Internet
Strategies for Venue Enablement, Database Integration and
Building Quality Patron Relationships: Part II
Patrick M. Finelli
A
year ago we examined the impact of information
technologies upon traditional methods of ticketing, marketing and donor management. We have followed up with an update on the
six original companies and two additional ones. We
contacted savvy managers who represent the major firms making a variety of ticketing
systems available to help organizations increase their ticket sales. In Part I (ArtsReach, Feb 2002) we covered four
industry pioneers: Astor Street, New Concepts, Paciolan and Intelitix, one of two new
firms in our study. Part II focuses on four
more leading firms: TicketWeb,
Tickets.com, TM VISTA, and MSGi Interactive, formerly known as Pegasus. TM VISTA, another addition to our update, is noted
for the success of Museumtix.com. Dusty
Rhodes, Operations Vice President of TM VISTA, says, “In the arts market, there is a
groundswell of support from organizations flocking to the Internet to sell everything from
tickets and memberships, to gift shop items and other museum-related products. The market is growing and evolving almost daily
with new products available online.”
We discovered that the specialists in our survey have been quite
successful in continuing to develop markets, enhance products, improve processes and
provide services for the arts entertainment industry.
A major reason is that companies have integrated the Internet into
traditional business models rather than relying solely on web implementation to meet
revenue targets and enhance patron management. Internet
ticketing has matured into a stable industry and radical innovations are not as important
as making incremental improvements in all areas including revenue generation and expense
efficiency. The key concepts are:
creating new revenue opportunities through venue enablement, database integration and
building quality relationships with patrons.
We are
especially interested in new developments and innovations in ticketing systems especially
in the realm of marketing and donor management. There is a growing list of major venues including
museums, orchestras and performing arts centers that have adopted integrated systems for
ticket sales, marketing and development. Many
have gained significant benefits from the full range of products and services offered by
the firms in our survey. All of them are
large enough to handle the most complex multiple-venue, multiple-event systems.
We asked basic questions
such as: What are your principle and most popular products? How
have your products changed in the past year? How
do your products satisfy the needs of ticket sellers and patrons? What about pricing,
service and support? And more complex issues such as: What are the special features that
distinguish your products from others? What do you think patrons expect? What is the
present state and what are the future prospects for selling tickets on the Internet? What special features address patron management
and donor development?
The results indicate that there have been major changes in the past
year with many innovative and surprising product developments making ticket sales and
customer care easier than ever.
TicketWeb began serving
consumers in the San Francisco Bay Area in December 1995, and became a full-service,
national ticketing agency in 1996. Since
then, they have become a leading provider of self-service,
Internet-based ticketing and patron marketing systems. The company has 28
employees serving over 1,200 clients across the U.S., selling over 1.4 million tickets
annually through its web-based system.
The
company's proprietary system allows venues and event promoters of any size to log in over
the Internet and, using just a web browser, perform the full range of box-office
operations. There is no special
hardware, software or complicated telecom connections to worry about. There is a nominal $250 set-up fee to open a
TicketWeb account. Any
computer with Internet access can use the TicketWeb system. What this means is that clients may have an unlimited
number of terminals for virtual box-office
ticketing.
By pulling
up a standard web browser such as Internet Explorer, AOL or Netscape, ticket sellers can
put events on sale, track progress and generate reports.
For ticket
buyers, TicketWeb leverages this unique technology to offer competitive service fees.
Their philosophy is that whenever they find a way to use the Internet to lower costs, they
pass the savings on to the client and consumer. New product
enhancements include expanded marketing tools such as consumer-to-consumer electronic
invitations, an intuitive ticket-buying interface and features that let consumers find
event listings quickly.
TicketWeb’s principle
product allows
clients to administer their own general admission or reserved seating ticket selling
operations over the Internet, including ticket printing, reviewing sales reports,
downloading will-call lists, marketing to patrons and managing seat holds—all in real
time. TicketWeb is more of an online
distribution product than a walk-up, point-of-service product. The company offers premium call center sales and
has the capability to print physical tickets and mail them to ticket buyers. Use
of the TicketWeb system does not require any additional hardware or supplies, although the
system does support thermal ticket printing. If clients choose to
print tickets in-house, they will need a BOCA printer and blank ticket stock, both of
which TicketWeb offers for purchase to venues and promoters.
Regarding
the present state of selling tickets on the Internet, Dan Teree, President of TicketWeb,
says, “Consumers increasingly expect the
convenience of purchasing tickets online, reflecting a growing trend. Ticket sellers, venues and arts
organizations are looking for easy-to-use, low-maintenance systems that not only sell
tickets, but capture valuable patron information. Those
that can deliver added benefits, such as marketing exposure through online cityguides or
unique “viral” marketing tools, are in the best position to thrive in a highly
competitive market.” Most of us
are wary of computer viruses, but in this case the word refers to a marketing innovation. As Teree explains,
“Viral is an Internet term
that refers to giving consumers tools by which they can spread the word to their
friends." It is a key concept in online marketing. The customer essentially does advertising for the
client using TicketWeb’s electronic tool. Electronic
invitations are an example. Customers may send a note to their friends about a show
they saw listed on TicketWeb.
