Industry Interviews – Ticketbud https://www.ticketbud.com Sell Tickets Fast. Get Paid Faster. Sat, 23 Sep 2023 09:57:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 24 – SHOW NOTES… Event Management for an Outdoor Concert https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-24-show-notes-event-management-for-an-outdoor-concert/ https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-24-show-notes-event-management-for-an-outdoor-concert/#respond Thu, 02 Jan 2020 17:44:47 +0000 https://www.ticketbud.com/?p=24265 Overview In this episode we chat with Berenice Guzman, event organizer and marketer for Austin City Limits Radio’s summer concert series Blues on the Green. This family friendly event includes four concerts with different homegrown musical performances, held over the summer. Berenice shares what goes into organizing a large-scale free concert series such as this. […]

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 24 – SHOW NOTES… Event Management for an Outdoor Concert appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
Overview

In this episode we chat with Berenice Guzman, event organizer and marketer for Austin City Limits Radio’s summer concert series Blues on the Green. This family friendly event includes four concerts with different homegrown musical performances, held over the summer. Berenice shares what goes into organizing a large-scale free concert series such as this.

During the podcast, Berenice talks about all things planning, including infrastructure, event organization and production, vendor maps and sponsorship packages. Berenice shares what it takes to keep costs down to maintain this type of event, ensuring it remains free for attendees. She also highlights the key planning and cost differences when operating a free versus paid event.

Listen now or read the show notes below to learn more about organizing this type of event.

About Bernice

Berenice is a Marketing Coordinator for Emmis Austin Radio. She has experience with sales, promotions, and events. Berenice works closely with event coordination and marketing for Austin City Limits Radio’s Summer Concert Series, Blues on the Green, with a focus on promotion, event planning and fulfilling sponsorship agreements.

TIDBITS TOPICS:

Primary Costs of Producing a Summer Concert Series

“You want to ask yourself, what kind of event, and what scale you want to have it at. Those are big, big questions.”

Berenice Guzman

The event production company hired for Blues on the Green is their biggest expense. They work with Austin company Event Production Services who supply materials such as the stage, screens, tents, and signage for the event, as well as stage management expertise.

A concert can also come with significant artist costs. However, Blues on the Green works with local artists supportive of this beloved free community event, enabling organizers to keep artists costs reasonably priced.

Infrastructure can make or break an outdoor event. Equipment such as stages, speakers and screens are big expenses. Setting up a relay so that people at the back of the park can still get quality sound is another expensive component, but hugely important to the attendee experience. Other infrastructure costs include electrical setup, restrooms, structures, tents, signage, security and other staffing.

For this event ACL Radio staffing includes about 10 people, while the event production team they work with is made up of 40 to 50 people. When you add hospitality and security staff on top of this, you can see staffing becomes a significant expense.

Another area to consider is if your event requires police involvement, to manage traffic or protect key areas (backstage, artists, attendees). Blues on the Green has a police presence at the concerts and also hires their own security company. There are also city costs to consider such as permits and parking.

Keeping it Free is Key!

When it comes to free versus paid events, there are some key differences in terms of event planning costs. For starters, if Blues on the Green was a paid event, it would have to be gated in. Gating an event like this would then include significant fencing costs, extra road closures and extra security.

While the event does provide alcohol as part of its hospitality package, this is a small area that is gated in near the side of the stage. One of the main reasons Blues on the Green doesn’t sell alcohol at the event is due to the extra costs involved. Once you sell alcohol you then have to close the event in with fencing, check IDs and hire bartenders. Blues would then also have to pay the city for the park, taking away the benefit of getting Zilker Park for free as a community event.

Paid parking is an additional revenue source that organizers rely on to keep Blues on the Green a free event. With limited parking availability, Blues on the Green rents parking lots from the city and offers prepaid ticketed parking through Ticketbud. This enables people to buy and secure their parking ahead of time. By using Ticketbud, organizers also have the option to create custom parking maps on tickets, as well as the ability to transfer or refund tickets at their discretion.

“Ticketbud have been an awesome partner and we couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Bernice Guzman

Event Production Considerations

There are a lot of different elements that go into event production and management. While many were managed by the production company hired for this event, ACL radio staff also managed a range of tasks. Berenice mentioned:

  • Scheduling artist availability
  • Artists requirements and technical equipment, which is often different for each performer.
  • Organizing artist trailers and bathrooms
  • Managing client needs (vendors and sponsors). Ensuring they have what they need from staffing to lighting and gas.
  • Coordinating health and safety permits and other communication with the city

Site-maps, Traffic Maps and Vendor Maps, Oh My!

Berenice is in charge of creating site-maps for Blues on the Green. These are like blueprints showing where everything needs to be, from staging to vendors, to fire extinguisher locations. Vendors get their own map, clearly showing them where to go and where to set up. Other important maps include those for attendees, with an event map, as well as traffic maps with road closures, driving and parking instructions.

The Sponsorship Lifecycle

1) Creating Great Sponsorship Offerings

Sponsorships are of significant importance to free events like Blues on the Green. Potential sponsors are approached with tiered sponsor package opportunities, as well as given the option to have something tailored to them. It’s important to understand their budget and what they hope to get out of the opportunity. Last year’s Blues on the Green event included 25 different sponsorship packages.

Examples of tiered sponsor packages:

  • Booth sponsorship – securing a promotional booth at the event.
  • Food in a booth sponsorship – providing food and drink.
  • Tent sponsorship – with more space, tent branding and some radio and social promotion.
  • Platinum sponsors – featured promotion on stage and in radio and social, with opportunities for tailored requirements and activations.

2) Delivering on Event Sponsorships

When you are managing 25 different event sponsorship packages for various sponsors, the next challenge becomes keeping track of it all. How do you ensure you don’t forget a detail of a sponsorship such as a piece of signage or promised social promotion?

Berenice shares that an excel spreadsheet with tabs for each sponsorship type is how she stays on top of the details. Create a checklist of what has been agreed to and when it’s been delivered (with evidence for the sponsor recap which we will talk about in a moment).

Berenice also creates a spreadsheet of onsite sponsorship requirements with what needs to happen on event day. This was printed and attached to the back of the site map, so it’s clear what each sponsor was doing, where they are, and if they needed anything special on event day.

3) Sponsorship Recaps

After the event a Sponsorship Recap is important to show sponsors what value they got from their participation in the event. It also plays a significant role in ensuring you will be able to secure that sponsor again next year.

A Sponsorship Recap is essentially a PowerPoint breakdown of everything that was done for them at the event, including photos, any on-air or social promotion, branding on website pages, and organic marketing. At the end of the recap, the sponsors are given the chance to get first rights to sign up for the next years sponsorships.

Connecting a New Brand with an Established Event

The radio station running Blues on the Green recently rebranded from KGSR to ACLRadio. The Austin City Limits name has significant value and legacy, so it’s an exciting rebranding opportunity. However, there are always challenges when introducing a new brand into the market. One of the big branding challenges for Blues on the Green is that while the event itself had huge recognition, but there was little awareness of it being run by a radio station. This meant there was a lot of work to do in branding the event.

Event Promotion

Event promotion has shifted in the last couple of years to have more focus onInstagram. The digital team worked on making it easier for people to find and share the event. They faced the challenge of their desired Blues on the Green handle already being taken. This led to everything on Instagram needing to come under the @ACLradio Handle.

ACL radio promoted the event on air. They also had Fox Austin as a platinum client this year, who were doing shout-outs to the event on their morning news program.

Merchandise

Along with the usual branded merchandise, one novelty idea was the creation of branded patches for each event, available for free at the ACL Radio tent. The collectable patches were created for each show, designed to connect the ACL Radio brand with Blues on the Green in people’s minds.

Event Day

Although event production services begin to set up at least a day or two in advance, there are things such as drinks and signage that are brought in the day of the event. It’s important to stay flexible and be ready to help with any client setup needs. Have someone available who can collect anything that has been forgotten, or something you or clients realize they need on the day.

When organizing an outdoor concert event, a key consideration for the show going ahead is rain. Sometimes it can be called off when the grass is still wet from the previous day, as the city wants to protect the park and its grass. If the event was to be cancelled, a communication plan would need to be executed on the day to let everyone know.

Don’t forget – 3 things easily overlooked on event day:

  • Water – especially in hot weather.
  • Sponsor signage – they have paid for it and it’s easy to misplace a sandwich board.
  • Toilet paper!

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 24 – SHOW NOTES… Event Management for an Outdoor Concert appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-24-show-notes-event-management-for-an-outdoor-concert/feed/ 0
Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 23 – SHOW NOTES…Managing an Outdoor Community Event Space https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-23-show-notes-managing-an-outdoor-community-event-space/ https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-23-show-notes-managing-an-outdoor-community-event-space/#respond Thu, 01 Aug 2019 19:38:05 +0000 https://www.ticketbud.com/?p=24112 With Mandi Thomas from the Downtown Austin Alliance. Overview In this podcast we talk to Mandi Thomas, Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Downtown Austin Alliance.  Mandi manages the events, programming and operations of Republic Square, a community park in downtown Austin frequently used for events. In the episode Mandi talks about what goes into […]

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 23 – SHOW NOTES…Managing an Outdoor Community Event Space appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
With Mandi Thomas from the Downtown Austin Alliance.

Overview

In this podcast we talk to Mandi Thomas, Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Downtown Austin Alliance.  Mandi manages the events, programming and operations of Republic Square, a community park in downtown Austin frequently used for events.

In the episode Mandi talks about what goes into managing a public park and event space. She gives an overview of the key elements of her role which include business development, sales, fundraising, event planning and venue management. Mandi shares specific insights on event programming, key challenges and maximizing year round usage of a space.

The Downtown Austin Alliance is a local organization made up of property owners in the downtown community. Their purpose is to protect and promote Austin’s downtown through advocacy, strategic initiatives and planning.

Listen now or read the show notes below.

About Mandi

Mandi’s background includes roles in sales and corporate partnerships for venues operated by AEG Presents one of the world’s largest live music companies. Mandi has been working as Director of Strategic Partnerships at the Downtown Austin Alliance for the past three years managing sponsorships, partnerships and business development. 

