Monday, December 3, 2012

MLB’s Baltimore Orioles Choose ProVenue® From Tickets.com®

Club desires more flexibility and tighter integration of systems for better fan experience

Tickets.com and Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles have signed a long term contract for the use of the ProVenue ticketing platform for all events at the team’s iconic Oriole Park at Camden Yards ballpark.

The Orioles are eager to be part of the leading-edge technologies that Tickets.com has developed with the ProVenue platform. Tickets.com were pioneers in Mobile Ticketing, being the first ticketing company to allow fans to search for, purchase and have tickets delivered to a mobile device. Recently, Major League Baseball Advanced Media and Tickets.com took mobile options a step further by being first adopters of Apple’s Passbook application for iPhones.

“It is important that the Orioles utilize new and emerging technologies to benefit our customers,” says Greg Bader, Orioles Vice President of Communications and Marketing. “We have very sophisticated fans in our region, and they request that we deliver content to them in the latest manner. This includes access to their game tickets and will extend to other programs we will be launching in the future such as loyalty and stored value programs. ProVenue and Tickets.com are positioned to help us get there quickly.”

Tickets.com now provides ticketing solutions for 16 teams in Major League Baseball, as well as prominent sports and live entertainment organizations around the world.

Read the complete release here.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Tickets.com® Proves Success and Staying Power in the Collegiate Market

We are pleased to share that we are renewing clients in the college space at a brisk pace thanks to new innovations and dedication to long-term client needs.

Artermus Ham Hall at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Yale University, as well as the Universities of Toledo, Cincinnati, and Northern Colorado are just a few of the numerous clients who signed renewal agreements so far in 2012.

Jesse Bridges from the University of Vermont credits two new developments in particular - online Interactive Seat Maps (ISMs) and Social Media integration - as keys to the decision.

Colleagues at other schools agree.

“Students and their families are highly social and technologically savvy in this day and age,” points out Randy Blackwood, Executive Director of Athletic and Entertainment Facilities, Missouri State University seconding Bridges’ assessment. “Having integration to Facebook and Twitter and better tools to purchase tickets – including the new online seat-maps - are necessities in today’s world, not options. Tickets.com has come through for us in both areas, and we’re excited about our continued relationship.”

Social media integration and online system upgrades also weighed heavily in the renewal decisions for Northwest Florida State College as it did for the University of San Diego.

Patrick Serrano of Dominican University just outside Chicago, IL shares the excitement about the new social aspects of the Tickets.com offering, and thinks the Interactive Seat Maps will allow them to offer a “dramatically better experience” for their customers. His thoughts are echoed by Karen Pealer of Eastern Kentucky University who adds, “People today want self-service, and the online seat selection tool and ability to inform friends through social channels directly from the ticketing website will give people the feeling of control they desire to have a positive experience with us.”

Other schools renewing recently include Minnesota’s Bethel University, the College of Southern Nevada, and Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Tickets.com® Renews Hult Center to Long Term Contract

Today we announced a long-term extension with the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. The 5 year deal - with options for an additional 6 years - includes the Center’s move to the industry leading ProVenue® ticketing platform.

“Tickets.com has been a valuable partner in providing technology services to the Hult Center and we are excited to take advantage of their latest innovations with the ProVenue system,” said Marcia James-Gluz, Ticket Services Manager at of the Center. “We look forward to expanding our capabilities and creating the best ticket purchase experience for our patrons with the use of this great tool.”

Like many other Tickets.com venues, the Hult Center is excited about upgrading to the system’s new fully-integrated, best-in-breed Interactive Seat Maps, that allow customers to select seats online from maps dynamically generated from the ticketing system. This is unlike other systems where such maps need to be built and maintained separately and updated manually when event configurations change – which is often.

