Digonex Technologies, Inc., announced today that the Minnesota Twins will make use of its Sports and Entertainment Analytic Ticketing System (SEATS) for revenue analytic services this season.
Digonex's service is based upon econometric and behavioral principles, employs XML Team and a client customizable approach to give the most robust and flexible solution for analyzing the parameters most relevant to delivering valuable recommendations to the client.
"Sports franchises are facing many challenges including a tough economy, a very accessible secondary market, and competing forces for the entertainment dollar," said Jan Eglen, Ph.D, CEO for Digonex. "The main goal of our services is to provide our clients with greater information on the value of their fans, their tickets, and the opportunities for sustainable growth."
"As the Twins organization continues to adjust to our new home in Target Field, we remain committed to doing all that we can to field a competitive team and to delivering the best ballpark entertainment experience for our fans - now and in the years to come. Certainly, ensuring that we price our tickets appropriately is a key component to delivering on these commitments. The expertise and services Digonex provides have proven to be extremely valuable to their clients throughout the sports and entertainment industry and we hope to benefit from their analytic services as well," said Steve Smith, vice president of ticket sales and service for the Minnesota Twins.
Digonex is collaborating with Tickets.com, and Major League Baseball® to provide its analytics services to the Twins. The Twins utilize Tickets.com's flagship platform, ProVenue®, for ticket sales and inventory management.
Source: Forbes.com, August 26, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Tickets.com's Mobile Partner Txtstation Signs Two-Year Deal with the Houston Texans
August 19, 2010
The National Football League's Houston Texans and Txtstation Mobile Marketing have announced a two-year partnership to bring real-time interactivity to fans while at Reliant Stadium. The promotions range from real-time SMS voting and text alerts to in-stadium video board games and contests.
“The Houston Texans were looking at several companies to help them use mobile for in-game entertainment, to activate some of their sponsorship deals and to build up an SMS database,” said Michael Falato, vice president of sales and business development at Txtstation, Austin, TX.
“The team chose us for in-stadium SMS poll, sending out score alerts and keeping people up to date with what’s going on with the Texans,” he said.
"The team is very much up to date with the social media and texting with their fans, with in-stadium calls-to-action and a Web site entry form to sign up for text alerts.”
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The team is a member of the Southern Division of the NFL's American Football Conference (AFC).
Txtstation is a mobile marketing company specializing in sports and entertainment that helps broadcasters, event owners, sponsors and general media to communicate with viewers or fans directly through mobile phones.
Are you ready for SMS?
The Houston Texans will begin running mobile promotions during the preseason and will continue while fans are at the games.
The latest team news from the Texans include real-time in-game scoring updates, team transaction notices, injury notifications, player appearances and special offers on merchandise and tickets, delivered straight to fans' mobile phones.
The Texans are currently offering three separate text clubs for game-day score updates, team news and alerts, and special ticket and merchandise offers, respectively.
Fans can join by texting the keyword SCORES to the short code 88222, NEWS to 88222 or OFFERS to 88222.
The Texans are broadcasting graphics inside the stadium featuring branding from McDonald’s, MasterCard and Whataburger.
Mr. Falato said that the Houston Texans are a smart and creative organization, and that his company is looking forward to pushing the envelope with its texting tactics.
“The Texans asked ‘How do we figure out who is watching our games, listening to our games and at our games, and engage with them?” Mr. Falato said.
“Text messaging is a great way, and they can also have people text in to collect their phone numbers, email address, physical addresses and get them to Like the Texans’ Facebook page,” he said.
Source: Dan Butcher, Mobile Marketer Daily
The National Football League's Houston Texans and Txtstation Mobile Marketing have announced a two-year partnership to bring real-time interactivity to fans while at Reliant Stadium. The promotions range from real-time SMS voting and text alerts to in-stadium video board games and contests.
“The Houston Texans were looking at several companies to help them use mobile for in-game entertainment, to activate some of their sponsorship deals and to build up an SMS database,” said Michael Falato, vice president of sales and business development at Txtstation, Austin, TX.
“The team chose us for in-stadium SMS poll, sending out score alerts and keeping people up to date with what’s going on with the Texans,” he said.
"The team is very much up to date with the social media and texting with their fans, with in-stadium calls-to-action and a Web site entry form to sign up for text alerts.”
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The team is a member of the Southern Division of the NFL's American Football Conference (AFC).
Txtstation is a mobile marketing company specializing in sports and entertainment that helps broadcasters, event owners, sponsors and general media to communicate with viewers or fans directly through mobile phones.
Are you ready for SMS?