Mandi’s Advice for Sponsorships

  • KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE – Understand the community you’re working with and the types of sponsorships that will work best for that community and your event. 
  • INTEGRATE SPONSORSHIPS – Find ways to bring the sponsoring brand to life so it can be experienced. Integrate sponsorships into event programming where possible. Creating authentic meaningful integrations that are valued by the sponsoring businesses and event attendees. 
  • ITS OK TO SAY NO! – If a sponsorship doesn’t make sense for the event and doesn’t add value to your goals or the experience of the participants, seek a better match.  

Managing a Public Park Venue

Republic Square is the first public park in Austin to be managed through a public/private partnership with the city, allowing a revenue model where the Downtown Austin Alliance can rent out the space. This provides more flexibility than other city parks, in both the design and how events are coordinated.

The Downtown Austin Alliance met with community stakeholders and outlined guiding principles for the park that would be written into an agreement with the city. The aim was for the park to be family friendly and open to everyone. A collaborative space with a balance of programming, inclusive and welcoming to a diverse audience.

Because Republic Square is designated as a public park, there are restrictions on the number of closed/private events that can be held each year. Weddings are not permitted in the park, but other events and organizations can apply to use the space. Part of the venue management role includes working with event producers on event permits, requirements and advising on the best use of the space. 

Event and Activity Programming

As a venue manager the Downtown Austin Alliance can curate the experiences offered at the park. They’re always looking for authentic and unique ways to use the park, weaving in the local culture. They aim to combine established events with new events that reflect the changing nature of the downtown area.

Partnering with downtown businesses to run activities in the park is an important element. The Downtown Austin Alliance partnered with Austin Community College, who run free foreign language classes in the park on Saturday mornings. Another partnership is with Wanderlust who offer yoga in the park.

The goal is to offer a balanced program of events throughout the year, with event request applications evaluated on what makes sense for the community. Looking for opportunities to create authentic and unique event programming, working with event producers to bring interesting events into the park. Considering wider community needs is also a good idea, such as becoming a meeting place for bus shuttles to other major events in the city.  

Competitive Applications for a Popular Public Event Space

Mandi recommends being as comprehensive as you can in the application. Think about the space you’re applying for and consider their objectives. If you were applying to Republic Square for example, you would consider that they are looking for events and activities that benefit the community. You know they are interested in programming that is inclusive, multicultural, family friendly, unique or new. If your event fits this criteria, be sure to mention that in the application.  

What to include in your application:

  • What is the event/experience you want to bring to the park?
  • Who is the target audience? 
  • What is the community benefit?
  • Why is this location the park of choice?
  • If you have run this event before, provide an overview of its success and attendance numbers.
  • If you haven’t run the event before, you would emphasize how this is an exciting new event or experience for the community. Highlighting any unique elements.  

Request to book Republic Square for an upcoming event.

Maximizing Year Round Use of an Outdoor Event Space

  • Knowing your local community and their behaviors is really important. For example the Austin community is very heat tolerant when it comes to events, but numbers will drop quickly for outdoor events when its cold (unless it’s a holiday related activity). 
  • Awareness of other events held in the city is important. Particularly big events. Scheduling events in some of the less event heavy months is always a good idea. 
  • Events can be broken up with other activities held in the park, such as fitness and yoga classes.
  • When scheduling events in a park, rest periods have to be planned between events to give the lawn a chance to recover. 

Key Challenges

Weather is the big one. You have to be flexible in planning, site design, the option to tent and potentially having a rain date on standby. Helping event organizers manage this is part of running an outdoor event space. 

As a ticketing provider, Ticketbud offers Event Protect to our customers that protects ticket revenue in the case of qualifying unforeseen cancelations. This can minimize some of the financial risk for event organizers.

Another consideration for a public park is that community members want to use the park for civic movements or rallies. Republic Square is located right next to a federal courthouse, which requires staying connected with the community when these types of events come up. Mandi explains that they keep an eye on facebook events that mention Republic Square and reach out to organizers to work with them.  

Park Operations 

A public park is a living space that requires care and maintenance. This includes maintaining the lawn, irrigation systems and landscaping, as well as learning about rest periods for grass between events so you don’t destroy it. This was all completely new territory for Mandi, who is experienced with events, but not in maintaining a park. Through trial and error she worked out the balance required to keep the park maintained in good condition.

Mandi’s Tips for Event Organizers

When it comes to events, things are never going to go perfectly. Be flexible enough to ride with that and embrace it. 

Don’t be afraid to try new things and step outside of your comfort zone. Don’t shy away from taking on a role that has a new challenge (like managing a public park). Have confidence in your ability to work it out.    

Find out more about Republic Square and upcoming events.

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 23 – SHOW NOTES…Managing an Outdoor Community Event Space appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-23-show-notes-managing-an-outdoor-community-event-space/feed/ 0
Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 22 – SHOW NOTES…Pop-up Events for Bars and Venues https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-22-show-notespop-up-events-for-bars-and-venues/ https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-22-show-notespop-up-events-for-bars-and-venues/#respond Fri, 19 Jul 2019 19:38:50 +0000 https://www.ticketbud.com/?p=24098 With Mark Kwiatkowski from Replay Lincoln Park. Overview In this episode we talk to Mark Kwiatkowski who owns Replay Lincoln Park, a ‘barcade’ venue in Chicago that’s both a bar and arcade. Mark has a lot of experience working in hospitality and has great advice for venue and event managers. Mark has had a lot […]

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 22 – SHOW NOTES…Pop-up Events for Bars and Venues appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
With Mark Kwiatkowski from Replay Lincoln Park.

Overview

In this episode we talk to Mark Kwiatkowski who owns Replay Lincoln Park, a ‘barcade’ venue in Chicago that’s both a bar and arcade. Mark has a lot of experience working in hospitality and has great advice for venue and event managers.

Mark has had a lot of success running themed pop-up events as part of the promotional strategy for Replay Lincoln Park. The venue is converted with a new themed experience, such as their recent Game of Thrones experience. The GOT pop-up ran for a few months earlier this year and was highly successful, receiving significant media attention.

The pop-up events at Replay often promote themselves, gaining national media coverage that includes TV and radio spots, features on Thrillist.com, Travelandleasure.com, Lonlelyplannet.com and newspaper articles.

Listen now or read the show notes below

About Mark

Mark Kwiatkowski has extensive experience in hospitality, as an owner and manager of bars and venues for the past 25 years. Mark owns a bar/arcade venue in Chicago called Replay Lincoln Park, which runs highly successful themed pop-up events as part of their ongoing promotional strategy. 

Topics

  • About Replay Lincoln Park
  • Why a pop-up event strategy for a bar or venue is good for business
  • Benefits of online ticketing for a pop-up experience (for the venue and customers)
  • Bringing a theme to life with a creative team
  • Integrating pop-up themes with ongoing weekly events
  • Investing in a unique experience that attracts media interest and encourages word of mouth promotion
  • What you must remember when running a hospitality event

About Replay Lincoln Park

Replay Lincoln Park is a 9000 square foot arcade bar in Chicago. While drinking craft beer, premium spirits or speciality cocktails, guests can enjoy over 65 vintage arcade games, pinball, skeeball, air-hockey and bubble-hockey, all on free play. They have DJ’s Thursday through Saturday nights, and weekly events such as trivia, bingo and karaoke. 

In addition to being an arcade bar open year round, Replay hosts themed pop-up experiences that run for a limited time. Converting the venue into a new immersive experience every few months.    

Replay’s Pop-up Event Themes have included:

  • The Simpsons – Moe’s Tavern
  • Rick and Morty – Blips and Chips A Space Arcade 
  • Always Sunny in Philadelphia – Patty’s Pub 
  • Star Wars – Wretched Hive Cantina (May the Fourth be With You)
  • The Office – Dunder Mifflin Inc 
  • Pokémon Go – You’ve got to drink em all (Pokémon Festival)
  • South Park – Satan’s Sweet 16 /  Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Halloween)
  • Friends – Central Perk including the iconic couch, Rachel & Monica’s apartment, Joey & Chandler’s apartment
  • Game of Thrones – with various parts of Westeros
  • Fyre Festival
  • SpongeBob SquarePants – Salty Spittoon at Bikini Bottom

See more images from Replay Lincoln Park’s pop-up events on their Facebook or Instagram.

Why a pop-up event strategy for a bar or venue is good for business

Pop-up event strategies work because it’s something new and creates a sense of urgency. People want to come in and have the experience before it’s gone. 

Replay’s themed pop-ups are designed as an immersive experience to appeal to loyal pop-culture fans, keeping people coming back for new experiences. There are three important elements to this strategy. 

Attract a wider audience into the venue 

Tapping into a built-in pop culture fan base, enables Replay to appeal to a broader audience. It entices people to try the venue who otherwise may not have considered attending. When Replay delivers on a great experience, attendees are more likely to turn into ongoing customers. 

Events deliver attendee lists 

Hosting events that require people to buy tickets or sign up, allows the venue to build their customer database. This is incredibly valuable for ongoing promotion and developing relationships with those customers. 

Keeping people coming back by offering something new

The evolving themes keep the venue fresh and exciting with something new to come in and experience. Regular visitors get the same fun experience, with a new engaging theme. 

The benefits of online ticketing for a pop-up experience (for the venue and customers)

While having large volumes of customers eager to experience Replay’s pop-up attractions is great for business, it became important to maximize attendance capacities over time. This is both good for customers and the venue. 

For the Customers:

  • Customers can book ahead and know that they aren’t going to have to wait in long lines in the cold or be turned away at the door. It makes planning a fun night or special occasion easier. This is particularly important for group bookings, parties and people traveling long distances for the experience. 
  • Customers can self-serve and quickly view available booking times in an online calendar.
  • Payment processing and customer data is secure by using a credible ticketing company 

For the Venue:

  • The venue maximizes bookings by showing all available times and spreading attendance over the duration of the pop-up. 
  • Partnering with a ticketing company allows the venue to automate much of this process, minimizing enquiries and manual handling.
  • A platform like Ticketbud is set up to maximize ticket sales, including mobile optimized event pages and checkout.
  • Ticket packages can include items like t-shirts where you can get attendees to submit their size when they book a ticket. This makes ordering branded material and merchandise much easier. 

