Friday, February 26, 2010

CEO of Goldstar Events: More Pie Now!

Live 2.0
By Jim McCarthy


A couple days ago, I participated in a Panel at Tickets.com’s excellent Executive Summit in Long Beach. This gathering, in its second year, is one of a kind in that it brings together top executives across the live entertainment business for a brief, but powerful conference on a wide range of issues that affect the whole industry.

I was on a panel with a group of really interesting folks, and the topic was “Innovative Ways to Sell Inventory.” My prepared notes had me talking about the importance of addressing a female audience, since 85% of all branded products are bought by women in America. (Frankly, I’m not even sure I believe that stat, but I believe it’s directionally accurate.) I asked the audience how many people believed women bought 25% or more of all tires in the US and about half or perhaps a little less said they believed that.

But the number’s really 60%. That one blows me away. It implies that either women are buying tires for men, men don’t replace their tires, or women have more cars on which tires must be replaced. But this statistic, I wholeheartedly believe, because it’s true of just about every other segment of the economy.

And that’s how the panel was going until I got sidetracked. Read More >

Friday, February 19, 2010

MLB Cardinals to Introduce Stored-Value Ticket Technology

SportsBusiness Journal
Don Muret


The MLB Cardinals are introducing stored-value technology this season at Busch Stadium, a ballpark admission with credit to buy food, drink and merchandise loaded into the bar code and folded into the ticket price. Delaware North Sportservice, the Cardinals' concessionaire, is a partner in the project after installing a new Micros point-of-sale system to accept the technology. The Cardinals signed a separate deal with Givex, a stored value vendor whose clients include the MLB Giants. Cardinals officials declined to reveal the investment cost.

Branding stored value as Cards Cash, the team plans to offer four loaded ticket promotions for '10, including a $5 credit folded into the outfield loge box seats, a season ticket priced at $30 per game, said Cardinals VP/Ticket Sales & Services Joe Strohm. With those tickets priced the same as in '09, it is basically $5 in free value, he said. The new Holliday Pack, a seven-game mini-plan named for Cardinals LF Matt Holliday, includes a $7 credit for each game. The team has not determined the ticket price for that package, Strohm said. Individual and group buyers have the option to load $10 onto their tickets, but will receive an actual value of $12 in credit as the Cardinals push the technology. They are the first big league team locally to launch stored value.

Stored-value has been in place since the Phillies launched their program at Citizens Bank Park in '04, and more than one-third of MLB teams now provide the ticketing option. The Cardinals have always been a proponent of loaded tickets but did not previously have the infrastructure in place to accommodate the technology at Busch Stadium, Strohm said. "We definitely think this will take off here as it has in other markets," he said.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

John O'Hurley Set to Play 'Billy Flynn' in California Musical Theatre's CHICAGO

Broadway World

CHICAGO is BACK IN TOWN and its PURE ENTERTAINMENT! California Musical Theatre presents the national tour of "Chicago" starring John O'Hurley at the Community Center Theater, 1301 L Street, as part of the 20th anniversary Broadway Sacramento season, March 10-21, 2010. Now celebrating 13 glorious years of girls, glitz and glamour on the Broadway, the record-breaking smash hit musical CHICAGO is now the seventh longest-running production in Broadway history ... and shows no sign of ever slowing down!

Murder. Greed. Corruption. Violence. Exploitation. Adultery. Treachery. Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, CHICAGO is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who maliciously murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago's slickest criminal lawyer to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today's tabloids.

With a book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb, CHICAGO is the winner of six 1997 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Cast Recording.