The Houston Texans will begin running mobile promotions during the preseason and will continue while fans are at the games.
The latest team news from the Texans include real-time in-game scoring updates, team transaction notices, injury notifications, player appearances and special offers on merchandise and tickets, delivered straight to fans' mobile phones.
The Texans are currently offering three separate text clubs for game-day score updates, team news and alerts, and special ticket and merchandise offers, respectively.
Fans can join by texting the keyword SCORES to the short code 88222, NEWS to 88222 or OFFERS to 88222.
The Texans are broadcasting graphics inside the stadium featuring branding from McDonald’s, MasterCard and Whataburger.
Mr. Falato said that the Houston Texans are a smart and creative organization, and that his company is looking forward to pushing the envelope with its texting tactics.
“The Texans asked ‘How do we figure out who is watching our games, listening to our games and at our games, and engage with them?” Mr. Falato said.
“Text messaging is a great way, and they can also have people text in to collect their phone numbers, email address, physical addresses and get them to Like the Texans’ Facebook page,” he said.
Source: Dan Butcher, Mobile Marketer Daily
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Mobile Marketing - A New Dynasty
Another powerful article on mobile marketing and the opportunities it presents.
Have a read.
Over the past 10 years, multiple marketing channels have emerged – email, Internet and Social Media marketing have each ascended to the throne of marketing leadership at one point. While these avenues certainly are not declining in value, the world is changing. A new force is coming and it’s stronger and shows more potential than its predecessors. This force is mobile marketing. Here’s why:
Unlike television, Internet, email, social media and other sources of mass media, mobile phones are everywhere. Research from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) found that mobile has been the most rapidly adopted technology in history. Today, it is the most popular and widespread personal technology on the planet, with an estimated 4.6 billion subscriptions globally by the end of 2009.
Morgan Stanley predicts mobile will be bigger than desktop Internet in five years and mobile data traffic will increase by 39 times by 2014. Mongoose Metrics states in "Mobile Marketing for Business" that if marketers "… don’t start understanding and implementing mobile marketing now – ahead of the curve – you might lose out on the biggest opportunity since the invention of online marketing." Mobile marketing provides a new dynamic for marketers to use in their campaigns, and we here at Aprimo believe that mobile marketing will be a growing, driving force in the world of marketing, with the potential to become the king of communication.
"With so many consumers with mobile devices, there are many new opportunities to provide relevant and timely messages to improve a company’s wallet share." said Wes Moore, Vice President of B2C Solutions for Aprimo. "Now, imagine you are a retail store. Instead of send consumers random email alerts about special offers, you can send consumers the requested targeted and relevant messages when they are near or inside one of your locations. Now that is personalized marketing."
Have a read.
Over the past 10 years, multiple marketing channels have emerged – email, Internet and Social Media marketing have each ascended to the throne of marketing leadership at one point. While these avenues certainly are not declining in value, the world is changing. A new force is coming and it’s stronger and shows more potential than its predecessors. This force is mobile marketing. Here’s why:
Unlike television, Internet, email, social media and other sources of mass media, mobile phones are everywhere. Research from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) found that mobile has been the most rapidly adopted technology in history. Today, it is the most popular and widespread personal technology on the planet, with an estimated 4.6 billion subscriptions globally by the end of 2009.
Morgan Stanley predicts mobile will be bigger than desktop Internet in five years and mobile data traffic will increase by 39 times by 2014. Mongoose Metrics states in "Mobile Marketing for Business" that if marketers "… don’t start understanding and implementing mobile marketing now – ahead of the curve – you might lose out on the biggest opportunity since the invention of online marketing." Mobile marketing provides a new dynamic for marketers to use in their campaigns, and we here at Aprimo believe that mobile marketing will be a growing, driving force in the world of marketing, with the potential to become the king of communication.
"With so many consumers with mobile devices, there are many new opportunities to provide relevant and timely messages to improve a company’s wallet share." said Wes Moore, Vice President of B2C Solutions for Aprimo. "Now, imagine you are a retail store. Instead of send consumers random email alerts about special offers, you can send consumers the requested targeted and relevant messages when they are near or inside one of your locations. Now that is personalized marketing."
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Tickets.com and Florida Marlins Execute Long-Term Ticketing Agreement
The Agreement Includes the Advanced ProVenue® Platform, ProVenueMobile, Tickets@Phone and Uptix Stored Value Technologies.
Tickets.com adds National League Major League Baseball team the Florida Marlins® to its client line-up with a long-term ticketing agreement anchored on ProVenue®, the industry’s most advanced ticketing platform. Among other technologies, the portfolio of features and services to be delivered to the Marlins includes ProVenueMobile, Tickets@Phone and Uptix stored value ticketing.