Bringing a theme to life with a creative team

Replay Lincoln Park doesn’t do a halfhearted theme, they really get into it. Customers love how they find or create authentic looking props to immerse you in the experience. Replay goes all out, from the huge Games of Thrones dragons and the Iron Throne, to the famous Central Perk couch.

The creative design and production that goes into this comes from a dedicated pop-up design team. A team of six artists (including one of the bartenders, who is also a trained fine artist) get together to brainstorm how to bring the next themed pop-up to life. Most of the experience is hand crafted by them. 

Integrating pop-up themes with ongoing weekly events

At Replay, the changing pop-up themes are integrated into the regular weekly events such as trivia, bingo and karaoke. The familiar favorites that regular customers enjoy are always there, but they get infused with new themes.

The demand was so high for The Office themed trivia that the venue regularly reached capacity and had lines out the door. Replay had to start taking reservations and schedule trivia 5 nights a week to cater to demand.

Investing in a unique experience that attracts media interest and encourages word of mouth promotion

If you are offering a truly unique experience with great visuals, people are more likely to share and talk about it, and media interest is more likely.  

This has been the case for Replay and their themed pop-up events, with customers eagerly sharing on social channels, and the events gaining significant coverage in the media.

Key Tip – Create Instagram worthy photo opportunities! Then people are advertising for you. 

What you must remember when running a hospitality event

Mark emphasizes that paying attention to the details is key!

The core of it is paying attention to the details. Getting those things right… All the little details are what creates a memorable experience for the guest.

Mark Kwiatkowski

While you might be bringing in a big name DJ, or organizing an amazing event, you can’t lose sight of the smaller details that can make or break. Ensure the venue is comfortable, the air conditioning works, the drinks are consistent, the staff are friendly, and things in the venue are working. All the expense and effort that goes into an event can be wasted if people aren’t greeted nicely at the door. It can be as simple as that. 


The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 22 – SHOW NOTES…Pop-up Events for Bars and Venues appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-22-show-notespop-up-events-for-bars-and-venues/feed/ 0
Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 21 – SHOW NOTES… Event Marketing and Integrating Events with Salesforce https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-21-show-notes-event-marketing-and-integrating-events-with-salesforce/ https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-21-show-notes-event-marketing-and-integrating-events-with-salesforce/#respond Fri, 14 Jun 2019 21:34:11 +0000 https://www.ticketbud.com/?p=24048 With Teri Smart from Forefront Networks. Overview In this episode we talk to Teri Smart, the Vice President of Marketing at Forefront Networks, an experiential and entertainment agency in Austin Texas. Forefront designs events that build connections between brands and their audiences. They specialize in event production, sponsorship sales and corporate hospitality. Teri discusses the […]

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 21 – SHOW NOTES… Event Marketing and Integrating Events with Salesforce appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
With Teri Smart from Forefront Networks.

Overview

In this episode we talk to Teri Smart, the Vice President of Marketing at Forefront Networks, an experiential and entertainment agency in Austin Texas. Forefront designs events that build connections between brands and their audiences. They specialize in event production, sponsorship sales and corporate hospitality.

Teri discusses the different ways organizations can utilize events for various goals and audiences. She dives into event marketing, visual direction and creative design, ticket pricing, programming, promotions and gaining traction in the media. Teri emphasizes the importance of having thorough research and data backing your sponsorship valuations. As well as assessing the financial sustainability of your event.  

Teri shares how Forefront Networks utilizes the CRM platform Salesforce as a key part of their strategy to maximize the success and profitability of events.

Listen now or read the show notes below

About Teri

Teri Smart is the Vice President of Marketing at experiential and entertainment agency Forefront Networks. Teri’s expertise is in marketing strategy, brand management and outbound communications. In her role at Forefront Networks, Teri oversees ‘business to consumer’ and ‘business to business’ marketing for events.  

Topics:

Forefront Networks events

Forefront networks partners with and produces a range of events, both business to business, and business to consumer events. They are known for producing the 400,000 attendee holiday festival Trail of Lights, in Austin TX. This is both a community event open to the general public and also a corporate event, with corporations using the event to host Christmas parties.

Deriving value from Salesforce as a CRM platform

Teri explains that it’s important to utilize salesforce as more than just a database for collecting client data. It’s a place to cultivate a relationship from a basic lead, to a multi-tenant relationship. It’s an opportunity to build a full picture of the relationship; how did you contact them and when? What was the message? What was the response? What events have they participated in? Did this interaction move the relationship forward?

This information is much more valuable in a shared accessible application than in someones head or in a spreadsheet. It allows you to progress and deepen all kinds of relationships (consumers, sponsors, partners etc).

How can Salesforce help make an event more profitable?

Teri says, “If we can’t measure it, we can’t manage it”. Salesforce helps the team at Forefront do that, it is their single source of truth. It allows them to keep track of all activity and relationships over time. Including:

  • What sponsors participate at different levels
  • Whether revenue is going up or down and if the pipeline is growing or shrinking.
  • How many leads are need to have a successful and profitable event.

Why is Salesforce particularly valuable for large events?

While some of the other tools that are our there may initially seem cheaper than Salesforce, they can quickly get expensive when you load a large volume of contacts from a big event.

Forefront Networks also utilizes Marketing Cloud within Salesforce, which is their email marketing tool. This is valuable when you have to manage high volumes of contacts. It allows them to send email marketing campaigns to contacts and log the behavior.

How does Salesforce data help you make more informed decisions and build your business?

Teri explains that knowing your clients and their behaviour year after year, is invaluable to your ongoing business strategy and pipeline management. This all comes from the reports generated from Salesforce.  

What are the benefits of having your event ticketing platform connected directly to Salesforce?

Ticketbud can now be connected to Salesforce through the AppExchange. This allows event organizers to easily report on opportunities generated from events. It also ensures the continuity of event data, reducing duplication of information. Teri states that given the size of some of their largest events, they don’t have the luxury of time to manually import data. They also can’t risk the chance of mistakes. Automating this process is critical to Forefront Networks and their events.

It allows them to see trends, such as:

  • Who bought what type of ticket
  • When they bought it
  • If they have bought before (repeat customer data)
  • The price point they purchased at
  • If their ticket type has changed over time (eg from a GA to a VIP ticket)

To have this information come straight from your event ticketing platform to your Sales database is incredibly important. It also allows you to easily run email campaigns targeting segmented audiences. For example, you can directly target the people who bought VIP tickets at your last event when promoting the VIP experience at your next event.    

What are the different ways events can be utilized by an organization or brand?

Events are a great way for brands to connect with their audiences. Your audience can be defined in different ways, depending on a particular goal.

  • An organization might be targeting an internal audience, with the goal of employee engagement.
  • It could be a community event, to build connections with a local community.
  • Then of course there is your client or consumer audience, you’re developing a relationship with.      

What is a Brand Activation and why is it a valuable marketing strategy for brands at events?

“It’s finding a way to take a brand and bring it to life, in an interactive and unique experience with that audience that you’re trying to reach”.

Teri Smart

Teri shares that a brand activation is about a brand saying, I want to interact with this audience. I want to activate my brand and have people to understand my brand. They are looking for a way to integrate into an event experience.

Teri shares an example of a brand activation that Forefront Networks did for the Home Away brand. The VIP backstage experience at the music festival Austin City Limits, was turned into a home away from home backstage.

How to communicate value when sourcing event sponsorships

Teri emphasizes the importance of developing sponsorships with data supported valuations. Forefront Networks has provided staff training to ensure they are able to get this equation right.

  1. The first place to start is with the goal of the sponsor. The value begins when you can see there is a match between the potential sponsors goals and your event. Otherwise you have nothing to build on.   
  2. Make sure you value your sponsorship correctly. Don’t just guess. Sponsorship valuation is often overlooked. There’s research and math that can be used to support and justify sponsorship packages relevant to the event. Equipping sales or sponsorship staff with the data and knowledge that supports the sponsorship price point is highly valuable in closing a deal.

Event marketing

Know your audience. Identify what has to happen to make it a successful event and be clear about the associated costs.

Questions to ask:

  • What are we trying to achieve?
  • What is it going to cost to achieve what we want?
  • How do we need to price the event for this to be profitable?

One half of the marketing equation is look at things like a competitive set, a pricing analysis, and a cost benefit analysis. The other half is the communication side, where are the people we are trying to reach?

The importance of the visual direction and creative design of an event

Teri talks about how the visual direction is part of the brand of the event. Making sure that visual look of the event speaks to the target audience is incredibly important. Ensuring consistency across all visual and design elements of your event (from tickets, to advertising and then the event itself) is highly valuable for brand impact and recall.  

How to determine ticket pricing and programming

  • If it’s an established event, look at the history of what has and hasn’t worked.
  • Consider how you can segment your audience differently.
  • Look at your event programming and what people might pay at various price points.
  • Find out what competitors or similar events are doing with their programming. What experiences are they offering?
  • What is the standard price point for this type of experience?
  • How can you differentiate your experience so that people are willing to pay the price point you need to make it a successful event?    

Event sales and promotions

There are various promotional strategies that can be used to boost sales leading up to an event. The goal is generally to get people to buy early. This lays the foundation for the financial success of your event, and reduces event day stress and guesswork. This can be done with things like early bird tickets and flash sales.

Forefront Networks like Ticketbud, uses Event Protect, which protects the ticket transaction in case of unforeseen cancelation. This can be used as a valuable marketing tool, particularly for outdoor events where people may have weather concerns.

Strategies for getting people to buy early:

  • Use incentives – early bird sales, flash sales.
  • Use scarcity to create a sense of urgency –  don’t miss out, this event sold out last year.
  • Mitigate risk in the mind of the consumer – offer ticket protection.

Key elements of an outbound communication strategy

For Forefront Networks their email database is their number 1 ticket selling channel. Which is why Salesforce is such an important part of their strategy.

  1. Owned email database
  2. Utilize partnerships – identify key partners to help you promote events
  3. Identify relevant publications/media – where people look for events and things to do
  4. Owned social media channels
  5. Consider broadcast and outdoor media options.

