It May Be News To You

EAMC names its 2010 location

In case you have not heard yet, the Event & Arena Marketing Conference announced last week the dates and location for the 2010 conference.  The lucky city is Chicago. They invade the Windy City June 9 thru 12 at the downtown Marriott.  EAMC used their new Facebook page to make the announcement. 

Power in numbers

Speaking of Facebook, if you still have not joined yet, it seems you are in the minority.  Facebook announced yesterday they now have 300 million users. Do you still think that traditional marketing and advertising is the most effective way to go?

TV ads for the 21st century

The cable companies know that just running TV spots are no longer working.  They are getting into the 21st Century with interactive ads.  There is an article in today’s Wall Street Journal that discusses this.  The article mentions that some of the issues with TV spot watching are self-inflicted.  Cable companies are pushing DVR technology with their cable boxes.  Everyone is skipping the ads.    This new interactive ad technology is similar to what you might find on a website.  During the spot, you get on-screen buttons that you can click. I believe this is the way we are going with television in general.

Pushing the youth groups

I picked up a flyer at my kids hockey rink this past weekend.  It is a flyer for Boston Bruins youth group hockey opportunities.  The flyer is a group sale piece designed for teams.  The Bruins offer is more then just tickets but a chance to “play” on the ice prior or during an intermission of a game.  The youth group also gets the on ice experience shown on the video scoreboard and DVD of the event.  The flyer posts all the home schedule dates and shows which games are already booked by other youth teams.  I am glad they did this.  It shows “urgency” and helps teams with planning.  Of course as soon as the flyer was printed, I am sure it was outdated.  But that is okay.  It is a good problem if you can fill it up.

The Day The Music Died

WBCN in Boston is going off the air! If you live outside of the Boston market you might be saying “so what?” 

Well it’s a Big F ‘ing deal to the concert and music industry.  You see WBCN is what is called a “tastemaker” station.  This station broke bands.  When U2 was in Boston this past winter playing at the small Somerville Theatre, Bono mentioned it was WBCN that broke the band in the United States.  This station was never afraid to look outside the box.  They didn’t play a band or a song just because the record company asked them to.  WBCN was doing live events when no other radio station was.  They were the pulse of the music industry.  If the radio gods think the station is not relevant anymore, what does this mean for the radio industry in general?

Frozen Fenway

Since we are talking Boston again today, it was announced by the NHL that the Bruins will take on the Flyers outdoors at Fenway Park this January 1st.  The NHL’s Winter Classic game is the best thing the NHL has done in years. If they want to get people excited for the sport, this is one good way of doing it.

This show is for you!

Seth Godin has a great blog post today called Gotcha. In his post he writes about how not every product is for everyone. Be careful how you market.  When we market our shows and events we should realize that not every show is for everyone. Don’t try to hide or cover-up what you are not.  For example, if  the show is not for kids don’t say “great for the whole family”.  I know this sounds like common sense, but you would be surprised how often we market this way.

The Arena Ticket Series?

Is it time for the arena ticket series?  If theatres and orchestras use ticket series packages then why can’t arena events?  We are all looking for ways to put more butts in seats.  This might be a way for shows to help each other while selling more tickets.

Think about the different categories of events and shows that play at the arena venue.  You have family shows, concerts (older & younger demos), and sports. There are all kinds of different ticket packages you could put together. 

In the family show market you could put together a package that includes all the family shows.  How about a package that includes only ice show events?  What about a package for the tots?  This could include Thomas & Friends, Playhouse Disney, and Sesame Street Live. 

What about a ticket package for concerts?  Package a guaranteed sellout with a few shows that will need help.  How about the complete package? This includes a sampling of all the genres coming to the venue including sports, concerts, and family events.  I think you get it, so why not try it?

I Want a Golden Ticket

The TD Banknorth Garden in Boston is about to have its official name change.  On July 16th the Garden becomes the TD Garden.  To create a buzz for the venue and the name change, the Garden is taking a page from Willy Wonka.  They are promoting the TD Garden Golden Ticket Giveaway. The Garden is giving out thousands of free chocolate bars.  Five of these candy bars will have a golden ticket.  One of the five winners will win season tickets to every single event at the TD Garden for a year.  Now that’s an arena ticket series package!  The four other winners will win a 10 game package that includes Bruins and Celtics tickets.

What’s Up With This? (part 3 of 3)

This is part 3 and the final installment of my customer experience into buying tickets and attending a Boston Bruins playoff game like a normal sports fan.

Even though it was Mother’s Day and the media said we would have horrible traffic on the Mass Pike, we got to the arena in 25 minutes.  Parking was a breeze.  We paid our $25 bucks and parked under the Garden in North Station.  For Boston, not that bad for parking during an event.