“When reviewing our options in choosing a ticketing partner, we saw that Tickets.com was by far the best technological fit,” says David Samson, Florida Marlins team president. “I know that our fans, as well as our organization, will benefit from the breakthrough technologies that Tickets.com is offering—and continuing to develop.”
The Florida Marlins’ adoption of the web-based ProVenue platform coincides with the kick-off of the team’s 2012 season in their new stadium. The 2012 season ticket-holder deposits are already being processed through the ProVenue system. The platform’s flexible open architecture allows for additional features, applications, and data management programs offered by Tickets.com or other third parties to be seamlessly integrated at any time.
“We’re confident that the ProVenue ticketing platform will meet all the consumer-facing and internal needs of the Florida Marlins organization,” says John Walker, president and CEO, Tickets.com. “The club shares our enthusiasm for technological innovation, so it is exciting to be their technology partner as they take up residence at the Marlins Ballpark.”
The Marlins will be extending their reach of ProVenue with the simultaneous deployment of ProVenueMobile, giving fans the capability to purchase their tickets with their mobile device. To give fans a 360 degree mobile – and green – ticket-buying experience, the Marlins are also incorporating Tickets.com’s Tickets@Phone feature, which allows purchasers to digitally receive their tickets, through the use of unique bar codes, directly on their mobile device.
The Marlins are also implementing a stored-value ticketing program using the versatile Uptix technology developed by Givex USA Corporation and offered through Tickets.com. The Uptix service—which can be customized and individually branded for each client—allows concessions and merchandise credits to be pre-loaded onto a ticket through the barcode. The value of credits is included into the ticket purchase price. The added value is scannable by vendors throughout the ballpark for the duration of the game.
The Uptix service can also be programmed to electronically award bonus dollars to ticket-holders at interactive, in-game promotions, enhancing the overall fan experience—another example of the industry-leading technology from Tickets.com that reeled in the Marlins.
Tickets.com adds National League Major League Baseball team the Florida Marlins® to its client line-up with a long-term ticketing agreement anchored on ProVenue®, the industry’s most advanced ticketing platform. Among other technologies, the portfolio of features and services to be delivered to the Marlins includes ProVenueMobile, Tickets@Phone and Uptix stored value ticketing.
“When reviewing our options in choosing a ticketing partner, we saw that Tickets.com was by far the best technological fit,” says David Samson, Florida Marlins team president. “I know that our fans, as well as our organization, will benefit from the breakthrough technologies that Tickets.com is offering—and continuing to develop.”
The Florida Marlins’ adoption of the web-based ProVenue platform coincides with the kick-off of the team’s 2012 season in their new stadium. The 2012 season ticket-holder deposits are already being processed through the ProVenue system. The platform’s flexible open architecture allows for additional features, applications, and data management programs offered by Tickets.com or other third parties to be seamlessly integrated at any time.
“We’re confident that the ProVenue ticketing platform will meet all the consumer-facing and internal needs of the Florida Marlins organization,” says John Walker, president and CEO, Tickets.com. “The club shares our enthusiasm for technological innovation, so it is exciting to be their technology partner as they take up residence at the Marlins Ballpark.”
The Marlins will be extending their reach of ProVenue with the simultaneous deployment of ProVenueMobile, giving fans the capability to purchase their tickets with their mobile device. To give fans a 360 degree mobile – and green – ticket-buying experience, the Marlins are also incorporating Tickets.com’s Tickets@Phone feature, which allows purchasers to digitally receive their tickets, through the use of unique bar codes, directly on their mobile device.
The Marlins are also implementing a stored-value ticketing program using the versatile Uptix technology developed by Givex USA Corporation and offered through Tickets.com. The Uptix service—which can be customized and individually branded for each client—allows concessions and merchandise credits to be pre-loaded onto a ticket through the barcode. The value of credits is included into the ticket purchase price. The added value is scannable by vendors throughout the ballpark for the duration of the game.
The Uptix service can also be programmed to electronically award bonus dollars to ticket-holders at interactive, in-game promotions, enhancing the overall fan experience—another example of the industry-leading technology from Tickets.com that reeled in the Marlins.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Thrashers, Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz Select Qcue to Power Dynamic Ticket Pricing
Qcue, the dynamic pricing engine for live entertainment events, today announced deals with National Basketball Association (NBA) franchises, the Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz as well as the Atlanta Thrashers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Already the chosen dynamic pricing solution for teams in MLB and the NHL, the Hawks, Rockets and Jazz mark Qcue's entry into the NBA.