The Hult Center opened to national acclaim in 1982 and is home to a number of important Resident Companies including the Eugene Ballet, Concert Choir, Opera and Symphony as well as the Oregon Bach Festival and Oregon Festival of American Music. It holds over 400 events a year in its numerous performance and entertainment spaces, including the popular outdoor Cuthbert Amphitheater. The Hult Center for the Performing Arts is owned by the people of Eugene and operated by the City of Eugene's Cultural Services Division.

Access the complete release here.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Tickets.com® Partners with Mad Mobile

Tickets.com® Partners with Mad Mobile to Power ProVenueMobile™ for MLB Clients

New mobilized web site solution improves experience and future potential

Today we announced our partnership with Mad Mobile to deploy an updated mobile-optimized sales tool for all of Tickets.com MLB Clubs.

Tickets.com has been an early leader in mobile ticketing and the first vendor to offer end-to-end search, purchase and ticket delivery all from the mobile device. Tickets.com continues to stay on the leading edge of innovation and partnering with Mad Mobile provides some immediate gains:

  • Superior UI - Professional design without templates and a mobile UI framework that delivers a quick, app-like interaction with the consumer, creating a more pleasant search and transaction experience.
  • Powerful Platform - Quickly mobilizes website content and functions with minimal impact to IT resources.
  • InnovationMad Mobile brings a culture of innovation based on a solid understanding of emerging   technologies and standards.

John Rizzi, SVP of Client Services for Tickets.com, points out, “Ticketing transactional sites are surprisingly complex, and given the need to tailor the experience for our clients, having a partner who does not assume a ‘one size fits all’ attitude is key to success. Mad Mobile gives us that flexibility and positions us for further innovation going forward.”

Access the complete release here.

Friday, July 20, 2012

Tickets.com® Welcomes Jennifer Zick!

Tickets.com is excited to announce the appointment of Jennifer Zick as Vice President of Business Development. Jennifer’s first official function will be to join members of the Tickets.com team at the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) conference in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, July 21-24, 2012.

Zick spent the past 5 years with New Era Tickets helping to launch a digital marketing platform, and was responsible for securing high-profile clients in auto racing, the NBA, NHL, NFL and MLS.

“We’re thrilled to have Jen join us as we are radically changing the ticketing experience for venues, teams and fans with ProVenue,” states John Walker, President and CEO of Tickets.com. “Jen brings not only a wealth of industry knowledge and strategic relationships, but a solid grasp of technology and digital marketing that we can immediately put to work with our clients to help them reach more fans and sell more tickets."

Access the complete release here.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

University at Buffalo Center for the Arts to Use ProVenue®

Western New York becoming a stronghold for the state-of-the-art platform

Tickets.com and the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts announced a new partnership agreement centralized on ProVenue.

“The Center for the Arts remains committed to keeping ticket prices affordable in Western New York, and the fight against rising ticketing service charges is central to that mission,” states Joel Thompson, Director of Ticket Operations for the Center. “This new partnership with Tickets.com allows us to move forward with no fee increases in the foreseeable future, allowing our patrons the best opportunity to see the great entertainment they’ve come to expect from our stages at reasonable prices.”

Tickets.com has served the collegiate and arts markets for many years, however the newer, industry-leading ProVenue platform has been primarily operating in regional ticketing as well as the sports (major and minor league) markets until now. This win celebrates the first foray for the platform in the University Arts segment. It is also one of many conversions to ProVenue in the upstate New York region in recent years, giving Tickets.com a strong presence in the area.

Access the complete release here.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Tickets.com® Proud Sponsor of the 2012 SEAT Conference

Exclusive Technology Summit to be held in Boston August 5-8

Tickets.com is partnering with the Sports and Entertainment Alliance in Technology (SEAT) at their 2012 conference at Boston’s historic Liberty Hotel in August.

The SEAT conference is in its 6th year of bringing together the very top leaders in Information Technology in the Sports and Entertainment field and provides education and the exchange of ideas to further the effective development and use of technology in venues across the country and around the world.