Teree
predicts, “Online purchasing will double over the next 3-4 years. Those clients that
can leverage online transactions to increase sales and deepen patron relationships will be
the most successful.”
The
TicketWeb system offers clients a wide range of reporting functionality to enhance patron
relationships, from event reports with transaction details to cumulative sales and event
reports. The TicketWeb system allows you to
access and print reports detailing all customer transactions. You can export and view
reports as text files in Excel or Access. You can design custom reports that include
customer names, e-mail and physical addresses, number of tickets purchased, purchase date,
delivery method and confirmation code. TicketWeb can be used for any price ticket or
donation level.
TicketWeb offers an
easy-to-use, cost-effective system for organizations that don’t have large technology
budgets or large technical staffs. TicketWeb products and services are ideal for venues
such as museums, zoos, nightclubs, professional theatres, film festivals and nightclubs
that are seeking a fast and easy way to distribute tickets online. Their client list
includes: the San
Francisco Symphony, Musée
du Louvre, American Conservatory Theatre, Garde Arts Center, Teatro ZinZanni, Guggenheim
Museum, New York International Children’s Film Festival and Steppenwolf Theatre.
Backing up TicketWeb is a
seasoned team of client and customer service professionals providing support between
8AM and 6PM PST seven days a week, with emergency support 24 hours a day.
Tickets.com
A leader in ticketing
technology, Tickets.com offers a broad portfolio of specialized in-house systems designed
to meet the needs of arts, entertainment and cultural organizations.
The company touts itself as a form of banking network for
entertainment tickets; a Web-based ticketing alternative where customers can take
advantage of live Internet ticketing on the client’s website, the Tickets.com website
or at a ticket outlet. If your box office is only open during limited hours or patrons
have difficulty getting through on busy telephone lines, the flexibility and convenience
of Tickets.com might be the solution, expanding the reach of your box office window. The
client can maintain complete control of ticket inventory with a program such as
TicketMaker, yet have the ability to exploit the full potential of ticket sales on the
Internet. Tickets.Com processes and authorizes all sales on the Internet. The ticket buyer
receives instantaneous confirmation of the sale. Settlement is usually provided on a
weekly basis.
If your box office is only open during limited hours or patrons have
difficulty getting through on busy telephone lines, the flexibility and convenience of
Tickets.com might be the solution. Tickets.com is not a ticket service, essentially it
connects your in-house ticketing system to a large ticketing network using the Internet.
Tickets.com provides a portal on the Internet for your box office.
The company firmly believes in this approach. The promise is that they will aggressively promote
its website and that new partnerships with other sites will draw traffic.
Anyone doing business on the Web must insist on the secure settlement
of transactions. You should always make sure your credit card transactions take place
under a secure certificate. All information through Tickets.com is transmitted using SSL
(secure socket layer), an accepted standard for secure transmission of data on the
Internet. Your customers also expect the timely delivery of tickets. Since your own box
office normally fills the orders made on the Web, you can fulfill the sales at a
convenient time with the option of mailing the tickets to your customers or holding them
at Will Call.
Tickets.com provides the expertise and software solutions to connect
your ticketing operations to the Internet. All
you need is a dedicated business level connection from your in-house ticketing system to
the Internet. There is no charge for
connection or subscription fees. An exclusive contract is not required. Once you are
connected the ticket inventory is available for sale at your web site 24 hours a day, 7
days a week. Customers who go to your web site will be able to buy tickets to your events
in real time using the Tickets.com selling screens and never realize they have left your
site.
Your in-house program ordinarily provides a means to issue tickets
and control seat inventory while handling accounting, reports and tracking of patrons. You
continue to sell tickets directly from your box office, but you’ll be able to add
ticket outlets, call centers and websites through Tickets.com. It can provide
round-the-clock promotion for your events while opening up new markets for your tickets. It will automate ticketing, inventory control and
service functions while capturing the valuable patron purchase history you need to build
and retain your audience base.
Tickets.com has a major Internet presence, but also offers in-house software licensing products for patron management. The three products range from the “out-of-the-box” TicketMakerÔ Professional that runs on a Pentium PC and will support up to 10 user terminals on a local area network to the server-based, Internet-ready PASSâ Ticketing System (The J. Paul Getty Museum, Smithsonian Institute, Colonial Williamsburg, Seattle Opera) and Prologueâ Ticketing System (Sydney and Salt Lake City Olympics, Major League Baseball, Detroit Symphony), which will support over 200 terminals.