As we entered the arena things stayed really smooth.  We went through security and the ticket takers (opps, I mean scanners) quickly.  This included three giveaways .  All the moms received a flower, all fans received yellow towels for waving (I lost mine before the game even started), and a game notes/roster sheet.  Fans like free stuff!  As I rode escalator after escalator toward the top of the building, I kept telling myself if the arena was turned around I would be sitting in the 5^th row.

Of course buying concessions is never cheap anymore.  We purchased a hotdog, sausage, order of french fries, one soda and one beer.  The tally for my son and I was $30.00.  Right next to our concession stand was the Hungry For Hockey concession area.  If you are a season ticket holder in certain seats of the upper deck, you get all the concessions food (beer not included) you want.  After watching fans leave that stand with arms full of food, I thought that’s a great promotion and deal.

As I hung out in the concession area I ran into Amy Latimer Senior VP of Marketing & Sales for both the Garden and Bruins.  I was happy to see that senior management of a team or venue still walk the balcony level of steerage class to make sure the customers have a good experience. This organization does work hard to give the fans a good customer experience.

Even though our seats were only five rows from the roof, they were not that bad.  We were able to see every inch of the ice.  I wondered if I would be able to see the puck from that height.  I actually could!

Pro sporting events today are all about the excitement that is created around the game.  The Bruins are no exception.  The pre-game and start of each period was loud pounding music, lights, and video.  They had a loud meter on the video screens.  Last night the sound of the crowd was in red zone several times.  The timeouts were all about keeping the fans pumped.  The music and video was at every stoppage of play.  No cheesy sponsor driven contests last night.

It turned out to be a good night.  We saw great hockey, lots of hard hits, lots of fights, and the home team won.  The ride home was good too.  The exit and traffic were well organized.  The game ended at 10:00 PM.  We left our Bob Uecker seats and were home in the burbs before 11:00 PM. 

 I am happy to report to our industry, I had a good customer experience.

What’s Up With This? (part 2)

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about my experience in trying to buy Boston Bruins playoff tickets online.  I discussed how my son was on the Ticketmaster website at exactly 11:00 AM when they went on sale.  There were no tickets available except the $250+ club seats.   

A heard from a few “in the know” peeps who gave me some reasons why this may have happened:

1) The season ticket holders not only had rights to their seats but could buy additional seats.

2) As part of the effort to attract more season ticket holders, the Bruins offered new 2010 season ticket holders the opportunity to purchase playoff tickets.

Both of these reasons make sense. Are they the only reasons?

So if the above reasons are true and season ticket holders take all the tickets, why even have an on-sale?  If you have no tickets to sell except for a few club seats why promote the on-sale?  Just release the few tickets.  You know fans are going to go online and look anyway.

Yesterday, they put this Sunday’s playoff game on sale.  I was at the Ticketmaster site before 11:00 AM and kept refreshing until the event popped up.  One of my friends did the same thing.  Guess what, the only tickets available at 11:00 AM were those $250+ club seats again.  However, there were lots of tickets available over on TicketsNow. 

I did something I have never done before.  I purchased tickets from TicketsNow.  Yes, I paid above face value. Yes, they have all the infamous TM service fees attached. Yes, this spoiled ticket marketing guy is going to sit in the nose bleeds (it’s all I could afford).

I took the bullet for two reasons: 1) my son and his friend really want to go to the game; 2) I thought this would be a good learning experience for event marketers like you and I.

The next step in the process will be getting the tickets.  I had to pay $14.00 for FedEx shipping.  I will let you know how the rest of my experience goes.

Do Sports Teams Need A Bailout?

I have had sports on my mind this week.  Not only with the exciting playoff action in the NHL and NBA but with the business of sports tickets.

The other day I discussed how the Red Sox may be having an issue with selling tickets.  Well, they are not the only MLB team concerned.  The most famous of all baseball teams has issues too.  My friend Doak forwarded me a story that was on the Fox Sports website about the Yankees are having problems selling their new premium seats. The headline of the story says it all “Pricey Seats at New Yankee Stadium Bomb”.  The article mentions how many of the prime infield seats in the Legends Suite sections have been empty.  Of course these seats are in camera view all the time.  These seats go from $500 to $2,500 per seat, per game for season ticket holders.  The article says that individual seats can cost as much as $2,675 per game.  I have one big question for the Yankees:  WTF? 

Instead of media talking about how the team is playing or which player is going to get caught on steroids next, they are all talking about the empty seats.  In typical bad PR form the President of the team, Randy Levine said “We’re done talking about seats”. “We’re not talking about seats.”