John O'Hurley (Billy Flynn) is one of People magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive," and has become one of television's busiest and most versatile actors, show hosts, advertising heroes, and feature film stars. The award-winning actor is best known as J. Peterman on "Seinfeld," which is now the No. 1 syndicated series in the world in 85 countries. He danced his way into the hearts of America as the ultimate champion of the highly rated ABC show "Dancing with the Stars," starred on Broadway in Chicago, as the male lead Billy Flynn and starred in a two-year stint as the head of the Round Table, King Arthur, in Eric Idle's hilarious musical comedy "Monty Python's Spamalot" in Las Vegas. On the small screen he can be seen weekly on the popular syndicated show "Family Feud." As a follow-up to his Billboard chart topping CD Peace of Our Minds (which was the first independently produced CD to ever reach #13 on the Billboard Music charts), O'Hurley recently released Secrets from the Lake, a collaboration of his piano compositions with cellist Marston Smith. O'Hurley has written two books including his New York Times Bestseller called It's OK to Miss the Bed on the First Jump: And Other Life Lessons Learned from Dogs, and Before Your Dog Can Eat Your Homework, First You Have To Do It. When not performing, John maintains his single digit gold handicap by playing on the Celebrity Players Tour. Additionally, he lends his name and golf game to help charities close to his heart, especially Golfers Against Cancer and Child Development Institute. O'Hurley enjoys spending his free time with his wife Lisa and their young son William Dylan. Together they love to play golf, travel, play with their dogs, cheer for the Boston Red Sox, and entertain friends at their Beverly Hills home.

Produced by Barry and Fran Weissler, CHICAGO has become a worldwide phenomenon with productions in 24 countries and 11 languages since 1996.

The record-breaking London production of CHICAGO continues to hold the record as the longest-running American musical in West End history. CHICAGO is also on tour throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as international tours in Australia and the United Kingdom.

CHICAGO is a production not to be missed. And all the reviewers agree. Time Magazine calls it "A Triumph," Newsweek raves "Smashing" and Entertainment Weekly sums it up by calling CHICAGO "Broadway's Most Electrifying Show."

Advance tickets for CHICAGO are available at the Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Office, 1419 H Street, Sacramento, by phone at (916) 557-1999 or (916) 808-5181. Tickets are also available at the Community Center Theater box office, 1301 L Street, or online at Tickets.com. Performance times are Tuesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m., and Sunday, March 14, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $18-$65. Visit www.BroadwaySacramento.com for more ticketing information.

Discounts available for groups of 10 or more by calling (916) 557-1198.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Tickets.com in the News: Digital tickets for Oakland A's fans

San Jose Web 2.0 Examiner
Bonnie Boglioli-Randall


The Oakland Athletics sealed a deal with Costa Mesa-based Tickets.com to offer its fans complete mobile ticketing from start to finish. The A's are the first Major League Baseball club to implement start-to-finish mobile ticketing with the ProVenue mobile platform technology. With no applications necessary or calls to make, the purchase is short and sweet. Even better is the digitally delivered bar-code that eliminates the once necessary 3 P's of m-commerce: print, post or pick-up.

The A's Executive Director of Ticket Sales, Steve Fanelli, cited the importance of getting a piece of the mobile pie. "Staying ahead of advances in the mobile web market is critical in pleasing our fans and growing our organization," Fanelli said in a press release.

To see just how easy this process is, visit the mobile friendly A's website from your smart phone. Click on the prominent schedule link, choose your intended game, pay for it from your cell phone and wait briefly for your 2-D digital ticket. A slew of phones are compatible with the new ticketing feature including the iPhone (and iPod Touch), several Blackberry's and a few LG's. The Athletic's note that more devices are expected to be enabled shortly.

Response to the ProVenue platform has been positive thus far, with clients such as the Daytona International Speedway already on board. Tickets.com is currently the only ticket provider in the U.S. to offer complete ticketing via mobile. With m-commerce (mobile) usage on the rise since the advent of smart phones, it is expected that more such options will be made available within the next year for other sporting clubs.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum to play Oklahoma City Zoo Amphitheatre June 13

BAM's Blog
Brandy McDonnell


Oklahoma country music fans will have two chances this year to see superstar Tim McGraw, along with hot trio Lady Antebellum.