Where possible, use tracking codes so you know where traffic is coming from. Knowing how many people were driven from a particular ad, and how that converted to a certain number of ticket sales is really powerful information when determining future advertising spend. Record and track what people are buying, so you get to know their interests for future promotions.

Tips for earning PR and gaining traction in the media

You need a unique story. What angle do you have that the press will pick up on? Think of it as a story and present the story.  

  • Is there a personality you can build a story behind?
  • Is there a new or exciting element you can present?
  • Do you have any celebrity/high profile ambasador or participant?

Assessing the financial sustainability of an event and evaluating the financial risk

Teri explains that Forefront Networks spend a lot of time on this, particularly for consumer events. Just because you think it’s a great event with good turnout, doesn’t make it financially sustainable. There are a lot of factors to consider.

  • Venue costs – does it require complete build out? Do you need tents, bathrooms etc?
  • Fire code limitations (can you get enough people in the venue to make it viable?)
  • Parking – is it accessible?
  • What else is going on at the same time? Are you competing with other events?
  • Is there community appetite for this to be an ongoing event?

Corporate events are more straightforward because you can build the offering around the budget.

Managing remote teams

Teri has experience leading remote teams and shares tips for managing a remote team and keeping them connected and working together.

  • Regular standing meetings, preferably with video conference.
  • Face-to-face in person catch ups. Not just at events when things are hectic, but make time in between. Get together at least twice a year outside of events.  
  • Get together for planning and team building.
  • Project management tools are also great to keep everyone connected and on task.

Teri’s career advice

Teri’s recommends developing skill sets, rather than just being a generalist. While you can evolve to manage all different sides of marketing for example, it is incredibly valuable to get some specialist knowledge in a particular area. Become known for a particular skill. That makes you hirable and promotable.  


The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 21 – SHOW NOTES… Event Marketing and Integrating Events with Salesforce appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-21-show-notes-event-marketing-and-integrating-events-with-salesforce/feed/ 0
Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 19 – SHOW NOTES… Speaker Tours and Building a Social Media Profile https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-19-show-notes-speaker-tours-and-building-a-social-media-profile/ https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-19-show-notes-speaker-tours-and-building-a-social-media-profile/#respond Fri, 07 Jun 2019 21:20:39 +0000 https://www.ticketbud.com/?p=24041 With Gerry Brooks from Celebrate Educators Overview In this episode we talk to social media star, event speaker and elementary school principal Gerry Brooks. We invited Gerry to the podcast to talk about his rise to internet stardom and what it’s like to be both the talent and the event organizer for a traveling one […]

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 19 – SHOW NOTES… Speaker Tours and Building a Social Media Profile appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
With Gerry Brooks from Celebrate Educators

Overview

In this episode we talk to social media star, event speaker and elementary school principal Gerry Brooks. We invited Gerry to the podcast to talk about his rise to internet stardom and what it’s like to be both the talent and the event organizer for a traveling one man show.

In the podcast we talk about:

  • How Gerry became an internet sensation
  • Creating authentic relatable content that resonates with your target audience
  • Leveraging a social media profile into a speaker event series
  • Wearing multiple hats – Event Organizer, Promoter and Talent
  • Marketing Events through social media
  • Event logistics
  • Building ongoing relationships with event attendees
  • Working with a ticketing provider
  • Outsourcing and getting expert advice

Listen now or read the show notes below

About Gerry

Through his popular YouTube videos focused on real-world educational experiences, Gerry has amassed a social media following of over 1 million people. His most popular viral video this year was viewed by over 10 million, and received national media coverage.

Gerry’s relatable stories and tell it like it is style, combined with his passion for education, has proven to be a winning formula, which now sees him booking speaking engagements across the country, and hosting a sell out event series called Celebrate Educators.

Find Gerry’s upcoming Celebrate Educators events on his Ticketbud Showcase Page.

Topics

How Gerry became an internet sensation

It all began a few years ago with a video Gerry shared on his personal facebook page about ‘What Principals do on Snow Days’. This playful video of Gerry running amok around the empty school grounds, went viral. Gerry decided to keep producing videos and people kept watching. His online presence grew fast from there. Soon his following was too big for his personal facebook page (apparently they cap you at 5000 friends), so Gerry had to start a Public Figure facebook page. He continued to grow his following, as well as posting videos on YouTube and sharing content on other channels like Instagram and Twitter.

While Gerry’s core audience is educators, his videos often have a significantly wider audience when he hits on a current topic in the media. Some of those videos have been viewed by millions, significantly broadening his audience. Gerry knows timeliness is key. If you have an idea for something that’s topical, it’s important to share it right away.

Creating authentic relatable content that resonates with your target audience

Gerry says his success is an excellent example of the power of social media. The things that are happening in Gerry’s home town in Kentucky are happening across the US and around the world. The things that educators deal with are often universal. Gerry taps into the key relatable experiences and events, and uses humor to connect with his audience.   

Gerry’s advice is to be authentic and find your niche. Identify your audience and adapt content to appeal to your audience.

Leveraging a social media profile into a speaker event series

Gerry was initially booking speaker spots at educational conferences. As demand grew to hear him speak, he also got feedback that some fans couldn’t afford the conferences. This led Gerry to start his own event series on the weekends. In 2018 Gerry ran 36 events, this year he plans to do about 45 weekend events.

Wearing multiple hats – Event organizer, Promoter and Talent

Being organized is the name of the game. Gerry not only manages his social media profile and speaker events, but this is on top of a full time role as a School Principal.

Gerry makes sure he has a schedule of content lined up. He does a video each week, social posts, promotion for his events, as well as finding the right balance for sponsor promotions. Gerry then travels for the weekend events, before heading back to his day job during the week. To keep everything on track as things have grown, Gerry has recruited the help of event planners to assist in managing his busy schedule and all the event communications.

Marketing Events through Social Media

If you are hosting your own speaker or book tours Gerry says Facebook is a great place to start. It allows you to create social ads targeting a specific area, then you can create ads relevant to your visit in that location.

You can advertise to the people who like your page that live in a certain area. It allows you to target a city and the radius around it. An ad that promotes an event in a specific location is going to get more engagement and shares than a general ad promoting your event everywhere.

It’s important to encourage social engagement. Gerry runs promotions and giveaways, for people that share and tag friends in posts. He asks the host schools and teachers in the district to like and share the event posts. The more engagement you get on a post the more opportunity it has to be seen by a wider audience.

Event Logistics

Gerry decided to host his events in schools rather than paying for event spaces. The schools provide the venue for free and in return the event becomes a fundraiser for the school, with 10% of ticket sales going back to the school.

When Celebrate Educators is visiting a location they put a call out to schools in the area who might have a suitable venue. Venues have to meet certain criteria as part of the contract, things like having a tech person on location, and the availability of a school auditorium with a certain seating capacity.

Building ongoing relationships with event attendees

Gerry explains that with Ticketbud’s platform he can email attendees with updates and communication around a specific event they’re attending. As well as being able to export all the email contacts from his events into an email marketing system, where he communicates with them on an ongoing basis. Gerry currently has around 28k email contacts, developed through event attendees on Ticketbud.  

Working with a ticketing provider

Gerry likes having a ticketing customer service manager that’s familiar with his events and keeps things running smoothly. Someone who knows what he’s looking for and can pick up potential issues.  

Gerry’s events have between 500 to 1400 attendees, and sell out across the country, often the day of release. Gerry admits there is no way he could manage the volume of ticket sales on his own. He did a lot of research on ticketing providers and saw Ticketbud had such great reviews.

It’s just been a great collaboration, and something that’s been tremendously helpful in my business”.

Gerry Brooks on working with Ticketbud

Outsourcing and getting expert advice

If you want to achieve more, Gerry advises getting expert help. Sometimes we can get caught in the mindset of not wanting to give away a percentage of profits or pay out money. But the reality is that it can take you to the next level of success, and free your time to focus on what you do best. Gerry has agents helping him manage his social media profile and sponsorships, event planners to help with the logistics of his many events, and Ticketbud to manage ticketing.

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 19 – SHOW NOTES… Speaker Tours and Building a Social Media Profile appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-19-show-notes-speaker-tours-and-building-a-social-media-profile/feed/ 0
Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 18 – SHOW NOTES… Immersive Art Installation Pop-up Event https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-18-show-notes-immersive-art-installation-pop-up-event/ https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-18-show-notes-immersive-art-installation-pop-up-event/#respond Mon, 03 Jun 2019 19:42:48 +0000 https://www.ticketbud.com/?p=24031 With Jimmy Carilo from World of Light Overview In this episode we talk to Jimmy Carilo the Creative Marketing Director for World Of Light, an immersive art installation pop-up event debuting in Los Angeles in June. Jimmy shares the challenges and learnings from putting an event of this nature together – working with artists from […]

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 18 – SHOW NOTES… Immersive Art Installation Pop-up Event appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
With Jimmy Carilo from World of Light

Overview

In this episode we talk to Jimmy Carilo the Creative Marketing Director for World Of Light, an immersive art installation pop-up event debuting in Los Angeles in June. Jimmy shares the challenges and learnings from putting an event of this nature together – working with artists from around the world and transforming a space into an experience that people haven’t seen before.

Jimmy talks about the need to schedule bookings for an experience like this to ensure everyone can enjoy it. He shares some unique marketing tactics for getting the word out about the event. He also talks about his experiences working with different ticketing companies and why Ticketbud’s approach made all the difference to his team.

Listen now or read the show notes below

About Jimmy

Jimmy Carilo has a background in events and marketing. He runs Hint Creative Group a boutique agency with an emphasis on visual and conceptual business strategy. Their event services include complete branding development and marketing execution.

About World of Light

World Of Light is an immersive art installation event debuting in Los Angeles in June and running until August, 2019. The experience is described as an otherworldly journey of visual imagination, with the transformation of a 50 thousand square foot space. Designed to be the world’s first fully interactive exhibition, with immersive installations, mixed media, live art and 360 VR mapping incorporated into the experience.

