 15 date tour for SEALS in 2011.
  • Close to 20K fans across various social media platforms
  • 27 music industry job starts given to young music business/arts students or kids trying to get a start in the industry.

Along with this some of my favourite memories were:

  • Flood Bank. Raising $15,000 for QLD flood victims in 2011 and Violent Soho smashing out a great set at the end.
  • Having fans download our app in far off places like Russia and Afghanistan.
  • Getting to learn from leaders in venue management in Joc at The Zoo and Heiko at The Hammersmith Apollo in London.
  • Booking and touring a band around the UK for a 15 date tour
  • Getting Brisbane Sounds records into Amobea Records LA and Rough Trade Records in London. There’s possibly still stock there too.
  • Talking Brisbane music with Spencer Howson on a weekly ABC Brisbane radio spot to showcase the latest in local music news.
  • Attending major music showcases and festivals like SXSW, Liverpool Sound City, The Great Escape and BigSound.
  • Getting copies of the albums into the hands of major artists like Tegan and Sara and B.R.M.C to The Kills and Emmy Lou Harris who then helped to promote BS.

I certainly had my battles with the blatant bullshit nepotism of the music industry along the way and I might not have always been the easiest to work with (I hear my graphic designers agreeing here) as I wanted to always stay out of cliques and do things professionally by the book because I wanted to help everyone I could and never play favourites to uphold the professional integrity of the project. Brisbane Sounds was always about promoting the artists, the venues, the arts scene workers and the fans but I do apologise If I ever pissed anyone off along the way as I put that down to being young and thinking I knew it all. I didn’t know it all but you learn from that with age and life experience.

Thank you to everyone who shared my passion and enthusiasm for Brisbane music and helped along the way. It truly was a collaborative team effort from so many in the Brissy music community and you all deserve praise for helping along the way. I never could have started or continued to improve the project had it not been for all of your skills and it’s been great to watch so many of you continue to support the Brisbane music industry in your careers as well as go on to bigger and better things.

Brisbane Sounds was a very professional project that delivered a lot of successful outcomes for the Brisbane music scene for which I’ll always be immensely proud of and this week I finally got around to sorting out the framing of the five compilation albums as well as some of the gig posters. Whenever I look at it, I’ll think of you and what we achieved, thanks.

All the best,

Blair Hughes

9th September 2016

Fan Engagement, Infographics, Resources

101 Fan Engagement Ideas For Music Artists

In my time in the music industry I was constantly trying to think of creative ideas to bring added value and enjoyment to the punters who came to see the events that I was promoting or provide special incentives and experiences through the music fans who were buying the Brisbane music compilation record that my small team produced each year.

For instance from 2006-2012 I ran an annual gig showcasing the Brisbane music scene whereby the artists that performed each had to add a classic Brisbane tune into their set. This was a simple and free idea that generated heaps of press coverage, engaged the audience and was an added selling point with ticket sales. This is the point with fan engagement whether it be in sports, music or business the key thing to remember is providing exceptional customer service with these little added touches or memorable experiences along the way. Most of the time you can do these for next to nothing but your own creativity.

Another idea my team had was to engage a local drinks sponsor who provided a free drink to every punter who came through the doors on the night of that gig. Obviously we promoted this in the lead up to the event, but the look on some peoples faces upon entering the venue when they realised that they got a free drink as well as six artists and six hours of live music for $20 was priceless. That look that says ‘wow, I know its just a free drink but I was not expecting that’ was the same look on my face when I first went to the UK music festival, Glastonbury in 2008. On entry to the site we were provided with a showbag of goodies including a map, lanyard with schedule of timetables, a newspaper, an NME magazine, a free drink AND a set of biodegradable tent pegs (short story but the Glastonbury site is a working farm for 2/3 of the year and after every festival people leave thousands of tents and metal tent pegs meaning that in previous years the animals would get injuries to their legs etc hence where this idea came from!). It’s these little touches that go such a long way in creating a memorable experience for fans.

This leads me to my latest infographic which is one that I think will greatly help young bands but also established artists as I truly feel that fan engagement in the music industry is still such an untapped market.

Below you will see 101 fan engagement ideas for the music industry. Many of the ideas have been drawn from what sporting teams and leagues are doing for their fans however many more are from ideas which I have actioned to great success my self. I will be blogging more and more about these music fan engagement ideas in time.

More than anything, I hope this resource will benefit those artists who are just starting out who are realising that they need to do more for their fans because their fans want more from the gig than just three artists up on stage in this day and era.

Please feel free to share with me how your band is engaging with your audience.

101 Fan Engagement Ideas For Music Artists

101 Fan Engagement Ideas For Music Artists

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