As the only fully integrated software-based dynamic pricing solution on the market, Qcue reduces the time it takes to re-price tickets from several days to just a few minutes. Sophisticated algorithms take into account playoff implications, weather, opponents, day of the week, real-time sales and other market conditions to determine the optimal price for each ticket once a price adjustment is determined.
"We believe that Qcue's dynamic pricing system offers a versatile solution that is easy to use and flexible enough to meet the needs of both our NBA and NHL franchises," said Tracy White, Chief Sales Officer and Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers. "Sports market conditions are constantly changing and now we are able to quickly adapt to them while also providing greater value to our season ticket holders."
"Qcue's technology will ultimately allow our fans and consumer demand patterns to dictate single-game ticket prices," said Christopher Dacey, Vice President at the Houston Rockets.
With Qcue's dynamic pricing system, thousands of price changes take just a few minutes. The SaaS-based software solution helps teams analyze sales data and other external pricing variables, providing sales and revenue projections, as well as recommendations on setting the right price at the right time. Whether it's a surprise playoff run or an MVP coming to town, teams are looking for ways to stay flexible to match ticket prices with the value of the experience.
"We are excited to move in the direction of dynamic pricing with Qcue," said Jim Olson, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Utah Jazz. "Dynamic pricing allows us to better price our tickets according to public demand. The Qcue system is a proven system that takes the guess work out of the process and provides us with the data to both service our fans and maximize our opportunities."
As the only fully integrated software-based dynamic pricing solution on the market, Qcue reduces the time it takes to re-price tickets from several days to just a few minutes. Sophisticated algorithms take into account playoff implications, weather, opponents, day of the week, real-time sales and other market conditions to determine the optimal price for each ticket once a price adjustment is determined.
"We believe that Qcue's dynamic pricing system offers a versatile solution that is easy to use and flexible enough to meet the needs of both our NBA and NHL franchises," said Tracy White, Chief Sales Officer and Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers. "Sports market conditions are constantly changing and now we are able to quickly adapt to them while also providing greater value to our season ticket holders."
"Qcue's technology will ultimately allow our fans and consumer demand patterns to dictate single-game ticket prices," said Christopher Dacey, Vice President at the Houston Rockets.
With Qcue's dynamic pricing system, thousands of price changes take just a few minutes. The SaaS-based software solution helps teams analyze sales data and other external pricing variables, providing sales and revenue projections, as well as recommendations on setting the right price at the right time. Whether it's a surprise playoff run or an MVP coming to town, teams are looking for ways to stay flexible to match ticket prices with the value of the experience.
"We are excited to move in the direction of dynamic pricing with Qcue," said Jim Olson, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the Utah Jazz. "Dynamic pricing allows us to better price our tickets according to public demand. The Qcue system is a proven system that takes the guess work out of the process and provides us with the data to both service our fans and maximize our opportunities."
Friday, August 13, 2010
Tickets.com, Others Follow Google, Amazon in Opening Up
Opening up an internal resource to outside developers, a la Amazon Web Services and Force.com, isn't just for the big guys anymore.
Smaller organizations with systems that may be aimed at narrow markets are also deciding to open up their platforms to third-party developers. They may do so as a way to create a new revenue stream or to make their own offerings more attractive.
Tickets.com is one such company that has opened its platform to third parties. The company, a subsidiary of MLB.com, provides the back-end ticketing engine for some Major League Baseball teams.
About four years ago, Tickets.com set out to revamp its platform, which at the time was composed of incompatible legacy systems. It decided to build an entirely new platform with a service-oriented architecture and a Web-based front end, said John Rizzi, senior vice president of product management and strategy at Tickets.com.
The decision to open that platform up to third parties came about by chance. "Somewhat by accident, we came to this spot," he said.
As it began building the new platform, Tickets.com hired technology experts to help with the process. "It took us bringing in people from outside the ticketing industry who were much more technology-centric to understand that we had a lot more in this platform than just something more modern and cheaper," Rizzi said.
Tickets.com isn't making its APIs available to just anyone, though. "It's not like we're going to say, 'here's the API, go develop and have fun.' Our clients aren't asking for that," he said. "They are asking for more flexibility and options, and we want to give them that."
Some third-party companies have already started offering services to Tickets.com customers using the new platform, and others are in the works.
Ballena is offering a product, built on Tickets.com's system, that lets online shoppers see in 3D the view from the seat they are considering buying. StubHub, the official secondary ticketing provider of the MLB, is also using the new platform. Its offering is integrated with Tickets.com, which ensures the tickets offered on StubHub are valid.