“Tickets.com has a long history of innovation with leading-edge ticketing technologies, particularly with the launch of their state-of-the-art ProVenue® platform, and has been a source of hope and excitement to technology leaders in our industry” said Christine Stoffel, Founder of SEAT. “They have been extremely helpful and supportive in the formation and growth of SEAT over the last several years, and we’re excited that they continue to be key participants in our conference.”

Tickets.com recently began publishing APIs for their Oracle and Java based ProVenue ticketing application, beginning the next generation of ticketing – integrating directly with other applications for real-time data and transaction sharing. One example using this approach, will allow tickets to be purchased directly from a team or venue’s website without the usual re-direct to a different set of web transaction pages.

“We have consulted extensively with technology leaders in the sports and entertainment space during our development of ProVenue, many of whom are now key participants and members of SEAT. It is a natural fit for us to embrace and support this organization of our colleagues to help foster communication and the evolution of ideas in this community” explained John Walker, President & CEO, Tickets.com.

The 2012 SEAT conference will feature speakers from illustrious organizations such as: TD Garden/Boston Bruins, FELD Entertainment, International Speedway Corporation (ISC), the NFL and Ohio State University. Doug Lyons, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Tickets.com, will be participating on a panel entitled “Driving Revenue through Ticketing Technologies”.

For more information on attending the 2012 SEAT conference-event, visit www.seatconsortium.com. Follow SEAT on Twitter: @seatconference; LinkedIn: search for SEAT Sports Group and FaceBook: facebook.com/SEATconsortium.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

TICKETS.COM® 2013 PROVENUE® EXCHANGE DATES AND LOCATION ANNOUNCED

The 2013 ProVenue Exchange conference will be held in San Diego’s Gaslamp District at the iconic Hard Rock Hotel, April 29-May 2, 2013.

Based on attendee feedback, the new conference dates were moved later into the year to avoid conflicting with other events and to stay clear of key dates such as Major League Baseball’s opening day. The change in location also represents a shift in the company’s attitude and emerging image.

“We’ve had a recent reawakening of what this conference should be about. We are in the Entertainment industry – we should act like it!” states Doug Lyons, Vice President of Marketing and Communications. “Our conferences in the past, while highly rated by our clients, were lacking excitement and a sense of the tremendous fun and joy our industry represents. It’s time to embrace this and play as hard as we work!”

The content of the conference is also going through a radical overhaul. What is returning after many years absence is a strong focus on User Training that will help all Tickets.com clients gain valuable practical skills. It’s also geared to be far more interactive, a shift away from the “talking heads” that seem to dominate ticketing conferences in recent years.

A campaign is already under way for Tickets.com clients, ticketing professionals, industry insiders and service providers to “save the date”, and a highly tactical plan is under way to have a steady release of information over the next 10 months to build excitement and drive record attendance.

“As a company, we continually strive to be better. Just Better – that’s our philosophy” continued Lyons. “This conference will go even further. It will ROCK!”

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Philadelphia Phillies Choose ProVenue® for Citizens Bank Park

The Philadelphia Phillies sign a new long-term agreement with Tickets.com to use the ProVenue platform starting with the 2013 Major League Baseball season.

“We believe that strong partnerships, particularly with our technology vendors, are a key ingredient to our success,” said John Weber, Vice President of Ticket Sales and Operations for the Phillies. “Tickets.com has proven they are focused on our business and on baseball. The Phillies support MLB Advanced Media as they continue to invest in the development of the best system possible for baseball.”

The team continues its commitment to self-operate all of their ticketing and revenue generating technologies, citing that ProVenue allows them to keep their phone and fulfillment operations in both Clearwater and Philadelphia open with reduced training costs due to ProVenue's ease of use.

“The Phillies are widely known in the sports industry as having a very high standard for their technology partners and for wanting to do things their own way,” said John Walker, President and CEO of Tickets.com. “The selection of ProVenue by the Phillies validates that our approach to technology is on point for any organization who wants to take ownership of this key portion of its business. This is the beginning of a powerful partnership for both of us.”