McGraw is kicking off his “Southern Voice” North American tour next week and planning stops in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Lady Antebellum, whose sophomore album “Need You Now” currently is No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums charts, will join McGraw for the entire tour.

The tour will play June 13 at Oklahoma City’s Zoo Amphitheatre, 2101 NE 50. Special guests Love and Theft will open the Oklahoma City show

Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, with prices starting at $57.50.

Tickets will be available online at www.tickets.com and www.zooamp.com, at participating Buy-For-Less Stores or by phone at (800) 511-1552.

In addition, the tour will stop April 8 at Tulsa’s BOK Center, 200 S Denver. Special guests the Lost Trailers will open the Tulsa show.

Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 13. Ticket prices are set at $35.50, $49.75, $69.75.

Tickets will be available online at www.bokcenter.com, at Arby’s Box Office and all Tickets.com outlets, or by phone at (866) 726-5287.

McGraw and his band, the Dancehall Doctors, will kick off their tour in support of his new album, “Southern Voice” Thursday at Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. The tour will conclude at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Virginia Beach, Va., on Aug. 15.

McGraw has sold more than 40 million units and dominated the charts with 30 No. 1 singles. He’s won three Grammys, 14 Academy of Country Music Awards, 11 Country Music Association Awards, 10 American Music Awards, three People’s Choice Awards and numerous other accolades.

He also has a successful acting career, most recently starring in the sleeper hit “The Blind Side,” which this week earned an Oscar nomination for best picture.

Lady Antebellum on Sunday took home the Grammy Award for best best country performance by a duo or group with vocals for the chart-topper “I Run To You.”

The trio recently notched another No. 1 hit with “Need You Now,” which the trio performed on Sunday’s Grammy awards show. The title track of the band’s second album recently spent five weeks at atop the Hot Country Songs chart and is climbing the Billboard 100 pop chart.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Washington Nationals individual tickets on sale Tuesday, March 2 at 10:00am

Team Announces Full Promotional Schedule and Discounts for 2010 Season

The Washington Nationals announced individual tickets for the 2010 season at Nationals Park will be available on Tuesday, March 2 at 10:00am. Tickets may be purchased at the Nationals Park Main Box Office, located at Half and N Street, SE, by calling 888.632.NATS(6287) or by logging on to nationals.com. Nationals Season Ticket Holders will receive information on a presale opportunity prior to the public on-sale. Individual ticket prices range from $5 to $325, with $5 tickets available only at the Nationals Park Box Office on the day of the game. The ballclub also released their robust promotional schedule and standing discounts for the 2010 season.

Nationals fans will receive promotional items on 24 separate dates at the ballpark with something for everyone, including three bobblehead nights presented by PNC Bank (Ryan Zimmerman, Nyjer Morgan and a fan choice), six T-Shirt Tuesdays and five giveaways designed specifically for children under the age of 12. The ballclub continues the tradition of an Opening Day giveaway with the first 20,000 fans to enter the ballpark on April 5 receiving a replica Batting Practice Hat, courtesy of GEICO. The team will conclude the season with Knit Beanies for fans on the final game of 2010, deemed Fan Appreciation Night. Popular pre- and post-game events including Friday Night Fireworks (postgame), Signature Sundays (pregame) and Kids Run the Bases (Sundays postgame) will also return to Nationals Park in 2010.

The Nationals will continue to offer standing discounts throughout the '10 season with the College Super Saver, Harris Teeter Vic Card Tuesdays, Washington Post Wednesdays, Miller Lite Party Night and Sunday Family Fun Packs returning from 2009.

College Super Saver - College Students with a valid college I.D. may purchase a ticket priced at $10 or more at 50-percent off the normal price in April and September. Available on all non-prime, non-holiday Monday through Thursday games at the Nationals Park Box Office, day of game only. Limit one ticket per I.D.