Tickets.com is also working with Qcue and Digonex, which offer dynamic pricing tools. Qcue, for example, feeds data, including sales inventory provided by Tickets.com and other data about the team's record, the weather and the game's pitching matchup, into its algorithms to recommend that baseball teams adjust ticket prices.
Developers may pay for access to Tickets.com in different ways, depending on how they operate. "My intent is, yes, to profit from this," Rizzi said. Qcue pays a subscription to receive the data feed. Stubhub shares revenue.
Rizzi's advice to other companies thinking of opening up their offerings in a similar way is to carefully think about the revenue model. "That's huge, because in the end, we could wind up opening our system and having a great system and making all the third parties really wealthy, and not participating in that. We don't want to do that," Rizzi said. "We want them to prosper... but I think having a plan in terms of how to monetize it before you implement is pretty important."
He also suggested that it's important to think about how to support the third-party developers. "Supporting an ecosystem of third parties is a lot different from supporting a client who is the end user of the system," he noted. He recommends that other companies make sure to consider those kinds of structural and business components and factor them into their revenue models.
At a recent cloud computing conference, Rizzi said one central theme was making the cloud about more than cost savings.
That's what Tickets.com and some of the pioneers in offering infrastructure or platforms as a service have done. Amazon, Google and Salesforce.com are among companies that have opened up their internal resources so third parties can develop on them.
For complete article: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=3235305
Source: Nancy Gohring, PC Advisor
Smaller organizations with systems that may be aimed at narrow markets are also deciding to open up their platforms to third-party developers. They may do so as a way to create a new revenue stream or to make their own offerings more attractive.
Tickets.com is one such company that has opened its platform to third parties. The company, a subsidiary of MLB.com, provides the back-end ticketing engine for some Major League Baseball teams.
About four years ago, Tickets.com set out to revamp its platform, which at the time was composed of incompatible legacy systems. It decided to build an entirely new platform with a service-oriented architecture and a Web-based front end, said John Rizzi, senior vice president of product management and strategy at Tickets.com.
The decision to open that platform up to third parties came about by chance. "Somewhat by accident, we came to this spot," he said.
As it began building the new platform, Tickets.com hired technology experts to help with the process. "It took us bringing in people from outside the ticketing industry who were much more technology-centric to understand that we had a lot more in this platform than just something more modern and cheaper," Rizzi said.
Tickets.com isn't making its APIs available to just anyone, though. "It's not like we're going to say, 'here's the API, go develop and have fun.' Our clients aren't asking for that," he said. "They are asking for more flexibility and options, and we want to give them that."
Some third-party companies have already started offering services to Tickets.com customers using the new platform, and others are in the works.
Ballena is offering a product, built on Tickets.com's system, that lets online shoppers see in 3D the view from the seat they are considering buying. StubHub, the official secondary ticketing provider of the MLB, is also using the new platform. Its offering is integrated with Tickets.com, which ensures the tickets offered on StubHub are valid.
Tickets.com is also working with Qcue and Digonex, which offer dynamic pricing tools. Qcue, for example, feeds data, including sales inventory provided by Tickets.com and other data about the team's record, the weather and the game's pitching matchup, into its algorithms to recommend that baseball teams adjust ticket prices.
Developers may pay for access to Tickets.com in different ways, depending on how they operate. "My intent is, yes, to profit from this," Rizzi said. Qcue pays a subscription to receive the data feed. Stubhub shares revenue.
Rizzi's advice to other companies thinking of opening up their offerings in a similar way is to carefully think about the revenue model. "That's huge, because in the end, we could wind up opening our system and having a great system and making all the third parties really wealthy, and not participating in that. We don't want to do that," Rizzi said. "We want them to prosper... but I think having a plan in terms of how to monetize it before you implement is pretty important."
He also suggested that it's important to think about how to support the third-party developers. "Supporting an ecosystem of third parties is a lot different from supporting a client who is the end user of the system," he noted. He recommends that other companies make sure to consider those kinds of structural and business components and factor them into their revenue models.
At a recent cloud computing conference, Rizzi said one central theme was making the cloud about more than cost savings.
That's what Tickets.com and some of the pioneers in offering infrastructure or platforms as a service have done. Amazon, Google and Salesforce.com are among companies that have opened up their internal resources so third parties can develop on them.
For complete article: http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=3235305
Source: Nancy Gohring, PC Advisor
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
St. Louis Cardinals Celebrate “Whitey Herzog Day” with Interactive “Cards Cash” Promotions Using UpTix™ Stored Value Technology from Tickets.com
Tickets.com is facilitating the expansion of stored value ticketing throughout Major League Baseball via its versatile UpTix Stored Value service.