Discussion Topics

  • Designing a unique user experience
  • Key challenges and learnings – testing ideas, event production and logistics
  • Long distance event management
  • Research on immersive experiences
  • Ticketing for immersive events
  • Promotional tactics
  • Encouraging an interactive experience

Designing a unique user experience

The first part of the conceptual planning process for this event was working out how to create a unique user experience. Jimmy and the World of Light team got together to share their research and experiences of these types of immersive art installation events. They looked at what had and hadn’t been done before, to help them work out how they could offer something different.

Key challenges and learnings – testing ideas, event production and logistics

  • Working with artists to tailor their art to the needs of the experience. Its a balance between their creative expression and what you need for the experience.
  • Testing ideas in production to figure out what will work in the space.
  • Bringing all the different elements together into a cohesive experience.

One of the key learnings was the importance of spending more time in the conceptual phase. Understanding the restrictions and capabilities that you have to work within before heading into production. Particularly if you’re doing something you haven’t seen done before, its valuable to test your ideas before trying to find funding, or the space or getting art developed.

Long distance event management

Jimmy explains that with the technology available today it’s easy to manage events and collaborate with people in different cities. He says that even looking at an event space can be done via facetime or having a walkthrough recorded and sent to you. You don’t have to be physically be there anymore.

However Jimmy said that he did find that press seems to be more responsive when you are in the same city as the event.

Research on immersive experiences

Prior to undertaking this event, Jimmy conducted research on what people are looking for in these types of experiences. The research showed that more people are driven toward experiences that are different, something that they don’t see regularly. There was particular interest in short availability experiences, which has given rise to the pop-up market. There has been a trend for brands to host pop-up experiences, with the limited time experience tending to drive more people to act sooner so they don’t miss out.

People are also interested in seeing things from different countries and have experiences they can’t readily have access to at home or where they live.  

The idea behind World of Light was to not only have a multisensory immersive experience, but to bring art from all over the world that people can view and interact with. Something that people may not have had the opportunity to see before.  

Ticketing for immersive events

The reality of these types of immersive experiences is that people are going to want to stop and interact, take it in or take a photograph. You have to allow time for that, it’s part of the experience. However, there are certain times in the week that are going to have more demand than others. Having ticket programming that allows people to book a specific time slot becomes very important. It gives everyone time and space to have the full experience. This also included designating a time limit, for the experience, with premium tickets available for an unlimited time.

World of Light plans to tour multiple cities across the country, so for the initial event in Los Angeles the pricing was mainly about covering costs and getting people in to talk about the experience. The team wanted to create a brand they are proud of, that gives a platform and recognition to artists from around the world.

Promotional tactics

World of Light is using social media channels and local publications in their event promotion. As well as trying different methods including wheatpasting with event posters, as well as soliciting local businesses to promote with branded collateral at their shops. Then in the spirit of the event, they have organized the illumination of City Hall in downtown Los Angeles. This promotion will include a ten minute light show, where City Hall will be illuminated with visuals inspired by the home countries of the artists involved in the event.

An important part of the promotion for World of Light has been to ensure the promotion was in line with the event experience. This meant incorporating highly visual design, using video, animation and light where possible, avoiding static ads.

Encouraging an interactive experience

In addition to the art installations themselves that visitors can interact with, take photos and share. World of Light have looked for other opportunities to increase engagement. This includes:

  • A World of Light app, with interesting and fun photo filters.
  • A photo booth with some interesting technology included.

Jimmy’s career advice – Don’t take the shortcut

“If you ever shortcut anything, you are only ever going to get that much back. If you really believe in something that you’re working on, be diligent and do your part, research and test it”.

“Learn everything you can about it and always be challenging yourself…You will inevitably see the return on that”.


The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 18 – SHOW NOTES… Immersive Art Installation Pop-up Event appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-18-show-notes-immersive-art-installation-pop-up-event/feed/ 0
Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 20 – SHOW NOTES… Managing a Specialized Food Festival https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-20-show-notes-managing-a-specialized-food-festival/ https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-20-show-notes-managing-a-specialized-food-festival/#respond Wed, 22 May 2019 20:50:47 +0000 https://www.ticketbud.com/?p=24006 With Scott Shepard from SDG Events (Wing-A-Rama) Overview In this episode we chat to Scott Shepard from SDG Events, who talks about coordinating the multi-city food festival Wing-A-Rama. Scott discusses the importance of ensuring the event offers value to his three key stakeholder groups; restaurant vendors, sponsors and event attendees. He also shares his experience […]

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 20 – SHOW NOTES… Managing a Specialized Food Festival appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
With Scott Shepard from SDG Events (Wing-A-Rama)

Overview

In this episode we chat to Scott Shepard from SDG Events, who talks about coordinating the multi-city food festival Wing-A-Rama. Scott discusses the importance of ensuring the event offers value to his three key stakeholder groups; restaurant vendors, sponsors and event attendees. He also shares his experience growing from a single city to multi-city event, and the challenges of expanding into new markets.

Listen now or read the show notes below

About Scott

Scott Shepard is Co-founder and Partner of SDG Events, which is the company behind Wing-a-rama. 2019 is Scotts 3rd year running this annual event which has expanded to now be in Austin, Dallas and Houston. Scott comes from a legal background working as an entertainment attorney.    

Topics

About Wing-A-Rama

Wing-a-rama is a specialized food festival with 20 different restaurant vendors competing for the title of best wings in the city. An event ticket gets attendees all you can eat wings and wing inspired food. Attendees vote on the best wing and best inspired dish, with one restaurant taking home the bragging rights. They also have a wing eating competition with a giant wrestling style belt for the winner (to hold their stomach in).

Attracting Restaurant Participation – What’s in it for them?

Ultimately its about customer acquisition. The event provides exposure for participating restaurants through pre-event promotion and event day engagement. The event is a chance to reach a large number of potential customers in the community at one time, who have come specifically to taste their food.  

The winning vendor has great bragging rights, voted by the community as having the best chicken wings in Austin.

Challenges of Launching into New Markets

The event started out as Austin Wingfest, and has expanded to other markets and rebranded as Wing-a-rama.

It became clear that even within the same state, the buyer behaviour is different. You have to know your market, the customer base and their different buying habits. For example, due to the unpredictability of Houston’s weather, people leave it to the very last minute to buy tickets. This is nerve wracking as an event organizer, but if you know your market you can plan for it accordingly. Knowing you’re going to experience a sudden demand for tickets at the last minute is important. Wing-a-rama in Houston for example sold out fast, but only in the last 36 hours.

Other important aspects of running events in different cities is that each city has its own local rules, laws and regulations. It’s important to be across these things in the local market and not to assume they will be the same.  

When and Where?

One of the biggest event challenges in Austin is calendar availability and location options. There are so many events and food festivals going on, you have to take that into consideration. Because Wing-a-rama is now a more established event, they have the credibility to gain access to premier event locations.   

Know Your Customer

According to Scott, one of the most important things you can learn is to always put yourself in the mind of your customer. Wing-a-rama has two key customer types, the vendor restaurants and the event attendees. Keeping them both in mind is important.

A common frustration for food festivals is long lines and waiting for food. It’s frustrating for attendees and also vendors that have to deal with frustrated attendees. Scott tried to look for ways to reduce lines. This included an early bird ticket at a premium cost, what allows some patrons to get in an hour early to access food. This helps to break up some of the congestion.    They are also trying things like having beer carts serving drinks to people while they are in line waiting for food. At least they are kept refreshed while in line and don’t have to line up again for drinks.

Evolving the Event

Each year Wing-a-rama looks for ways to take the event to the next level. This year they will be hosting a podcast from the festival, talking about everything that is going on. They continue to look for more ways to interact with people at the event, aside from eating food. The voting competition and the eating contests are a couple of those initiatives.  

Event Sponsorships

When it comes to sponsorships, lead time is vital. A lot of sponsors have their budget allocated 12 months out, so you have to plan early. Wing-a-rama are talking to potential sponsors at this years event ready for next years event.

Brands are looking for opportunities for attendees to engage with them at the event. Identifying ways to facilitate brand activations is hugely valuable. Being able to sell a creative engagement idea to a sponsor is much more valuable than saying, we will slap your logo on a banner.

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 20 – SHOW NOTES… Managing a Specialized Food Festival appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/ticketbud-tidbits-ep-20-show-notes-managing-a-specialized-food-festival/feed/ 0
Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 17 – SHOW NOTES… Events & Engagement for a Chamber of Commerce https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/podcast-ep-17-events-engagement-for-a-chamber-of-commerce-2/ https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/podcast-ep-17-events-engagement-for-a-chamber-of-commerce-2/#respond Fri, 03 May 2019 16:03:06 +0000 https://www.ticketbud.com/?p=23969 Lacy Roesler from Austin Chamber of Commerce Overview Gain a deeper insight on event planning for a large Chamber of Commerce membership based organization.  Lacy Roesler, Manager of Partner Events and Engagement at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, talks to us about the wide range of events and initiatives she manages for the chamber. […]

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 17 – SHOW NOTES… Events & Engagement for a Chamber of Commerce appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
Lacy Roesler from Austin Chamber of Commerce

Overview

Gain a deeper insight on event planning for a large Chamber of Commerce membership based organization.  Lacy Roesler, Manager of Partner Events and Engagement at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, talks to us about the wide range of events and initiatives she manages for the chamber. She shares insights from her extensive background in event management including working at the Long Center for the Performing Arts.
Listen now or read the show notes below.

About Lacy Roesler

Lacy Roesler has an extensive background in event management including working at the Long Center for the Performing Arts. Lacy is currently the Manager of Partner Events and Engagement at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. Lacy is team leader on all Chamber events, from large signature and advocacy events, to networking socials and member engagement opportunities. Lacy manages event budgeting; managing the bidding processes and RFPs for audio visual, food & beverage, and venue selection; logistics; speaker and sponsor coordination; all day-of event logistics execution, and registration.

Topics

To step up and learn fast – get a mentor

Lacy talks about one of her early event management roles at the Long Center for the Performing Arts. An opportunity arose for her to step up into a management position, which was out of her comfort zone in terms of experience. Lacy engaged the help of an experienced mentor with key insights, who could provide guidance as she learnt fast on the job.