Harris Teeter Tuesdays - Fans may present their Harris Teeter VIC Card at the Nationals Park Box Office and receive $5 off tickets valued at $24 or more. Four ticket maximum per VIC Card.

Washington Post Wednesdays - Every Wednesday fans may receive $5 off tickets valued at $24 or more by presenting the front page of that day's The Washington Post at the Nationals Park Box Office. Two ticket maximum - only valid for that day's game.

Miller Lite Party Night - On Thursdays and Fridays fans may purchase a Scoreboard Pavilion seat and a drink voucher for the Miller Lite Scoreboard Walk Bar for $20 ($22 for prime games), normal value of $29.50 ($31.50 for prime games).

Family Fun Pack - For all Sunday home games, fans may purchase a $14 Upper Right Field Terrace ticket or $25 Outfield Reserved ticket that includes a hot dog, Coca-Cole/Dasani beverage and chips. Minimum of two tickets per purchase. Available in advance at nationals.com, via telephone or at the Box Office, as well as on the day of the game.

For all non-prime, non-holiday Monday through Thursday games, senior citizens, government employees, active members of the military and college students may receive a $3 discount off any ticket priced at $10 or more. Limit of one ticket per person with valid I.D. at Nationals Park Box Office, day-of- game only.

2010 Season Ticket Packages are currently on sale and include tickets to the April 3 exhibition game vs. the Boston Red Sox at 50 percent off the listed season ticket price. Excellent season ticket locations are available throughout the ballpark. Fans who are interested in becoming Nationals full- (82), half- (42), or partial- (22) season ticket holders or mini planholders (14, 13 and 10 games), may secure their seats by calling 202.675.NATS(6287) - Option #1 or by visiting nationals.com. Don't miss a minute of the excitement at Nationals Park, including great plays by Nationals players Adam Dunn, Ryan Zimmerman and Nyjer Morgan.

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Cubs single-game tickets on sale Feb. 19

Purchase at cubs.com at 10 a.m. CT; box office at 8 a.m.

MLB.com
By Carrie Muskat


Mark your calendars, Cubs fans. Individual-game tickets for the 2010 regular season will go on sale Feb. 19.

Tickets will be available for purchase in the following methods:

Via the Internet: Visitors to cubs.com can purchase tickets beginning at 10 a.m. CT on Feb. 19.

A virtual waiting room will be used for all Internet orders. The virtual waiting room will begin accepting customers at 9:30 a.m. CT on Feb. 19. At 10 a.m. CT, customers will be randomly selected from the virtual waiting room to begin purchasing tickets. All Internet customers will need a valid cubs.com account. Customers should sign up for an account prior to Feb. 19.

Outlet ticket sales will begin at 10 a.m. CT on Feb. 22 at Chicagoland Tickets.com Outlets.

At the Wrigley Field Box Office: Tickets will go on sale at 8 a.m. CT, and a random wristband system will be used. There will be no advantage to camping out at the ballpark, as initial position in lines will be established by a random drawing of all wristbands distributed prior to 6 a.m. CT on Feb. 19.

Wristbands will be available at Wrigley Field from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. CT on Feb. 17 and from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. CT on Feb. 18. There is a limit of one wristband per person. You will be required to show two forms of identification, one of which needs to be a government-issued photo ID. The wristbands will only be used at Wrigley Field on Feb. 19.

A random drawing will be held shortly after 6 a.m. CT on Feb. 19 to determine the starting number for the ticket lines. The winning number will immediately be announced on WGN Radio (720 AM) and cubs.com. All other numbers will follow the selected number.

By telephone: Tickets can be purchased by telephone through tickets.com beginning at 10 a.m. CT on Feb. 19. The tickets.com phone number for Illinois callers is 800-The-Cubs (800-843-2827). The phone number for out-of-state callers is 866-652-2827.

Ticket limits: From Feb. 19-21, various ticket limits will be put in place. These limits will be imposed based on various factors, including customer name, household, credit card and e-mail address. Internet customers who use computer-based scripting language may have all orders canceled.