Has anybody informed professional sports teams that we are in a recession?

What’s up with this?

My son is a big fan of the Boston Bruins.  They just swept the Montreal Canadians in the first round of the playoffs.  He asked about going to see them live in the second round.  Tickets went on sale yesterday at 11:00 AM.  He was on my computer and on the Ticketmaster website at exactly 11:00 AM.  The only seats available for any of the home games were a few $250 premium seats.  He clicked again and they were gone.  However plenty of $150 upper level seats (normally $35) popped up immediately on TicketsNow.  How was this possible?  Did anyone learn anything yet from the Bruce Springsteen ticket mess?  Ironically, The Boss played in the same arena the night before.

The man behind the talent

I am very sad to hear that Tim Holst died last week.  Tim was the VP for talent at Ringling Bros.  I understand he died after a short illness while on an overseas trip to sign up acts.  He was the Performance Director of the show when I first started at Ringling Bros. in the 1980′s.  I will always remember him as a very kind person who really cared for the performers.  He had a very tough job but always enjoyed what he did.  He died too soon at the age of 61.  There is one lonely spotlight in the Center Ring today.

 

Do You Think You Can Afford To See You?

There is a good article on today’s front page sports section of the Boston Globe on the fun and value of watching minor league sports.  With the economy taking a bite out of everyone’s wallet, minor league sports are back in the limelight as an alternative to the very costly major league sports.

You may not see your favorite sports star but you will get to watch your favorite sport played by future stars at an affordable price.  If the team does it right, you will have a good experience and great time if the team wins or loses.  I used to handle marketing for a minor league hockey team.  This was our formula and it paid off.  Our team led the league in attendance and outsold the NBA team that played in the same venue. It is ironic that this article appeared today.  I was just discussing this very issue with someone yesterday.

I love going to see a major league team or good arena event as much as anyone.  If done right it is a great experience that is long remembered.  But the cost of that experience may have reached its max.  In fact I think its over the max based on the current economic climate. 

Here in Boston we are lucky to have three “major venues” to see events and sports.  The Garden, Fenway, and Gillette Stadium each provide a very cool and exciting experience.  However, all three have attracted the reputation of a very expensive experience.  Between the cost of the ticket, the parking, concessions, and merchandise it is becoming “out of reach” for the average fan or customer.

If I was handing the marketing for any of the three, I would put a campaign together around how it can be affordable to go.  If you are The Garden or Fenway you should cut a deal with the MBTA.  A whole campaign should be done around taking the “T” to the game or event.  The Bruins started the season promoting its “hungry for hockey” promotion.  This was a ticket that included unlimited concession items.  You should bring it back now.  This makes for great “recession” marketing.  The Red Sox and the Patriots have the great fortune of almost always being sold out.  But the seasons have not started yet.  What if the fans start to cut back? What if they want to watch you on TV instead of live? Start a campaign to show the great value of coming to your event.

If you are a show or event that plays in a “major venue” you will run into the same issues of affordability.  Because you are a first class show in a first class venue your customer may think they cannot afford to go.  You need to counter this with marketing.  Look at your ticket prices.  Look at how they get to the venue.  Look at everything that your customer is thinking.  If you were your customer, could you afford to go?

Things To Think About Over The Weekend

We have discussed in the past how “big ticket” luxury is not in right now.  Besides the financial facts of life affecting us all, no one wants to show off wealth.  I went holiday shopping yesterday to my local mall.  This mall has “regular” mall type stores and has a wing of “high end” stores.  The regular part of the mall was busy with holiday shoppers. The high end was like a ghost town.  I could have run through Neiman Marcus screaming and no one would hear it.  My wife went to Wal-Mart yesterday and it was packed!  I mentioned last week that I went to a Boston Bruins game.  While the seats in the upper balcony were full, the lower level (between the blue lines) seats were not.  This in includes the premium seats.  All of the empty seats were in the high price category.  Remember, the Bruins are the hottest team in the NHL right now. Think about all this when you planning your marketing and pricing for 2009.

Reacting To Negative Twitter Post

Yesterday I wrote about trying social network marketing.  I mentioned Twitter and dealing with possible negative posts.  Here is a link to a great article in today’s Ad Age Online: http://adage.com/digitalnext/article?article_id=133381.

What Are You Having Tonight?

Have you seen the new Arby’s TV spot that is airing nationally?  When it first starts I thought it was a Viagra commercial.  The spot gives a whole new meaning to the Arby’s logo.  Here is a link to the spot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaHDN3_X4QY.  This is a perfect example of the new ad thinking.  Put a “special” TV spot on the air and then watch in go viral.  It took me only 5 seconds to find it on YouTube. Just mentioning it in this blog is part of their viral goal.