Access the complete release here.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

ProVenue "Knighted" by Medieval Times

Like many organizations in recent years, Medieval Times decided to get out of the software development business when their existing in-house solution required updates for security, compliance and functional needs. During their evaluation of potential vendors, they realized Tickets.com offered a solution with flexibility in both configuration and business terms.

“The staff at Tickets.com was extremely collaborative and forthcoming during our evaluation process, something that has tremendous value to us at Medieval Times. It gave an indication of how a relationship would be through the challenging process of changing software,” said Daniel Kim, Vice President and Secretary of Medieval Times. “We already feel like partners and are very confident in ProVenue’s ability to improve our ticket buying experience for our customers.”

ProVenue is offered as a license model, giving Medieval Times control of consumer fees and costs, while at the same time offering a solution that meets regulatory compliance. It also offers new options to provide additional services to consumers when making reservations for shows, including upgrades and additional purchases.

Further, the system is architected in a way that a single instance of ProVenue will serve the entire organization while still enabling each venue or “Castle” to control and tailor their specific environments to their unique local needs. This “best of both worlds” design means independence for each property, with data stored centrally for consolidated corporate financial reporting and marketing initiatives.

Access the complete release here.

Monday, April 23, 2012

BREWERS ANNOUNCE NEW DIGITAL TICKET DELIVERY OPTION

Tickets.com is happy to share that The Milwaukee Brewers have announced a “Digital Ticket Delivery” option for Brewers fans available for all remaining home games.

Fans who purchase Brewers tickets through Brewers.com will have the option to receive their tickets “digitally” on their credit card or a compatible smart phone mobile device. This digital ticketing program eliminates the problem of lost tickets, avoids delays in the mailing of tickets, and dispenses with the need to obtain tickets at will call windows.

Fans who elect to have their tickets delivered to their credit card will be swiped and a seat locator receipt that identifies the seat location will be printed. This option is known as the “Brewers Fan Pass.”

Fans who elect to have their tickets delivered digitally to their compatible smart phone mobile device will receive a text message confirming their ticket purchase. This option is known as “Mobile Delivery.” If multiple tickets are ordered, multiple text messages will be delivered.

Information on these new technologies being implemented at Miller Park can be found at the following link: www.brewers.com/tickettechnology.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

ProVenue Exchange – great speakers & great times…..

By John Walker, President & CEO, Tickets.com

The first day of our annual ProVenue Exchange conference on March 14 closed with a tremendously fascinating and inspiring presentation by Ryan Giannetta from the acclaimed “Disney Institute”, in which he discussed how their organization instills and inspires greatness – and once again hitting on the refrain of a Great Experience being at the heart of success.

Wednesday we held a networking social event at the Cannery restaurant in Newport Beach – featuring a photo booth where staff and clients alike donned hats and posed in costumes to be captured and forever held against them, including me in a Viking helmet….I’m still trying to suppress those pictures from going viral…..



Thursday opened with a rousing session from Bill Guertin – “The 800 pound Gorilla”. Bill is an acclaimed author and sales trainer, specializing in the sports and entertainment industry. His presentation was interactive and highly entertaining, and encouraged everyone to think about how they can take steps towards becoming great and dominating their market or industry – just like the animal he uses as his brand.


The remainder of the conference then was divided into four tracks for various product, user and business & technology panels and presentations. A whirlwind couple of days, but one that left attendees and staff inspired and reinvigorated. It was generally characterized as Tickets.com’s best conference to date.

Thanks to all those who attended and we can’t wait for next year!

Friday, April 6, 2012

ProVenue Exchange "Out of this World"!

By John Rizzi, SVP Client Services, Tickets.com

After John Walker’s keynote address on day 1 of our ProVenue Exchange conference on March 14, our VP of Marketing, Doug Lyons dove a little deeper into developments over the past year as well as changes to approach and product features in the coming year. This Included the re-commitment of focus on user experience in product design by showcasing examples of fresh, new approaches to ticketing interfaces and “next generation” Interactive Seat Maps. He reiterated the importance of APIs by showing the currently in development “Linebuster” iPad ticket selling application, which allows a mobile user to easily sell tickets from ProVenue with an easy-to-use tablet interface. Great stuff!