• There will be a limit of six tickets per game.

• At the Wrigley Field Box Office, fans will be limited to ordering a maximum of 42 tickets.

• Internet and phone customers will be limited to one game per order of up to six tickets. Internet and phone customers will be limited to a maximum of 42 tickets for the weekend. All customers who order more than this limit may have all orders canceled.

All Bud Light bleacher tickets sold at Wrigley Field on Feb. 19 will be by credit card only (Visa, Mastercard, Discover or American Express). Credit cards used during the on-sale must be in the name of the ticket purchaser.

In an effort to provide the best ticket availability for Cubs fans, all customers when receiving a wristband on Feb. 17 or Feb. 18 and while purchasing tickets at Wrigley Field on Feb. 19 will be required to show two forms of identification, one of which needs to be a government-issued photo ID.

For updated ticket pricing, please visit cubs.com.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Mexican national soccer team to launch tour at Candlestick

Mercury News
By Elliott Almond


The World Cup-bound Mexican national soccer team will launch a six-match U.S. tour Feb. 24 at Candlestick Park.

El Tri will face Bolivia in its buildup for the World Cup in June in South Africa. The club then will meet World Cup qualifier New Zealand on March 3 at the Rose Bowl. New Zealand is led by Simon Elliott, an Earthquakes midfielder who starred at Stanford.

"The U.S. tour allows us to test our squad while giving our fans from all parts of the country the chance to send us off to South Africa," Nestor de la Torre, director of Mexico's national team programs, said in a statement.

Mexican national teams have regularly played at the Oakland Coliseum as part of Major League Soccer's strategy to attract Latino fans. The team drew crowds of more than 46,000 in Oakland last year in matches against Sweden and Nicaragua.

Tickets for the San Francisco match can be purchased at tickets.com or 1-800-225-2277.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

BOK Center confirms Widespread Panic date

Tulsa World
Jennifer Chancellor


Longtime jam band Widespread Panic will perform at the BOK Center on May 1.

The venue officially announced the concert and ticketing information on Wednesday. Tickets are $37, plus fees, and go on sale 10 a.m. Feb. 12 via tulsaworld.com/BOK, Arby’s Box Office, all Tickets.com outlets, or by calling 1-866-7-BOKCTR.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m., reports the band's official Web site.

Together for nearly two and a half decades, the band is widely popular for its live performances, and often draws tens of thousands to outdoor festivals including Bonaroo and Austin City Limits.

Commenting on what makes Widespread Panic so special, bassist Dave Schools replied in a statement emailed to the Tulsa World, "It's like a stagecoach with a pair of horses that are crazy out of control running down a mountainside, and somehow, the wheels don't fall off."

In its 24 years together, the band has sold more than 3 million albums and are consistently one of Pollstar's Top 50 grossing live acts.

The band is often compared to the Grateful Dead or Phish, and blends southern rock, blues, progressive rock and funk.

The band explores creative possibilities with lighting design to sound engineering to give their fans a unique and world-class concert every night -- and never perform the same show twice.

The band is working on songs for an album release later in 2010.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Mobile Metrics: Top Mobile Manufacturers & Devices

AdMob recently released their December Mobile Metrics report, highlighting manufacturer share, operating system share, top devices, and top smartphones for each region. The iPhone OS dominated the North American, Australian, and Western European markets (51% worldwide), and Apple shipped an incremental 26M iPhone units. December saw a cumulative 11,492,970,435 requests for smartphones, 36.3% of which were for Apple, 17.6% of which were for Nokia, and 11.2% of which were for Samsung.

