Are They Finally Getting It?

This week Live Nation and Groupon announced a partnership to move tickets.  The deal is called GrouponLive.  This is a major breakthrough for the concert industry.  They are finally starting to get it.

How can I not like this partnership?  Anyone who reads this blog knows that I constantly preach about this stuff.  Instead of just papering the house, leaving the seat empty, or canceling a show, they are going to try and get some ticket revenue for the seat.  Don’t forget that Live Nation runs many of the venues.  Getting a customer in at a discount also means getting revenue for parking, concessions, and merch.

This matchup is closer to the marketing thinking that the live family show business has been doing for years.  The live concert industry always believed it was beneath them to offer discounts, group sales or promotions.  I still remember a certain manager of a very famous rock band giving me shit when I came up with a clever promotion to create exposure for his on-sale. His quote was “this ain’t a fuckin circus”.  He was referencing my Ringling Bros. marketing background.

As a music fan that grew up spending lots of summer nights at an outdoor amphitheater, this could help bring that summer ritual to a new audience.  When I was a teen, anyone could afford to see multiple shows at a summer shed and teens took advantage of this.  Today, kids have to save the whole summer just to see one.   Offering a GrouponLive coupon could fill those lawn seats once again.

This deal is probably a better deal for Live Nation then Groupon.  Yes, Groupon will move tickets with their 60 million subscribers, which will bring them new revenue.  For Live Nation, they get to market to 60 million subscribers and fill those empty seats. As Michael Rapino CEO of Live Nation said “finding ways to deliver the message to local email in-boxes is the way of the future.” 

I believe this is a shot in the arm that Live Nation needs save the 2011 summer season and maybe even the company.

Answer From A Reader

In the last post one my readers wrote an email asking how to deal with discounts and fire-sales.  Here is an answer from a live event promoter:

 Hello!

 I work as a promoter for shows – and I too read your blog every day.

 In regards to fire-sales and discounts, I think the issue is the fact that the venue is endorsing the last minute fire sales and discounts by displaying them on their twitter and Facebook accounts. I would be mad at them, as a patron, as well. As marketers, we need to get more creative in our discounting when a show is not selling well. We need to reach out to our media partners and venue sponsors to ask them to “take ownership” of a discount that they are bringing into the market. When the local radio station is offering their listeners 50% off tickets – the venue is not seen as the one to blame. When the local TV station, channel 10 for example, gives their viewers a $10 discount on tickets, this becomes their discount. Using the media allows for a separation between the venue and the media partners who are the ones putting out a ‘fire sale’. This eliminates (hopefully) upsetting those patrons who already paid full price for their tickets. At least it eliminates patrons getting mad at the venue directly.

Another thing I never do is discount the top ticket price. Those are your big players – the ones that get upset when their full price ticket they purchased later gets discounted. This way, those people receiving discounts are purchasing those tickets that are “less desirable.” 

To reply to the Facebook message that the venue received they could say:

We appreciate your purchase of tickets early. You will be rewarded for your early purchase by having the best seat in that price level. 

Name Withheld

Deals, Deals, Everywhere A Deal

Everywhere I look I see deals.  20% off, 30% off %, 50% off etc…  Who pays full price anymore?  This is not just in the retail world but in the event and entertainment business too. 

Ringling Bros. is offering a deal for the family.  Four tickets for $40.00.  My friend Doak Turner (Nashville’s song writing guru) http://www.nashvillemuse.com sent me the tip.  The 4 for $40 deal is good for this Sunday’s two performances at the Sommet Center.  It is good on the $24, $18, & $13 tickets.  You can only get this deal via ticketmaster.com when you type in the keyword “FAMILY”.

How about the free ticket deal I mentioned a few weeks ago in Miami!

I’ll have a dog with that ticket

Eight Major League Baseball teams are using “loaded tickets”.  This deal I love!  Your ticket can also have money credit stored for concessions and merchandise.  This will only help revenues.  I don’t see a downside.  If the customer doesn’t spend the credit, the team still has the cash.  I wonder if Jeff Cogan was behind this package?

What the fee?

Ticketmaster is supposedly lowering its fees for 2009 to compete with Live Nation’s new ticketing system.  Have they started this yet?  Back in November they said they might even drop the fee on “TicketsFast”.  This is the print at home delivery method.  Someone tell me if I am wrong but they are still charging $2.00 to print your own tickets, right?  

Start off right

My big marketing question of the day is:  If everyone just re-did the pricing to a level that the consumer could live with, would we need deals?  Are promoters and shows thinking “let’s just put the show on sale at our normal (high) price and see what happens?  We can always create a deal later”.  This is bad for our business.  1) Don’t you want the “on-sale” to do well right out of the box?  2) If the customer get used to discounts all the time will they wait for them?   3) What do all these added discounts say about the product?

As we all go forward let’s take a hard look at prices of the events.  If the show or event has not gone on sale yet, look at your prices.  Are they at the price that your patron will buy?  Create packages that show a “good value” for the customer before you go on sale.  If you start the campaign on the right note, it will be much easier to raise prices when the economy gets back on track.