The client list includes Ruth
Eckerd Hall (Clearwater, FL), the Kennedy
Center (Washington, D.C.), the Laguna Playhouse (CA), City Center (NY) and the Emerson
Majestic Theatre (Boston).
TM VISTA
TM VISTA
Inc., formerly 2b Technology, has a long history dealing with the needs and concerns of
the cultural community. Since the 1991
introduction of VISTA software the company has developed comprehensive reservations,
scheduling, and ticketing products. Rhodes
says, “TM VISTA is constantly trying to anticipate the needs of a changing visitor
management marketplace.” VISTA Software
remains their most popular product not only for the easy-to-use Windows interface, but
because it seamlessly integrates with the company’s latest
offerings–Museumtix.com, Boattix.com, and an E-commerce plug-in
module–representing a major thrust into the museum, zoo, aquarium,
transportation and other general admission markets.
Museumtix.com
is an industry-specific ticket portal, allowing venues of similar type to increase
their visibility and their sales by uniting as a web community. This
community-based portal provides consumers with information about museums, zoos, aquariums,
planetariums, history and science centers, as well as information about upcoming cultural
events. Consumers can purchase tickets to
these events in real-time online. Tour operators, travel agents, and members receive
special treatment within the Museumtix community by receiving venue specific discounts and
incentives.
Rhodes points out, “The E-commerce plug-in is designed for
clients that need fast transaction processing and precise ticket inventory management. To
prevent overbooking, this module checks with your VISTA Software to make sure the items
requested are available. Information collected during the sale flows directly into VISTA
Software for seamless reporting. With this module you can make the hassle of ticket
allocation a thing of the past.” Selling your tickets over the Internet in real-time
has never been easier. Reports detailing sales and demographic statistics can be generated
and downloaded at any time.
The real-time E-commerce module is designed for organizations that
perform multiple events under one title such as classes, courses and film series. It
contains a comprehensive set of tools allowing you to easily schedule these or similar
activities. The system manages bookings or enrollments for groups and individuals into
each activity and maintains a detailed historical record for each participant. The module
can generate confirmation letters, participant rosters, course schedules, availability
summaries and many other reports. To prevent overbooking, this module checks to make sure
the items requested are available. Information collected during the sale flows directly
into the VISTA software database for seamless reporting.
TM VISTA provides an advanced solution for controlling venue access
and collecting details on event attendance, allowing organizations to track and regulate
visitor traffic. When the visitor arrives at an entry point, a scanning device reads the
barcode on their ticket. This information feeds instantly into VISTA Software, validating
or denying the admission in real-time.
TM VISTA offers a co-branded “private label” option
for those clients who wish to maintain the look and feel of the transactional portion of the
website so that consumers never feel that they have left the client’s own website. This is accomplished by basing the design upon the
suggestions and requests of customers. TM VISTA offers clients the ability to run
E-commerce applications in a client/server-based environment, or they will host your
application in their own data center.
Rhodes says, “If an organization doesn’t want to worry about expensive
server hardware, backups, upgrades and other costly IT administration, our ASP Service
store will provide higher performance levels and greater reliability than most
organizations can attain on their own.” A small logo appears on the site identifying
TM VISTA as the host of the E-commerce engine.
Additional
innovations include “enabling online membership purchases online and a comprehensive
demographic tracking feature that benefits clients who depend on receiving grants to help
run their organization,” according to Rhodes, “Our product satisfies the needs of
the arts community especially well, since that is the niche we have and will continue to
support. Unlike other companies that try to
meet the needs of all players (concerts, university sports, etc.) we have focused on a
discreet group of clients and have tried to provide the best service possible.” VISTA is implemented in more than 400
venues worldwide. VISTA Call Center and VISTA E-commerce provide an outsourced telephone,
web sales, and ticket distribution solution integrated with VISTA software.
TM VISTA provides
a number of training alternatives that range from onsite training to remote web-based
training depending on the clients’ needs.
Security is an issue that
has become increasingly important. TM VISTA’s Security Module controls user access by
a comprehensive set of security rights for specific tasks or functions within the system.
Over 100 different security settings exist, allowing you to restrict users from deleting
files, voiding sales and modifying events.
Key
clients include the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, New England Aquarium and IMAX,
Guggenheim Museums, Denver Art Museums, Whitney Museum of American Art, Brooklyn Museum of
Art, Charleston IMAX, Science Station IMAX Theater, Copia Center for Wine, Food and the
Arts, Franklin Institute.