The innovative technology, which loads cash value above admission price onto single tickets, can be customized and individually branded for each client. The St. Louis Cardinals promote it under the name “Cards Cash,” and on July 31, it was part of a pre-game celebration—in front of a sold-out crowd at Busch Stadium—honoring the team’s legendary former manager Whitey Herzog. Missouri’s Governor deemed it “Whitey Herzog Day.”
At the end of the ceremony—which saluted his 1,281 wins as a manager and his 2010 induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame—Herzog’s No. 24 was retired. Thus, the evening’s interactive Cards Cash promotions were themed around the number. Ticket-holders for every seat number 24 throughout the entire ballpark received $5 in Cards Cash value to spend on food, beverages, or merchandise during the game.
Additionally, each person seated in section 240 received $5 Cards Cash per ticket. An add-on to the section 240 promotion granted every fan a $5 bonus per strike-out in the top of the 3rd inning—there was one, giving each ticket-holder a total of $10 in Cards Cash.
More than 75% of ticket holders that received “24”-themed Cards Cash dollars redeemed all or part of the windfall. The evening proved an overall success for the team with a worthy 11-1 victory over Pittsburgh.
“It was great to see UpTix working in real-time, generating excitement for fans with Cards Cash awards tied to an on-field event,” said John Rizzi, Senior Vice President Product Management and Strategy, Tickets.com. “We know that purchasing stored value tickets is a benefit to both the team and the fans. It was a great way to commemorate Whitey Herzog and connect with the fans. We look forward to more interactive programs of this type.”
UpTix technology works by allowing concessions and merchandise credits to be pre-loaded onto a ticket through its unique bar code, and folded into the initial purchase price of the ticket. The embedded value above the admission price is scannable by vendors throughout the ballpark for the duration of the game—and fans holding such tickets never have to reach for their wallets.
The innovative technology, which loads cash value above admission price onto single tickets, can be customized and individually branded for each client. The St. Louis Cardinals promote it under the name “Cards Cash,” and on July 31, it was part of a pre-game celebration—in front of a sold-out crowd at Busch Stadium—honoring the team’s legendary former manager Whitey Herzog. Missouri’s Governor deemed it “Whitey Herzog Day.”
At the end of the ceremony—which saluted his 1,281 wins as a manager and his 2010 induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame—Herzog’s No. 24 was retired. Thus, the evening’s interactive Cards Cash promotions were themed around the number. Ticket-holders for every seat number 24 throughout the entire ballpark received $5 in Cards Cash value to spend on food, beverages, or merchandise during the game.
Additionally, each person seated in section 240 received $5 Cards Cash per ticket. An add-on to the section 240 promotion granted every fan a $5 bonus per strike-out in the top of the 3rd inning—there was one, giving each ticket-holder a total of $10 in Cards Cash.
More than 75% of ticket holders that received “24”-themed Cards Cash dollars redeemed all or part of the windfall. The evening proved an overall success for the team with a worthy 11-1 victory over Pittsburgh.
“It was great to see UpTix working in real-time, generating excitement for fans with Cards Cash awards tied to an on-field event,” said John Rizzi, Senior Vice President Product Management and Strategy, Tickets.com. “We know that purchasing stored value tickets is a benefit to both the team and the fans. It was a great way to commemorate Whitey Herzog and connect with the fans. We look forward to more interactive programs of this type.”
UpTix technology works by allowing concessions and merchandise credits to be pre-loaded onto a ticket through its unique bar code, and folded into the initial purchase price of the ticket. The embedded value above the admission price is scannable by vendors throughout the ballpark for the duration of the game—and fans holding such tickets never have to reach for their wallets.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
PMI Entertainment Group Converts Ticket Star To ProVenue®, Seamlessly and Ahead of Schedule
Tickets.com®—a leading global provider of integrated, high-performance ticketing solutions—recently converted PMI Entertainment Group to ProVenue, its most advanced ticketing solution. Green Bay, WI-based PMI, which operates multiple venues serving diverse tenants, selected Tickets.com as its ticketing technology provider earlier this year because of industry-leading products including ProVenue.
“This is the smoothest conversion I have ever been associated with. Not only was it flawless, it was completed two days ahead of schedule,” said Brendan Bruss, Chief Administrative Officer of PMI Entertainment Group. “The outstanding communication, teamwork, and professionalism of Tickets.com made the entire experience top-notch. We look forward to an ongoing collaboration, and to the advanced capabilities of ProVenue benefiting our clients, promoters, and Ticket Star, our ticket company. We’re confident that the consumer data that ProVenue enables us to access will help us best understand and serve our customer base at every touch point.”