Have a great weekend!

 

Mobile Mobile Everywhere

I went to the Boston Bruins game last night.  In case you don’t follow hockey, they are currently in first place and they won again last night.  This is the best start they have had in years.  I hope they keep it up.  Boston needs another championship to make it a complete sports domination.  So now that I ticked off all my readers in the other markets let’s get back to business.

At the game last night I had three opportunities to use my mobile phone.  First off the NHL is offering digital ways to vote for your favorite hockey all-star.  At the game you could use your mobile phone to text in your vote.  At home you can go to the website to do it.  Gone are the days when they handed out paper ballots that ended up on the arena floor because no one had a pen.

I used my mobile phone to text in my entry to win a trip to Florida to see the Bruins on the road.  The mobile phone was also used last night to text in my vote for which song they were going to play during the game. 

All this fan interaction is good for the fan to keep them stimulated during the TV timeouts.  But the real reason for the mobile text messages is to capture data.  The big question is; what are they going to do with it?  I purposely entered each of these mobile opportunities to see what will happen.  If and when I get anything from this data capture, I will let you know. 

In the last few months, I used my mobile phone to enter to win tickets to a few family shows coming to town.  I don’t know what they are using this data for but so far it is not for marketing back to me.  In the early fall I entered to win tickets to Ringling Bros. Circus.  Now Disney On Ice is coming and I entered again.  Both of these shows are produced by Feld Entertainment.  Don’t you think that a text message should have been sent to me when Disney On Ice went on sale?  They captured my mobile data with the circus promotion.  It is great to have this new technology but a waste if not used correctly.

Retailers Are Going Mobile Too

There is an article in today’s Wall Street Journal about how retailers are taking advantage of mobile marketing technology.  Wal-Mart and Target offer text messages with daily or weekly specials direct to your mobile phone.   They are not invading the customer’s personal space because these customers signed up for this type of marketing.  You cannot beat this kind of marketing.  These are customers who want you to send them advertising.  The retailer is saving major marketing dollars.  Look how many trees were saved to promote the weekly specials.

Buy.com is using Twitter messages for their followers.  Sears now offers customers the option to make purchases directly from your mobile phone with its Sears2Go program.  Amazon and Target have taken mobile one step further and now offer a free application for iphone users.  Just click on the icon and way you go to help the economy. 

What all these retailers need to do next is offer marketing messages to customers when they enter the store.  The technology does exist.  I can’t believe they are not using it.  Just think, you walk into Wal-Mart and you get a text message “Welcome back Dave.  Doing some Christmas shopping?  Here is a list of gift ideas for the wife & kids”.  You don’t get much more personal then that.

 

Charity Makes Good Marketing

If you are a show, event, or sports team are you always sold out?  Do you have empty seats looking for a butt?  Why not use them to work for you and help a charity at the same time.

I went to a charity fundraiser over the weekend to support my kids youth hockey program.  At this event they had a silent auction, live auction and raffle items available.  What I was most impressed with was the amount of items.  There was tons of stuff to bid on.  There needed to be.  This is how the youth hockey group raises money.  The fundraising committee worked overtime to search out and obtain these items.  My thought as I walked around looking at the items was this is a great marketing opportunity.

In this age of cutting marketing budgets and trying to hit as close to the bulls-eye as possible, exposing your product at a fundraising event is good.  Picking what events you give to is most important.  This was a youth hockey fundraiser so what type of marketing demo attends?  They were parents of kids in hockey.  Chances are, they like hockey, sports, and anything related to their kids.  So in turn the most popular items were these things.  Tickets to the local pro sports teams, in particular the Boston Bruins and New England Patriots were big items.  Summer hockey camps for kids were huge items.  What I did notice was that the tickets for the pro teams did not come from the teams but from season ticket holders.  If I was with a team, I would set aside tickets for these events.  This is your low hanging fruit.  These are your past, current, and future fans.  If you are a hockey team, you don’t get any closer to the bulls-eye.  Think how you could market the brand to your core demo at this event while giving away the tickets.

At the company I work for, we get written charity ticket requests everyday.  I try to give to almost all of them if possible.  Because I get so many, I set the rules on who and how many.  At the very least, it exposes the brand and fills the empty seat to someone who wants to enjoy my product.

You don’t have to wait for a charity to come to you.  There are now new opportunities to market your product while doing good.  I mentioned during the summer of one online organization cmarket/BiddingForGood; http://www.cmarket.com/auction/BiddingForGood.action.  EBay also has a charity site. They both host online charity auctions.  On these online charity sites, you reach thousands of potential customers for nothing more then giving away a little product.