Austin Chamber of Commerce Events

The Austin Chamber of Commerce creates events to engage with businesses and the community. As a membership based organization it provides opportunities for people to network and make connections and find new clients. The Chamber hosts events large and small, from receptions, networking events, award ceremonies, member engagement events, educational and panel events. Some of these include:

  • Power Up Austin Series, which consists of Power Up Austin Women events and Power Up Austin Tech events.
  • Austin A-list Awards hosted in conjunction with SXSW, recognizing the most innovative homegrown companies coming out of Austin. Ticketbud is excited to have been nominated for the 2019 Austin A-List Awards.
  • Greater Austin Business Awards recognizes the great work local businesses are doing.
  • Austin Gives Generous Awards recognizes philanthropy in business.

Business to Business Events

While there are similarities in the event planning process across all events, there are differences to consider when planning a business to business event. Lacy highlights some key additional considerations.

  • Timing – A B2B luncheon is generally advised not to run longer than an hour and a half, as people have to take time out of work. Events starting at 4pm are often a good time for business events, so people can leave work a little early but it doesn’t completely cut into their personal time.
  • Venue/Location – Make the location somewhere convenient and easy for most people to get to. Is there parking? Find out the availability for your venue options before setting a date!
  • Calendar – Be aware of what other events and occasions are on in your city at the same time, especially any that may conflict with your target audience. Even when an event is unrelated to your audience, it may have implications such as road closures or booked hotels. When you work in events, it’s always good to be aware of other events in the calendar.

Request For Proposal (RFP)

Requests For Proposals (RFPs) can be put out for different suppliers and providers involved in your event. This can be something that is done on a per event basis or across all events. The main RFPs that the Chamber does is with hotels, which is usually the first round of RFPs for one of their events. This includes comparing date availability and package deals for the number of rooms and venue space needed. Other RFPs can be for anything from printed programs, physical awards, AV providers and other suppliers.

Event Promotion

As part of the event planning process there will generally be a kickoff meeting with the digital marketing communications team to work out a marketing plan. For the Austin Chamber of Commerce this might include a combination of channels such as:

  • Identifying relevant partner organisations who can help promote
  • Email blasts
  • Invite only events
  • Blog posts
  • Social media
  • Austin Statesman (Newspaper) – homepage takeovers and print ads
  • KVUE (TV station) – advertisements

Lacy’s Quick Tips for Event Organizers

Get your timeline right!
Give yourself enough time. On event day, make sure setup happens early and staff arrive early. Ensure you build in enough time to set up, test equipment and brief staff. Anything can go wrong with events and you want to have enough time to respond to it thoughtfully, rather than be in a mad panic at the last minute. Give yourself buffer time, it can mean the difference between finding a good solution or having to cut something completely.
Use an event management tool
Lacy recommends Asana or using a spreadsheet if you need to, but find tools to make the planning process easier. Event management tools are also great for making sure everyone in the team knows what’s going on
Great Advice
Lacy shares how event planning can be intense and stressful. Experienced event organizers know this and generally try to give you good advice. Lacy says she has been lucky to receive great advice early and throughout her career.
Given how stressful events can sometimes be, Lacy says self care is really important to prioritize as an events manager. Make sure you look after your body, take multivitamins, do some exercise, decompress at night and get enough sleep!

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 17 – SHOW NOTES… Events & Engagement for a Chamber of Commerce appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/podcast-ep-17-events-engagement-for-a-chamber-of-commerce-2/feed/ 0
Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 17 – SHOW NOTES… Events & Engagement for a Chamber of Commerce https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/podcast-ep-17-events-engagement-for-a-chamber-of-commerce/ https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/podcast-ep-17-events-engagement-for-a-chamber-of-commerce/#respond Fri, 03 May 2019 16:03:06 +0000 https://www.ticketbud.com/?p=23969 Lacy Roesler from Austin Chamber of Commerce Overview Gain a deeper insight on event planning for a large Chamber of Commerce membership based organization.  Lacy Roesler, Manager of Partner Events and Engagement at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, talks to us about the wide range of events and initiatives she manages for the chamber. […]

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 17 – SHOW NOTES… Events & Engagement for a Chamber of Commerce appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
Lacy Roesler from Austin Chamber of Commerce

Overview

Gain a deeper insight on event planning for a large Chamber of Commerce membership based organization.  Lacy Roesler, Manager of Partner Events and Engagement at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, talks to us about the wide range of events and initiatives she manages for the chamber. She shares insights from her extensive background in event management including working at the Long Center for the Performing Arts.

Listen now or read the show notes below.

About Lacy Roesler

Lacy Roesler has an extensive background in event management including working at the Long Center for the Performing Arts. Lacy is currently the Manager of Partner Events and Engagement at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. Lacy is team leader on all Chamber events, from large signature and advocacy events, to networking socials and member engagement opportunities. Lacy manages event budgeting; managing the bidding processes and RFPs for audio visual, food & beverage, and venue selection; logistics; speaker and sponsor coordination; all day-of event logistics execution, and registration.

Topics

To step up and learn fast – get a mentor

Lacy talks about one of her early event management roles at the Long Center for the Performing Arts. An opportunity arose for her to step up into a management position, which was out of her comfort zone in terms of experience. Lacy engaged the help of an experienced mentor with key insights, who could provide guidance as she learnt fast on the job.

Austin Chamber of Commerce Events

The Austin Chamber of Commerce creates events to engage with businesses and the community. As a membership based organization it provides opportunities for people to network and make connections and find new clients. The Chamber hosts events large and small, from receptions, networking events, award ceremonies, member engagement events, educational and panel events. Some of these include:

  • Power Up Austin Series, which consists of Power Up Austin Women events and Power Up Austin Tech events.
  • Austin A-list Awards hosted in conjunction with SXSW, recognizing the most innovative homegrown companies coming out of Austin. Ticketbud is excited to have been nominated for the 2019 Austin A-List Awards.
  • Greater Austin Business Awards recognizes the great work local businesses are doing.
  • Austin Gives Generous Awards recognizes philanthropy in business.

Business to Business Events

While there are similarities in the event planning process across all events, there are differences to consider when planning a business to business event. Lacy highlights some key additional considerations.

  • Timing – A B2B luncheon is generally advised not to run longer than an hour and a half, as people have to take time out of work. Events starting at 4pm are often a good time for business events, so people can leave work a little early but it doesn’t completely cut into their personal time.
  • Venue/Location – Make the location somewhere convenient and easy for most people to get to. Is there parking? Find out the availability for your venue options before setting a date!
  • Calendar – Be aware of what other events and occasions are on in your city at the same time, especially any that may conflict with your target audience. Even when an event is unrelated to your audience, it may have implications such as road closures or booked hotels. When you work in events, it’s always good to be aware of other events in the calendar.

Request For Proposal (RFP)

Requests For Proposals (RFPs) can be put out for different suppliers and providers involved in your event. This can be something that is done on a per event basis or across all events. The main RFPs that the Chamber does is with hotels, which is usually the first round of RFPs for one of their events. This includes comparing date availability and package deals for the number of rooms and venue space needed. Other RFPs can be for anything from printed programs, physical awards, AV providers and other suppliers.

Event Promotion

As part of the event planning process there will generally be a kickoff meeting with the digital marketing communications team to work out a marketing plan. For the Austin Chamber of Commerce this might include a combination of channels such as:

  • Identifying relevant partner organisations who can help promote
  • Email blasts
  • Invite only events
  • Blog posts
  • Social media
  • Austin Statesman (Newspaper) – homepage takeovers and print ads
  • KVUE (TV station) – advertisements

Lacy’s Quick Tips for Event Organizers

Get your timeline right!

Give yourself enough time. On event day, make sure setup happens early and staff arrive early. Ensure you build in enough time to set up, test equipment and brief staff. Anything can go wrong with events and you want to have enough time to respond to it thoughtfully, rather than be in a mad panic at the last minute. Give yourself buffer time, it can mean the difference between finding a good solution or having to cut something completely.

Use an event management tool

Lacy recommends Asana or using a spreadsheet if you need to, but find tools to make the planning process easier. Event management tools are also great for making sure everyone in the team knows what’s going on

Great Advice

Lacy shares how event planning can be intense and stressful. Experienced event organizers know this and generally try to give you good advice. Lacy says she has been lucky to receive great advice early and throughout her career.

Given how stressful events can sometimes be, Lacy says self care is really important to prioritize as an events manager. Make sure you look after your body, take multivitamins, do some exercise, decompress at night and get enough sleep!

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 17 – SHOW NOTES… Events & Engagement for a Chamber of Commerce appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/podcast-ep-17-events-engagement-for-a-chamber-of-commerce/feed/ 0
Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 16 – SHOW NOTES… Outlier Podcast Festival with Ever Gonzalez https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/podcast-ep-16-with-ever-gonzalez-from-outlier-podcast-festival/ https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/podcast-ep-16-with-ever-gonzalez-from-outlier-podcast-festival/#respond Mon, 29 Apr 2019 19:09:52 +0000 https://www.ticketbud.com/?p=23929 Overview The Ticketbud Tidbits Episode 16 Podcast is with Ever Gonzalez, the Founder of OutlierHQ and organizer of the Outlier Podcast Festival. Hosted by Lisa Carson, Ticketbud Content Marketing Manager. Ticketbud catches up with Ever to chat about the Outlier Podcast Festival coming up in Austin in May and Denver in June. We talk about […]

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 16 – SHOW NOTES… Outlier Podcast Festival with Ever Gonzalez appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
Overview

The Ticketbud Tidbits Episode 16 Podcast is with Ever Gonzalez, the Founder of OutlierHQ and organizer of the Outlier Podcast Festival. Hosted by Lisa Carson, Ticketbud Content Marketing Manager.

Ticketbud catches up with Ever to chat about the Outlier Podcast Festival coming up in Austin in May and Denver in June. We talk about what makes this festival different and the ingredients for  a great event. Ever shares what goes into coordinating a traveling festival and engaging with local markets. As well as tips for new podcasters and how a podcast can be a great vehicle for you brand.   