Facilities in the PMI Entertainment Group using ProVenue from Tickets.com include the Brown County Veterans Memorial Complex—the Resch Center (home to the Green Bay Gamblers, 2010 Clark and Anderson Cup hockey champions), ShopKo Exhibition Hall, and Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena—the historic Meyer Theatre, and various regional ticketing outlets. The ProVenue platform is also being utilized in PMI’s administrative offices.
ProVenue has already been put to the test for major PMI Entertainment Group on-sales including the Resch Center’s Walking With Dinosaurs arena spectacular and Star Wars In Concert. In addition to new events initiated after PMI went online with ProVenue, more than 130 previously existing events were converted, glitch-free, and backed up with perfectly balanced reports. The ProVenue solution allowed PMI to preserve the bar codes from their legacy system, creating a seamless customer service experience as well as an optimally efficient internal transition.
PMI Entertainment Group will add ProVenueMobile™ to its suite of customer services from Tickets.com later this summer. The group also plans on boosting the functionality and expanding the reach of Ticket Star, its branded regional ticketing business, with ProVenue features.
“PMI Entertainment Group’s embrace of new technologies and commitment to customer and client service are values we share,” said John Walker, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tickets.com. “Going forward, it will be exciting to partner with them on building their business, and serving the multi-faceted needs of their range of venues and customers with ProVenue’s many capabilities.”
“This is the smoothest conversion I have ever been associated with. Not only was it flawless, it was completed two days ahead of schedule,” said Brendan Bruss, Chief Administrative Officer of PMI Entertainment Group. “The outstanding communication, teamwork, and professionalism of Tickets.com made the entire experience top-notch. We look forward to an ongoing collaboration, and to the advanced capabilities of ProVenue benefiting our clients, promoters, and Ticket Star, our ticket company. We’re confident that the consumer data that ProVenue enables us to access will help us best understand and serve our customer base at every touch point.”
Facilities in the PMI Entertainment Group using ProVenue from Tickets.com include the Brown County Veterans Memorial Complex—the Resch Center (home to the Green Bay Gamblers, 2010 Clark and Anderson Cup hockey champions), ShopKo Exhibition Hall, and Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena—the historic Meyer Theatre, and various regional ticketing outlets. The ProVenue platform is also being utilized in PMI’s administrative offices.
ProVenue has already been put to the test for major PMI Entertainment Group on-sales including the Resch Center’s Walking With Dinosaurs arena spectacular and Star Wars In Concert. In addition to new events initiated after PMI went online with ProVenue, more than 130 previously existing events were converted, glitch-free, and backed up with perfectly balanced reports. The ProVenue solution allowed PMI to preserve the bar codes from their legacy system, creating a seamless customer service experience as well as an optimally efficient internal transition.
PMI Entertainment Group will add ProVenueMobile™ to its suite of customer services from Tickets.com later this summer. The group also plans on boosting the functionality and expanding the reach of Ticket Star, its branded regional ticketing business, with ProVenue features.
“PMI Entertainment Group’s embrace of new technologies and commitment to customer and client service are values we share,” said John Walker, President and Chief Executive Officer, Tickets.com. “Going forward, it will be exciting to partner with them on building their business, and serving the multi-faceted needs of their range of venues and customers with ProVenue’s many capabilities.”
Monday, August 2, 2010
Farm Aid on the Mound
Dave Matthews, Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp are among the icons playing Farm Aid's 25th anniversary concert on Oct. 2 at Miller Park.
Tickets for "Farm Aid 25: Growing Hope for America" will go on sale at 9 a.m. Aug. 14, at the Brewers box office, by calling (414) 902-4000 or online at www.tickets.com. Ticket prices range from $39.50 to $97.50.
This is the first time Farm Aid, which supports family farms nationwide, will be held in Wisconsin, said Carolyn Mugar, the group's executive director.
"We feel extremely welcome there, especially by the Brewers," Mugar said, noting city and state officials have voiced warm support.
Farm Aid officials said they selected the Dairy State as the venue because it's an excellent example of the past and present of American agriculture, noting Wisconsin represents "the greatest successes of the good food movement."
The group defines that movement as the growing public interest in organic, humanely raised and family farm-identified food. One of Farm Aid's goals - in addition to throwing a rocking concert to raise funds for its efforts - is to educate the public about the issues challenging the country's food system.