Full Report (PDF) >

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Tickets.com Launches ProVenueMobile Mobile Ticketing for Oakland Athletics Tickets

Oakland Athletics Become First Major League Baseball Club to Fully Leverage the Potential of ProVenueMobile™ from Tickets.com

Tickets.com, a leading global provider of integrated ticketing solutions, announced that the Oakland A’s recently became the first Major League Baseball Club to implement the full functionality of ProVenueMobile™. Tickets.com is the only ticketing provider in North America to offer client-branded web site mobilization. Using this technology, Athletics fans can complete full-circle, real-time ticket transactions from select Internet-enabled mobile devices without downloading an application. Search, selection, payment and ticket delivery (using Tickets@Phone®) can be done directly through the Athletics mobile web site at wap.oaklandathletics.com without the need to “click to call” or access a computer.

“We are excited to be making this unrivaled mobile technology available to our fans,” said Steve Fanelli, Executive Director of Tickets Sales and Operations, Oakland Athletics. “Staying ahead of advances in the mobile web market is critical in pleasing our fans and growing our organization. With Tickets.com leading the way, we are confident we have the industry’s best technologies and customer service in our toolkit.”

“ProVenueMobile provides a complete end-to-end ticket buying experience by allowing fans to purchase tickets from their mobile devices and have them electronically delivered via a 2D bar-coded ticket to that device,” said Steve DeMots, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Tickets.com.

The Athletics’ adoption of ProVenueMobile continues their tradition of innovation in serving their fans; the Athletics were also the first Tickets.com client to offer Tickets@Phone when this convenient and groundbreaking delivery channel was originally introduced in 2007. (Today, Tickets.com remains the only ticket provider in the United States to enable ticket delivery to a mobile device.)

Tickets.com expects it will launch the ProVenueMobile service for other MLB clubs on its client roster before the start of the 2010 baseball season.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Dave Matthews Band to Jam at Nats Park

Band scores second-ever concert at Natonals Park on July 23

NBC Washington
By Adrienne Welsch


Good news DMB fans! Dave Matthews and his crew are coming to the District. They’ll play at Nationals Park on July 23.

It will be just the second live music concert ever held in the park. Elton John and Billy Joel performed last summer to a sold-out crowd.

“We pride ourselves on playing at some of the most unique venues in the world,” Matthews said in a statement obtained by the Washington Business Journal. “Nationals Park is the newest and most exciting outdoor venue in the D.C. market and we are very excited to be the second show to play there.”

Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 26 online at www.tickets.com and by phone at 888-632-6287. The show will be held rain or shine.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Tickets.com Partner Spotlight: Mondial Assistance

From the Super Bowl, to NASCAR, to The Masters, Fans Can Get Peace of Mind for High-Priced Tickets

Sports fans are willing to ante up big bucks for their favorite events – such as $1,050 for a four day pass to the 2010 Daytona 500 (as listed on DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com) or more than $4,000 for a VIP package to catch all the action in Augusta (as listed on Ticketmaster.com). Want to attend this year's Super Bowl with seats near the 50 yard line? No problem, if you're willing to fork over a cool $10,000. Even modest seats in the upper deck of Sun Life Stadium will cost fans well over $1000 (available through Ticketmaster.com).

But what if something unexpected happens on your way to the big game and you can't use your tickets? Missing all the action doesn't have to be a total loss ... provided your purchase included ticket insurance.

Mondial Assistance, a global leader in travel and specialty insurance, partners with ticketing providers such as Ticketmaster, Tickets.com, LiveNation, ISC, TicketNetwork and Ticketsnow.com to provide ticket insurance, under the product name Event Ticket Protector, that will reimburse you for tickets if you can't go due to covered reasons. For example, if you, a family member or traveling companion gets sick or injured, or something unexpected like a traffic accident keeps you at home, Event Ticket Protector will reimburse you for the full price of the tickets – including fees – if you have to miss the event.

"We've insured more than $500 million in tickets for some of the biggest entertainment events in the world," said Daniel Durazo, spokesperson for Mondial Assistance. "Ticket insurance is increasingly popular with fans, especially for events that are expensive or are purchased months in advance – two situations that create a higher risk for fans."