MSGi Interactive
Jeremy
Barbera, Chairman and CEO of the parent MKTG Services Group, founded the original company
fifteen years ago. MKTG is a leading
“relationship” marketing company, with a business strategy focusing on customer
acquisition and retention in several key vertical markets including the media and
entertainment sector. MSGi came into being in 1995 through the
amalgamation of marketing, graphic design and technology experts. Pegasus joined forces in March 2001, making the
MSGi Interactive division one of the leaders in providing advanced applications,
particularly fully-customized database management and list brokerage services to
organizations that serve a sophisticated consumer base. MSGi approaches each development
project as a partnership in order to deliver the optimal solution at the best price. MSGi
accomplishes this by determining the organization’s needs and then developing a
marketing solution.
David
Sasso, Managing Director for Public and Investor Relations, says that MSGi will soon take
the name of its parent company, MKTG Services, reflecting the company’s strong
marketing emphasis. While selling tickets may
be the major focus its clients, including virtually all of the major Broadway shows,
MSGi’s major objective is to identify and uncover markets for those clients.
According to Sasso, “Establishing and
developing client relationships are the keys to our success. Our reputation in the arts is
relationship and service driven.” One
example is in the resurgence of Broadway attendance.
Sasso says, “People are coming back in significant numbers approaching 80-100%
of pre 9-11 levels. For months there has been
minimal fundraising for arts organizations, but now it is increasingly important to manage
the data in a comprehensive strategy
that can be executed across multiple media channels in a coherent, cost-effective way.
We have the ability to offer a comprehensive suite of marketing channels to our
customers.”
MSGi
provides turnkey Internet-based services for major arts clients such as Carnegie Hall, San
Francisco Opera, the Los Angeles County Museum and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. However, the scale of their operation extends
beyond arts organizations and museums to the music and entertainment industry and even the
700,000-member Sierra Club, whose grassroots advocacy has made it
America's most influential environmental organization. Sasso acknowledges the
importance of “grassroots” community marketing, “Our customizable
subscriber list and donor management strategy enables us to respond to the clients’
needs and objectives. We have the ability to
develop custom e-mail and direct marketing systems. We can expand the reach of our clients
through affinity groups. Our media expertise
enables us to create awareness through marketing tie-ins, working behind the scenes with
sponsors for placements. For example, our
client could attract customers for an upcoming concert through targeted positioning on a
music website.”
MKTG
recently announced the addition of Ken Krasner, a prominent media and entertainment
marketing executive to the company's executive management team. Krasner has been at the forefront of marketing and
promoting music, entertainment and lifestyle products for such clients as AOL Time Warner,
Vivendi Universal, Sony Music and was instrumental in creating marketing campaigns for the
Beatles, Steely Dan, Melissa Etheridge and Christina Aguilera among others. He is recognized as a pioneer in integrating new
technologies and grassroots community-based marketing strategies with those of
conventional marketers.
Jeremy
Barbera, Chairman and CEO of MKTG Services Group, says, “Over the course of the past
year, we have seen the proliferation of convergence media, and the marriage of the online
and offline communities. However, the marketplace lacks a clear, concise strategy to
effectively address these issues. Ken will help us create a host of turnkey integrated
marketing solutions for our expansive client base that will address these specific
opportunities.''
The
company has 350+ employees serving over 3000 customers with approximately $100 million in
billings each year, with most of the revenues coming from the media and entertainment
industry. Service and support is determined in consultation
with each client. MKTG Services will
customize the set-up with web-based, e-mail or telephone support and service according to
the client’s needs.
Dan Teree, President
2929 Seventh Street
San Francisco, CA 94710
Office: 510-704-4448 ext. 114
Fax: 510-649-9218
dteree@ticketweb.com
www.ticketweb.com
Tickets.com
Kim Maretti
555 Anton Blvd. 12th Floor
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Office: 714-327-5400
Fax: 714-327-5410
kmaretti@tickets.com
www.tickets.com
TM VISTA
Dusty Rhodes
11551 Nuckols Road, Suite J
Glen Allen, VA 23059
Office: 804-421-8421
Fax: 804-421-8444
Toll-Free: 800-296-8464
sales@tmvista.com
support@tmvista.com
www.tmvista.com
www.museumtix.com
MSGi Interactive
David Sasso
MKTG Services
333 7th Ave. 19th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Office: 917-339-7246
Fax: 917-339-7111
dsasso@mktgservices.com
support@mktgservices.com
info@mktgservices.com
www.mktgservices.com
Patrick M. Finelli is Professor of Theatre at the University of South Florida where he teaches in a traditional classroom and on the World Wide Web. He holds the Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. His academic and professional performing arts experience spans a wide variety of stage and arena productions, including drama, dance, opera, symphony, jazz, summer stock, television, film and political debates. He has served as editor and author of textbooks, CD-ROMs and over 300 articles and software reviews. He is a partner in Finelli/Lee Theatre Consultants and is the founder of the Theatre Arts website, connectedcourseware.com. You may contact him at pmf@pfweb.com
© Copyright 2002 by Patrick M. Finelli. All rights reserved. These pages are protected by United States and international copyright laws. Copying or distribution by any means is strictly prohibited.