"People are much more interested in local, fresh, family farmed foods," Mugar said. "The message is extremely important to get people recognizing how important family farms are, that they can demand food from family farms and get more transparency as far as where their food is coming from."
One driving force behind that good food movement - he prefers to call it the good food revolution - is Will Allen, the founder of Growing Power in Milwaukee. Growing Power, an urban farm, community food center and international training effort, was singled out by Farm Aid as an important reason why Milwaukee will host the concert.
"What he does is extraordinary," Mugar said. "He is such a shining example of genius in the field. We really feel lucky to be in a city where he is and talk about his efforts and successes."
Allen, who was recently named by Time magazine one of the world's 100 most influential people, said he is honored and elated Farm Aid's concert is coming to town.
"When they called and said they were going to have it in Milwaukee, I was completely taken off guard," Allen said. "To have Farm Aid come is just another example of how Milwaukee has taken a leadership role in making Wisconsin the small farm capital of the world because of what's going on here and the training we do."
Allen said Wisconsin is a leader in sustainable farming, noting the many thriving small farms around Madison that make the Dane County Farmer's Market the largest in the United States.
"To grow food where people live, . . . it's a way to be proactive," Allen said. "People can grow their food in their backyard, community garden, and we are giving them concrete examples it can be done."
Farm Aid began as a benefit concert in 1985 in Champaign, Ill., to raise money for family farmers. The concert was organized by Nelson, Mellencamp and Young, who were inspired by Bob Dylan's comments at Live Aid earlier in that year. Nelson and Mellencamp brought family farmers before Congress to testify about the state of family farming in America, eventually leading to the passing of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 to help save family farms from foreclosure. Farm Aid has raised more than $37 million to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture.
"This is a really big thing for us as a state and as an organization," Allen said.
By Stanley A. Miller II of the Journal Sentinel
Updated: Aug. 2, 2010 9:18 a.m.
Tickets for "Farm Aid 25: Growing Hope for America" will go on sale at 9 a.m. Aug. 14, at the Brewers box office, by calling (414) 902-4000 or online at www.tickets.com. Ticket prices range from $39.50 to $97.50.
This is the first time Farm Aid, which supports family farms nationwide, will be held in Wisconsin, said Carolyn Mugar, the group's executive director.
"We feel extremely welcome there, especially by the Brewers," Mugar said, noting city and state officials have voiced warm support.
Farm Aid officials said they selected the Dairy State as the venue because it's an excellent example of the past and present of American agriculture, noting Wisconsin represents "the greatest successes of the good food movement."
The group defines that movement as the growing public interest in organic, humanely raised and family farm-identified food. One of Farm Aid's goals - in addition to throwing a rocking concert to raise funds for its efforts - is to educate the public about the issues challenging the country's food system.
"People are much more interested in local, fresh, family farmed foods," Mugar said. "The message is extremely important to get people recognizing how important family farms are, that they can demand food from family farms and get more transparency as far as where their food is coming from."
One driving force behind that good food movement - he prefers to call it the good food revolution - is Will Allen, the founder of Growing Power in Milwaukee. Growing Power, an urban farm, community food center and international training effort, was singled out by Farm Aid as an important reason why Milwaukee will host the concert.
"What he does is extraordinary," Mugar said. "He is such a shining example of genius in the field. We really feel lucky to be in a city where he is and talk about his efforts and successes."
Allen, who was recently named by Time magazine one of the world's 100 most influential people, said he is honored and elated Farm Aid's concert is coming to town.
"When they called and said they were going to have it in Milwaukee, I was completely taken off guard," Allen said. "To have Farm Aid come is just another example of how Milwaukee has taken a leadership role in making Wisconsin the small farm capital of the world because of what's going on here and the training we do."
Allen said Wisconsin is a leader in sustainable farming, noting the many thriving small farms around Madison that make the Dane County Farmer's Market the largest in the United States.
"To grow food where people live, . . . it's a way to be proactive," Allen said. "People can grow their food in their backyard, community garden, and we are giving them concrete examples it can be done."
Farm Aid began as a benefit concert in 1985 in Champaign, Ill., to raise money for family farmers. The concert was organized by Nelson, Mellencamp and Young, who were inspired by Bob Dylan's comments at Live Aid earlier in that year. Nelson and Mellencamp brought family farmers before Congress to testify about the state of family farming in America, eventually leading to the passing of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 to help save family farms from foreclosure. Farm Aid has raised more than $37 million to promote a strong and resilient family farm system of agriculture.
"This is a really big thing for us as a state and as an organization," Allen said.
By Stanley A. Miller II of the Journal Sentinel
Updated: Aug. 2, 2010 9:18 a.m.
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