Event Ticket Protector is not just for pro sporting events, however. It's available for any ticket purchase made through Mondial Assistance's partners. It can be added to tickets for a Broadway show, for instance, or a college sporting event, such as the NCAA Final Four. The cost varies and is based on a percentage of the ticket price.

"We've found that ticket insurance is particularly popular with fans heading to New York for a show or to a college sporting event," added Durazo. "It makes sense, since those also are some purchases that tend to be higher in value and are laid out months in advance. It's just exactly what the insurance is designed for."

About Mondial Assistance

Mondial Assistance is a global leader in specialty insurance and emergency assistance services. Four percent of the world's population, or about 250 million people, are served by Mondial Assistance businesses around the globe. In the United States, Mondial Assistance is a brand name of World Access Service Corp., which is best known for its Access America® brand of travel insurance and assistance services. As one of 29 business units, the U.S. operation serves major travel suppliers, health insurers, credit card, and entertainment companies with insurance products, international travel assistance, and concierge services. Mondial Assistance is part of the Allianz group of companies. For more information please visit: www.mondialUSA.com.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Tickets.com Achieves 3-Star Service Desk Certification

"I'd like to say congratulations to Tickets.com who recently achieved 3 star service desk certification for their Syracuse service desk."

--Howard Kendall, Chairman and Founder of SDI

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

PMI Entertainment Group Chooses ProVenue® From Tickets.com for Its Innovative Ticketing Technology

Technology Enables PMI to Revolutionize the Ticketing Process for Multiple Venues and Tenants

PMI Entertainment Group, a company that operates several facilities, including The Resch Center, Brown County Veteran's Memorial Arena, Meyer Theatre and Shopko Exhibition Hall, has chosen ProVenue from Tickets.com to be the software platform for Ticket Star, the subsidiary that handles ticketing for all of its operations, including several regional ticketing clients. The company cited the ability to seamlessly connect multiple organizations in a secure environment, while managing data in real time as the reason they decided to go with ProVenue. Designed with an industry-leading data and application structure, ProVenue allows multiple organizations to share a system (single data base) that enables various people and groups across an enterprise to view or edit ticket transactions according to the permissions they have been given by management.

"We needed a system that would accommodate our unique business needs. The engine that powers Ticket Star is vital to us understanding our customer base, so being in control of our ticketing data will allow us to better service the expectations of our customers and promoters. With Tickets.com as our technology provider and the advanced functionality that ProVenue offers is exactly what we were looking for," said Brendan Bruss, Chief Administrative Officer of PMI Entertainment Group.

ProVenue gives clients the power to enhance the security of a transaction by choosing who may view or edit account data. Clients may keep a customer's account information completely private, or they may enable the customer or venue to access and edit information. At the same time, the client can provide view-only access of accounts to call centers and outlets, allowing sales personnel to see select details of an account and sell tickets without making changes to the account. In addition to enhancing security, ProVenue technology boosts sales by equipping client organizations with the ability to bundle events from multiple client inventories for easy package sales.

"ProVenue was developed to offer our regional multi-organization clients, like PMI [Entertainment Group], Select-A-Seat and MyTicketOffice.com, unprecedented security, simplicity and sophistication throughout the ticketing process. We [Tickets.com] pursue the latest technological advances in order to give our clients what they want and need – a single environment where they can completely control what information can be viewed or edited by others," said Steve DeMots, Senior Vice President of Business Development for Tickets.com. "We also see this as better functionality for arenas and sports teams that have multiple databases/ tenants, or for organizations that want to pursue opportunities that exist in the regional ticketing space."

PMI Entertainment Group is a full service management company providing comprehensive services to venues and entertainment facilities. As one of the few operators in the industry that is a complete resource, PMI Entertainment Group offers venue and sports management, show and event production, ticketing, booking, marketing, food and beverage services, group sales, sponsorships and consulting. For more information on PMI Entertainment Group visit www.pmiwi.com.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Ticket info released for Michael Buble's Tulsa concert

Tulsa World
Jennifer Chancellor


Vocal, big band and jazz artist Michael Buble will perform at the BOK Center arena on June 22, the BOK Center has confirmed.