Listen Now or read the key highlights below.

About Ever Gonzalez

Ever Gonzalez is the Founder of OutlierHQ, a media and events company that helps entrepreneurs start, grow, and scale their business. Ever is the host of Outlier On Air, a weekly podcast with over 400 episodes, interviewing Founders, Disrupters, and Mavens. Ever and his company have organized over 200 events including entrepreneur and business networking events. Ever created and organizes the Outlier Podcast Festival which is in its second year, travelling across the US. Ever and the OutlierHQ team are excited to visit cities with unique podcasting communities.

Event: Outlier Podcast Festival

The Outlier Podcast Festival is an event where podcasters and digital influencers gather to learn, network, and connect in real life. It’s a festival full of speakers, workshops, breakout sessions, live shows and more. If you’re interested in podcasting or looking to grow as a digital influencer then you won’t want to miss this.

This event is for outliers. People who are doing things a bit differently or people who are underrepresented in podcasting. It’s about highlighting and celebrate what the outliers are doing.

TOPICS:

Event sponsorships and leveraging smaller events to grow your business

Ever talks about capping event attendance to better facilitate engagement. He keeps his events smaller to create an environment for speakers and attendees to interact. It also allows sponsors to get up close with clients and potential clients, to develop relationships and gain direct feedback. Ever suggests that sponsoring smaller events is a great opportunity for businesses to get great value through putting a face to your brand. You can have more impact than sponsor banners, you can really get involved with your prospective clients.

The key ingredients for a great event

For OutlierHQ, events are all about building a community. For the Outlier Podcast Festival, which is a traveling event, a key ingredient is finding podcasting leaders in each city the festival visits. Ever talks about reaching out and connecting with local podcasters to be involved. He shares how the locals in each city can give you great advice and feedback. They will tell you what will work in that market, who you should be talking to, and how to tailor an event specific to that community. The goal is to offer great content and experiences, and set everything up so that people are able to make true lasting connections.

Where to start with event planning

When it comes to planning, Ever starts with the big picture. Asking the question, what do you want the attendees to walk away with? Next you pick a theme and then it’s all about finding great speakers. Yes you need food and drinks and things like that, but the speakers connecting with the audience is what makes a great event. Is the content on the stage good enough to help and inspire. It’s about ensuring people learn something and are provided with networking opportunities to create community.

What was Outlier looking for in a Ticketing Partner?

Ever explains that the reason they chose Ticketbud to be their ticketing partner is because Ticketbud aligns with their brand. Ticketbud is the Outlier, a startup that’s doing things a little differently. Ticketbud is about building partnerships and offering genuine customer service. Ever was thrilled to discover that Ticketbud offers early payouts, so you don’t have to wait until after your event to get paid. It is a huge benefit for event organizers to be able to access their funds sooner to cover upfront costs.

How can podcasting be great for your brand?

Having an established podcast makes it easier when reaching out to people you want to work with. Outlier On Air is now a global brand with over 400 episodes. This makes it easier for Ever to open discussions with founders and CEOs, the first thing it does is get you through the door to have a conversation. The podcast has facilitated the building of partnerships and relationships. Many people who have been guests on the podcast, end up working with OutlierHQ or participating in an event.

Tips for new podcasters

Focus on putting out good content. But don’t wait for the perfect equipment, script or guest. Ever recommends getting started sooner rather than later. The barrier for entry for podcasting at this point is really low. You just need a laptop, free recording software such as Audacity and some earbuds. Eventually you can upgrade to fancy microphones and equipment. However getting started and gaining experience that you can learn from and build on is incredibly valuable. Most importantly, it’s about not missing an opportunity.

Ever says, if you’re not embarrassed by your early podcasts, you’re not doing it right. The idea is to get better and better. As you develop a following, they go on that journey with you. That’s part of the experience.   

What advice do you wish you had been given early in your career?

Ever shares that he wishes he’d known about the value of playing to your strengths. It’s easy to get distracted by all the possibilities. Be true to the brand and your personal skill set. While it’s great to learn different things, you should double down on your strengths and what makes you unique. Find a niche! Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Refining that niche is where things started to really come together for Ever and OutlierHQ.  

Ever says, find out who your are, what you like and what you’re good at. Focus on that. Be known for that.

Get tickets now for Outlier Podcast Festival

Austin – May 17 & 18

Denver – July 12 & 13

The post Ticketbud Tidbits Ep 16 – SHOW NOTES… Outlier Podcast Festival with Ever Gonzalez appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/podcast-ep-16-with-ever-gonzalez-from-outlier-podcast-festival/feed/ 0
Ticketbud Tidbits EP 15 – SHOW NOTES… Major Festivals & Concerts with Deidra Sibila https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/podcast-ep-15-ticketbud-tidbits-deidra-sibila-on-festival-events-2/ https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/podcast-ep-15-ticketbud-tidbits-deidra-sibila-on-festival-events-2/#respond Fri, 19 Apr 2019 15:01:38 +0000 http://ticketbud.wpengine.com/?p=23831 ]]>

The post Ticketbud Tidbits EP 15 – SHOW NOTES… Major Festivals & Concerts with Deidra Sibila appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
Join Ticketbud Tidbids for a chat with Deidra Sibila, an expert in event ticketing. We talk to Deidra about event planning, the role of ticketing and ticket programming, dealing with the unexpected, and the importance of Event Protect ticket coverage for unexpected cancelations.

Listen to the podcast or read more below

About Deidra Sibila

Deidra has done it all from theatre events to concert tours and festivals. Deidra worked for Live Nation for 13 years including corporate touring as Senior National Director of Ticketing for Touring in North America. Deidra managed ticketing for major concert tours across the US, from Coldplay to Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and Jay-Z. She has also managed ticketing for C3 Events, known for festivals such as ACL and Lollapalooza. Deidra now works as an independent contractor for festivals and events including local holiday favorite, the Austin Trail of Lights.

Event: Austin Trail of Lights, Holiday festival.

The Austin Trail of Lights is the largest holiday tradition in Austin and the 2nd largest event in the city. The annual event held in Zilker Park and run by the Trail of Lights Foundation, welcomes 400,000 people every year over two weeks in December. As you walk through the park you will see 2 million lights, and experience themed light displays. The family friendly event shares Austin music, food and holiday fun.

Unexpected Event Cancelation

Deidra talks about dealing with cancelled events from a ticketing perspective. There are always going to be unforeseen or unexpected reasons an event has to be cancelled. Mother nature doesn’t spare your carefully planned event, with anything from strong winds to flooding causing an event to be shut down. There are also other unexpected possibilities such as a major supplier falling through.
Different event insurance options are available and some can get quite expensive. Trail of Lights was Ticketbud’s pilot event for our new partnership with Event Protect. After researching options Ticketbud felt this was a simple and cost-effective way to protect ticket revenue by insuring the ticket transaction. This meant that when strong winds forced the Trail of Lights to be shut down one night, organizers were protected against that loss of revenue, and ticket buyers could quickly and easily get a refund for their ticket.

Event Protect

Ticketbud event organizers can now opt-in for Event Protect’s comprehensive ticket revenue protection. This coverage gets built into the ticket price and protects the full value of the ticket transaction.
Because organizers often have significant sunk costs leading up to an event. Event Protect minimizes the financial risk for organizers if their event gets cancelled.

Managing Unexpected Challenges

With events anything and everything can happen. Artist illness, fence jumpers, people who try to sneak in the gate. Sometimes the challenge is ensuring it’s quick and easy to communicate with attendees. That’s why it’s important to have a good system in place to be able to do that effectively.
When an event if cancelled due to bad weather it’s obvious to attendees why the event isn’t going ahead. But if you have to cancel because of flooding on a previous day that is now causing safety concerns (think water and electricity for a light show), that might be less clear to attendees when it otherwise looks like a perfect day.

The Role of Ticketing

We talk about how ticketing is the face of your event. It’s the first thing that people experience when signing up or buying a ticket, it’s part of the event communication process and it’s the first thing people experience when they arrive at your event. If they have to deal with ticketed parking that’s another layer. The ticketing experience is a huge part of the customer experience for any event.
The ticketing role is responsible for gate management and staffing, the box office, production elements and ensuring that the technical systems are in place and working, from scanners, to wi-fi and power.

Large Festival Event Planning and Key Roles in the Organizing Team

It’s important to have community buy-in, a solid ticketing partner and reliable vendors. You want team members who are working as a team to make it a great event and people who are calm under pressure.
Large events and festivals need gate managers to keep entrances under control, safety experts and of course customer service managers to look after all the customer enquiries.
Having a great marketing team is important and a good event website. It’s important to be able to build and segment your database, analyze event data and look for trends in the analytics. This helps you make better and more informed decisions for the next event and keep improving. A social media manager is important to keep people informed in real time about the event, especially when there are last minute notifications, often people will look to social media for updates.

Building a ‘Run of Show’

A ‘Run of Show is your event bible and is particularly important for large events and multiday festivals. It communicates everything that’s going to happen at the event, when it’s happening and who is responsible. It includes a build schedule, when different teams need to be on site, when deliveries are arriving and all the operational elements leading up to the day of the event.
On event day the Run of Show communicates when bump in starts, when doors are opening, when the show begins and details and timing for pack down. It provides clear communication so that everyone is on the same page because they are all reading from the one document. For ticketing and gate staff the Run of Show also enables them to be informed to answer attendee questions.

Ticketing Management

Ticketing is both an administration and operational role. You start with planning, setting up event pages, ticket programming and looking at purchase flow and ways to optimize. You have to consider volume expectations and high sales times. Then you also work on customer service documents, FAQs and staffing.
When you get on site its more of an operational role, setting the event up and checking gate flow, testing equipment, setting up logins and making sure the internet works.

Event Page Digital Experience and Purchase Flow

Ensuring a frictionless purchase flow and making it as easy as possible for people to buy tickets is a significant consideration. This includes having mobile optimized event and ticket sites. Buyer behavior is increasing shifting to mobile when researching and buying tickets for events.