I then moderated for a tremendous set of panelists on the state of Loyalty programs that included participation from the Washington Nationals (MLB), The Seattle Sounders (MLS) and the San Diego Padres (MLB). It was very eye-opening to realize that while almost “expected” in many commercial situations, Loyalty in entertainment has yet to find its exact place and value proposition.



Doug then again appeared to host a session on emerging technologies, subtitled “What would Captain Kirk do?” To everyone’s surprise (and laughter) he entered dressed in a full Mr. Spock Star Trek outfit – wig, ears and all. This showed evidence of a new style from Tickets.com where our culture is starting to echo our approach to software: A Great Experience.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

ProVenue Exchange "Doug's Diary" - Day 1

Our CEO, John Walker, led off our annual ProVenue Exchange conference on Wednesday, March 14 with a keynote highlighting exciting developments at Tickets.com. Announcements included a newly launched product for international markets (ProVenueX), a “sneak peek” at the new branding for the upcoming launch of the completely redesigned www.tickets.com consumer site and a preview of the game-changing uses for recently published ProVenue APIs that will allow Tickets.com’s customers to take “controlling their brand” to a completely new level.

John pointed out that these APIs in 2012 will enable customers to develop ticket selling capabilities directly from their own website, completely bypassing the traditional ticketing-vendor-controlled transaction pages - instead putting tickets into the team/venue’s own “universal shopping cart” in real time, which can then also incorporate any other purchases into a single transaction and a Great, seamless user Experience.

And that was just the first hour.....

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

ProVenue Exchange Connects the Dots


Tickets.com’s annual conference, under the new banner “ProVenue Exchange” to represent the exchanging of ideas, was held March 13-15 in Newport Beach, CA. It was highlighted by outstanding social events, topical and engaging content and extremely memorable speakers including a Gorilla, a Mouse and even Mr. Spock – well, kind of. More on that later – stay tuned as my team and I recap a tremendous couple of days in March.

We introduced clear and valuable themes to our gathering this year – specifically “connecting the dots” on how Tickets.com’s products and services help their customers Reach more Fans, Sell more Tickets and Make more Money. All of our sessions concluded with our speakers and moderators summarizing how the content just covered applied to one or more of these key goals – reaching fans, selling tickets and making money. It was a great way to inspire our clients to head home with a vision for how to use the differentiation they’ve chosen with Tickets.com to Make the Difference Count.

I am extremely proud of the effort all the Tickets.com staff put into this event, and the reviews have been excellent from many of the attendees who have contacted us. We can’t wait until next year when we’ll try to exceed this year’s conference and create a truly Great Experience – just like we are striving to do with our products and services.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Tickets.com's Client, K-Rock Centre, Named 2012 Venue of the Year

For the third time in the last four years the K-Rock Centre has again been voted Venue of the Year under 8,000 seats at the 2012 Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards.

"It's a true accomplishment for everyone involved with the facility, and it recognizes what we in Kingston already knew, that the K-Rock Centre is the premiere venue of its size in the country," said SMG Canada's General Manager, Ken Noakes.

"Awards like this can never be realized without the endless hard work of our staff, as well as support from all of our partners throughout the city, and the Eastern Ontario region. Winning this award for a third time shows that the K-Rock Centre has made a name for itself in the music industry, and is a facility which is top of mind for industry professionals."

SMG Vice President Harry Cann added, "We are thrilled to receive this industry recognition for the third time in four years. This is a true team effort in Kingston. While our local staff and national support team have worked hard to achieve this success, these awards are a testament to the City's foresight and delivery of an outstanding facility along with tremendous support from the business community and local citizens. The K-Rock Centre has certainly established itself as centerpiece asset for the City and the region."

Tickets.com sends a BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Ken Noakes and the entire K-Rock Centre team!