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Richard Howle , The Ticket Factory
means are the days of hard ticketing over – our research suggests older audiences tend to lean towards them – but the pandemic has certainly accelerated the switch towards digital ,” says Howle .
“ The most important thing is to have a tailored approach , working alongside our clients to decide what works best for their customers . That being said , the trend towards exclusively mobile ticketing is growing and the pandemic has only sped up the process .”
On how the pandemic has altered the company ’ s focus , Howle says it has honed its project with Expoware – its collection of registration services designed for the industry . “ Over the past year we have added a lot of new features
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“ By no means are the days of hard ticketing over – older audiences tend to lean towards them .” Richard Howle , The Ticket Factory
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Zack Sabban , Festicket
and functionality , including the ability to meet the requirements of track and trace , should it be necessary ,” he says .
AEG subsidiary AXS UK will be working with The O2 Arena on this year ’ s Brit Awards , the first major indoor live music event to welcome back an audience ( 4,500 ) without social distancing .
The company ’ s director of ticketing , Paul Newman , says in order to help support both The O2 and the SSE Arena , Wembley ’ s commitment to digital marketing , AXS has opened up its mobile ID technology to other ticket agents .
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“ Once customers have transacted on the agents ’ platforms , they simply need to download the venue app to gain entry on the event night ,” says Newman .
“ Taking notice of the feedback from the customer sentiment surveys we have undertaken , we have introduced venue iconography and other features into our purchase flow to give returning customers the information and reassurances they seek to return to live events .”
Newman , who joined AXS in 2014 following eight years overseeing ticketing operations at The O2 , says the company ’ s several customer surveys over the past year revealed that a contactless venue experience was high on the list of requirements for a safe return to live .
Newman says AXS mobile ID has been in operation at the two venues since early 2019 , and its commitment to digital ticketing “ has been evident for some time ”.
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PROTECTION
The past year ’ s flood of cancellations has meant that ticket insurance provider TicketPlan ’ s activity has been more significant and widespread than ever before .
The company , which works with ticket sellers to provide refund insurance and protection facilities , recently conducted market research that found 74 % of people surveyed would be more likely to purchase tickets from a ticket seller that offers ticket protection than from a vendor that does not offer it .
“ I believe that ticket protection is now genuinely a customer expectation ; we have seen increasing demand for ticket protection as events have gone on sale ,” says TicketPlan development director Ben Bray .
“ The pandemic has naturally been a terrible time for everyone in the ticketing industry and while we have had to navigate the challenges that have been presented , we ’ ve also been fortunate to be able to keep moving forwards , to develop and enhance our solutions and launch with a number of new clients including the Rugby League World Cup 2021 ,” he says .
Working with partner Ticket Sellers , Bray says the company will continue to provide its ticket buyers with “ as much confidence as possible ” to book tickets through 2021 and beyond .
He says , “ The uncertain times in which we are currently living have really emphasised the value of our services to both ticket buyers and sellers .”
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