The Importance of Ticket Programming

Ticket programming is about maximizing sales by offering different ticket types for various times and audiences. It includes things like early bird sales, the offer of cheaper pricing incentivizes people to buy sooner, which is ideal for planning, financing and for generating word of mouth buzz. VIP experiences allow you to charge a premium for a higher end experience to cater to a different end of the market, tiered parking is another version of that.

Event Day Logistics

On event day there are a lot of logistics to manage. What are current sales and inventory levels, what is the weather today, what are the event location conditions, to get a picture of what the day is going to bring.
Considering what the programming is for that day. What changes need to be made, does signage need to be changed, are different gates open, are special guests or sponsors expected on this day? Things like cash banks need to be prepared for on the door ticket sales, point of sale gets set up, and briefings need to happen with security and event staff.
Ticketbud is great for setting up logins per day. This is a different login per location, per day so you can see exactly where sales are coming from. It makes it much easier to track and reconcile sales data.

Gate Management Communication

Communication is important at any event, but particularly important for large events with high volumes of attendees. You need to have safety and emergency plans, as well as communication documents prior to the event so that everyone knows what to expect. Then when on site for event day, ensure there is a group meeting to re-clarify key information people need to know for their area.

Choosing a Ticketing Partner

Deidra talks about how valuable it is to work with a ticketing company that really is your partner. Having accessible staff that want to see your event be a success, with ongoing customer support.
Deidra recommends asking questions such as:   

  • What is their event cancelation policy? What solutions can they offer you?
  • Is their site mobile optimized?
  • How detailed is the reporting and what information are you getting?
  • Do ticket buyers have to create an account, how easy is it for people to buy a ticket?
  • Do you have the flexibility for various ticket types which allows you to do effective ticket programming?
  • Can you have access and promo codes for discounted or sponsor tickets?
  • Can you customize the ticket information for different ticket types, such as a map relevant to that ticket?
  • Can you communicate to a specific ticket type easily to send custom messages through the ticketing platform?
  • What are people saying about them? Ask for recommendations.
  • Do they have hardware available? How does that hardware work if things go offline?
  • Are they willing to listen to your feedback as an event organizer and make improvements?

The post Ticketbud Tidbits EP 15 – SHOW NOTES… Major Festivals & Concerts with Deidra Sibila appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/podcast-ep-15-ticketbud-tidbits-deidra-sibila-on-festival-events-2/feed/ 0
Ticketbud Tidbits EP 15 – SHOW NOTES… Major Festivals & Concerts with Deidra Sibila https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/podcast-ep-15-ticketbud-tidbits-deidra-sibila-on-festival-events/ https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/podcast-ep-15-ticketbud-tidbits-deidra-sibila-on-festival-events/#respond Fri, 19 Apr 2019 15:01:38 +0000 http://ticketbud.wpengine.com/?p=23831 ]]>

The post Ticketbud Tidbits EP 15 – SHOW NOTES… Major Festivals & Concerts with Deidra Sibila appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
Join Ticketbud Tidbids for a chat with Deidra Sibila, an expert in event ticketing. We talk to Deidra about event planning, the role of ticketing and ticket programming, dealing with the unexpected, and the importance of Event Protect ticket coverage for unexpected cancelations.

Listen to the podcast or read more below

About Deidra Sibila

Deidra has done it all from theatre events to concert tours and festivals. Deidra worked for Live Nation for 13 years including corporate touring as Senior National Director of Ticketing for Touring in North America. Deidra managed ticketing for major concert tours across the US, from Coldplay to Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and Jay-Z. She has also managed ticketing for C3 Events, known for festivals such as ACL and Lollapalooza. Deidra now works as an independent contractor for festivals and events including local holiday favorite, the Austin Trail of Lights.

Event: Austin Trail of Lights, Holiday festival.

The Austin Trail of Lights is the largest holiday tradition in Austin and the 2nd largest event in the city. The annual event held in Zilker Park and run by the Trail of Lights Foundation, welcomes 400,000 people every year over two weeks in December. As you walk through the park you will see 2 million lights, and experience themed light displays. The family friendly event shares Austin music, food and holiday fun.

Unexpected Event Cancelation

Deidra talks about dealing with cancelled events from a ticketing perspective. There are always going to be unforeseen or unexpected reasons an event has to be cancelled. Mother nature doesn’t spare your carefully planned event, with anything from strong winds to flooding causing an event to be shut down. There are also other unexpected possibilities such as a major supplier falling through.
Different event insurance options are available and some can get quite expensive. Trail of Lights was Ticketbud’s pilot event for our new partnership with Event Protect. After researching options Ticketbud felt this was a simple and cost-effective way to protect ticket revenue by insuring the ticket transaction. This meant that when strong winds forced the Trail of Lights to be shut down one night, organizers were protected against that loss of revenue, and ticket buyers could quickly and easily get a refund for their ticket.

Event Protect

Ticketbud event organizers can now opt-in for Event Protect’s comprehensive ticket revenue protection. This coverage gets built into the ticket price and protects the full value of the ticket transaction.
Because organizers often have significant sunk costs leading up to an event. Event Protect minimizes the financial risk for organizers if their event gets cancelled.

Managing Unexpected Challenges

With events anything and everything can happen. Artist illness, fence jumpers, people who try to sneak in the gate. Sometimes the challenge is ensuring it’s quick and easy to communicate with attendees. That’s why it’s important to have a good system in place to be able to do that effectively.
When an event if cancelled due to bad weather it’s obvious to attendees why the event isn’t going ahead. But if you have to cancel because of flooding on a previous day that is now causing safety concerns (think water and electricity for a light show), that might be less clear to attendees when it otherwise looks like a perfect day.

The Role of Ticketing

We talk about how ticketing is the face of your event. It’s the first thing that people experience when signing up or buying a ticket, it’s part of the event communication process and it’s the first thing people experience when they arrive at your event. If they have to deal with ticketed parking that’s another layer. The ticketing experience is a huge part of the customer experience for any event.
The ticketing role is responsible for gate management and staffing, the box office, production elements and ensuring that the technical systems are in place and working, from scanners, to wi-fi and power.

Large Festival Event Planning and Key Roles in the Organizing Team

It’s important to have community buy-in, a solid ticketing partner and reliable vendors. You want team members who are working as a team to make it a great event and people who are calm under pressure.
Large events and festivals need gate managers to keep entrances under control, safety experts and of course customer service managers to look after all the customer enquiries.
Having a great marketing team is important and a good event website. It’s important to be able to build and segment your database, analyze event data and look for trends in the analytics. This helps you make better and more informed decisions for the next event and keep improving. A social media manager is important to keep people informed in real time about the event, especially when there are last minute notifications, often people will look to social media for updates.

Building a ‘Run of Show’

A ‘Run of Show is your event bible and is particularly important for large events and multiday festivals. It communicates everything that’s going to happen at the event, when it’s happening and who is responsible. It includes a build schedule, when different teams need to be on site, when deliveries are arriving and all the operational elements leading up to the day of the event.
On event day the Run of Show communicates when bump in starts, when doors are opening, when the show begins and details and timing for pack down. It provides clear communication so that everyone is on the same page because they are all reading from the one document. For ticketing and gate staff the Run of Show also enables them to be informed to answer attendee questions.

Ticketing Management

Ticketing is both an administration and operational role. You start with planning, setting up event pages, ticket programming and looking at purchase flow and ways to optimize. You have to consider volume expectations and high sales times. Then you also work on customer service documents, FAQs and staffing.
When you get on site its more of an operational role, setting the event up and checking gate flow, testing equipment, setting up logins and making sure the internet works.

Event Page Digital Experience and Purchase Flow

Ensuring a frictionless purchase flow and making it as easy as possible for people to buy tickets is a significant consideration. This includes having mobile optimized event and ticket sites. Buyer behavior is increasing shifting to mobile when researching and buying tickets for events.

The Importance of Ticket Programming

Ticket programming is about maximizing sales by offering different ticket types for various times and audiences. It includes things like early bird sales, the offer of cheaper pricing incentivizes people to buy sooner, which is ideal for planning, financing and for generating word of mouth buzz. VIP experiences allow you to charge a premium for a higher end experience to cater to a different end of the market, tiered parking is another version of that.

Event Day Logistics

On event day there are a lot of logistics to manage. What are current sales and inventory levels, what is the weather today, what are the event location conditions, to get a picture of what the day is going to bring.
Considering what the programming is for that day. What changes need to be made, does signage need to be changed, are different gates open, are special guests or sponsors expected on this day? Things like cash banks need to be prepared for on the door ticket sales, point of sale gets set up, and briefings need to happen with security and event staff.
Ticketbud is great for setting up logins per day. This is a different login per location, per day so you can see exactly where sales are coming from. It makes it much easier to track and reconcile sales data.

Gate Management Communication

Communication is important at any event, but particularly important for large events with high volumes of attendees. You need to have safety and emergency plans, as well as communication documents prior to the event so that everyone knows what to expect. Then when on site for event day, ensure there is a group meeting to re-clarify key information people need to know for their area.

Choosing a Ticketing Partner

Deidra talks about how valuable it is to work with a ticketing company that really is your partner. Having accessible staff that want to see your event be a success, with ongoing customer support.
Deidra recommends asking questions such as:   

  • What is their event cancelation policy? What solutions can they offer you?
  • Is their site mobile optimized?
  • How detailed is the reporting and what information are you getting?
  • Do ticket buyers have to create an account, how easy is it for people to buy a ticket?
  • Do you have the flexibility for various ticket types which allows you to do effective ticket programming?
  • Can you have access and promo codes for discounted or sponsor tickets?
  • Can you customize the ticket information for different ticket types, such as a map relevant to that ticket?
  • Can you communicate to a specific ticket type easily to send custom messages through the ticketing platform?
  • What are people saying about them? Ask for recommendations.
  • Do they have hardware available? How does that hardware work if things go offline?
  • Are they willing to listen to your feedback as an event organizer and make improvements?

The post Ticketbud Tidbits EP 15 – SHOW NOTES… Major Festivals & Concerts with Deidra Sibila appeared first on Ticketbud.

]]>
https://www.ticketbud.com/blog/podcast-ep-15-ticketbud-tidbits-deidra-sibila-on-festival-events/feed/ 0