Buble's (Boob-ley) tour date was added to his Pollstar tour listings in the last 24 hours, Pollstar Pro online reports.

Tickets will be $51.50, $71.50 and $91.50, plus fees. They go on sale 10 a.m. Feb. 5, the BOK Center confirmed, available online at tulsaworld.com/BOK, The BOK Center box office, all Tickets.com outlets or by calling (866) 7-BOKCTR.

So far, it is the only Oklahoma show date on his tour roster, the site shows. Other dates include Kansas City, Dallas, New Orleans, St. Louis and more.
Pre-sale ticketing information and more are available at his official Web site, via tulsaworld.com/MichaelBuble.

The Grammy-winning Canadian singer and actor has performed in Tulsa several times since his 2005 album debut, "It's Time." His latest, "Crazy Love," was released in 2009.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Tickets.com Partner Spotlight: Accertify Reports Significant Growth During 2009

Accertify, a leading provider of online fraud prevention solutions, ended a highly successful 2009 by more than doubling its client base. This success is further reflected by year-over-year revenue growth of 427 percent.

In 2009, Accertify grew its client list by 263 percent increase over a year ago. Last year, the company signed deals with an array of industry-leading brand names, including Barnes and Noble, Sony Electronics Inc., Delta Air Lines, Blockbuster, JetBlue Airways, Tickets.com, eHarmony, Mexicana, 1800hotels.com, AutoTrader.com, Simplexity (Wirefly.com), RevenueWire, Monavie, MyLife.com, oDesk, and Square Enix, among others. Several more customer deals have been closed since Jan. 1.

In addition, Accertify penetrated several new industry verticals, including social networking, gaming, hotels, telecommunications and multi-level marketing. Accertify also demonstrated international growth and is now serving customers in Mexico, Japan, United Kingdom and other parts of Europe.

During the year, Accertify added new technology partnerships to seamlessly provide customers with even more fraud-fighting services. Employment during 2009 grew by 200 percent. This month, Accertify moved into a larger headquarters facility in Itasca, Ill., to accommodate expansion and further growth in its customer offerings, and industry veteran Rob Stephan joined the company's sales team.

"Accertify experienced significant growth in 2009," said Jeff Liesendahl, Accertify's CEO. "We attribute this momentum to our innovative approach to fraud prevention, the success of our Interceptas platform and our first-hand fraud-fighting experience, as well as to expansion of the fraud prevention market as e-commerce merchants upgrade their systems to reduce losses."

"Companies are recognizing that Interceptas can dramatically cut their total cost of fraud, including chargebacks, manual reviews and other operational costs, while improving customer service," Liesendahl said.

Interceptas is a comprehensive and integrated software platform that applies automation to every step in the fraud prevention process. Built with a merchant's perspective, it delivers unparalleled flexibility in combating various types of criminal behavior, including fraud related to card-not-present purchases, online scams and policy abuse, merchandise returns and exchanges and other data management challenges. Accertify provides unique, advanced capabilities for analyzing and managing data and is the only provider delivering consulting services from fraud experts.

About Accertify®

Accertify Inc. is a leader in providing e-commerce companies with software, tools and strategies for preventing online fraud and mitigating enterprise-wide risks. Our Interceptas platform integrates every component of fraud prevention, applies state-of-the-art automation to each step in process and offers advanced capabilities for managing fraud data. Built with a merchant's perspective, Interceptas® delivers unparalleled flexibility in preventing various types of criminal behavior, including fraud related to card-not-present purchases, online scams and policy abuse, merchandise returns and exchanges and other data management challenges. Accertify is committed to providing online companies with the most cost-effective solution to fraud available. For more information, visit www.accertify.com.