David Cushing of SHN, Jeff Koets of AudienceView, Brent Holck from University of Minnesota, and Jeremy Walls from MLB's San Diego Padres, participate in a panel at AudienceView's conference. (VT Photo)
REPORTING FROM SAN DIEGO — In the world of sports, collegiate athletics and performing arts, subscriptions and season tickets are shifting. Panelists on the ‘Are Season Tickets & Subscriptions Dying?' panel at AudienceView’s annual AVConnect agreed that organizations are having to add value to and modify subscription ticket packages in order to keep season ticket sales strong.
During the Feb. 26-28 conference in San Diego, panelists spoke about how it can be a struggle to get people to purchase tickets with so many entertainment options available, let alone buy a subscription package. However, the fact remains that if you provide content that people are passionate about and want to see, the audience will come.
“Let’s just say that if you have Book of Mormon, you’re in good shape,” said David Cushing, VP of Ticketing at Shorenstein Hays Nederlander (SHN), who added that when his company began offering subscriptions for the San Francisco-based Curran Theatre last season, the only thing they had initially scheduled was Book of Mormon.
“Our subscription base went from 10,000 to 22,000 this past season,” said Cushing. “We didn’t even know what the other shows were. It amazed us.”
Brent Holck, ticket manager at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, said that collegiate athletics have loyal fans.
“In college athletics the natural affinity that people have toward college sports is already there, so we don’t see a drastic change,” in the number of season tickets, he said. “We definitely see the slow burn of people choosing not to come back or choosing to consume in a different way.”
In order to combat the ‘slow burn,’ Holck said that the University of Minnesota is experimenting with new ways of packaging content.
This season, the university offered a ‘golden ticket’ to all nine university basketball home games for $75 that was a type of gamble. It was good for every home game — with some conditions.
If the team won the game attended by the ticket holder, the ticket was good for the next game. If the team lost, the ticket would no longer work for subsequent games.
“It was fun for us to create a different experience within the game where they weren’t just rooting for their team, but for their fellow ticket holders because they wanted to keep coming,” said Holck. “The end result for us is that a lot of people who bought it were first-time buyers. They saw an economic value in it because they could possibly go to multiple games.”
“We had several people who said they bought it because it was creative and new. Because it was a different experience,” he added.
During the promotion, 44 customers purchased the golden tickets. University of Minnesota also offered a one-time reactivation for $25 if the team lost at home.
Cushing said that SHN has talked about trying to create new experiences for the fans, also, but that working with a third party that brings in Broadway shows makes it more difficult. Instead, the company is considering implementing a student pass, which would be a discount pass good for 10 entries.
Jeremy Walls, VP, Ticket Sales, Service & Operations at Major League Baseball’s San Diego Padres, said that the Padres have focused on trying to add more value to the season ticket in a few ways, including being flexible.
“We probably have one of the most flexible exchange policies in baseball. For example, if you have four seats to one game, you can trade those in and get 10 lesser seats for another game,” said Walls.
He said that since most of their full-season members use only 30 percent of their tickets during the 81-game home season, the Padres have tried to add more year-round value.
“It used to be about just the ticket benefits for baseball, but now you get a membership card that identifies you throughout the city,” Walls said. “We have 100 restaurants and organizations that give discounts.”
“We also have an annual meeting where members can vote on things, from what kind of food they want to see at the stadium to what song we play when the team hits a home run,” he added.
SHN has taken a look at what it means to have a subscription.
“We’re trending toward getting them the best seats at the best price before they go on sale,” said Cushing. “We’ve looked at perks or add-ons, but what has come back to us is that they just really want their seats.”
Companies are also using AudienceView’s CRM capabilities, implementing the customer relationship management information to establish sales leads and manage the accounts they already have.
The San Diego Padres have made big adjustments to the service team, going from service representatives with about 1,500 accounts each, to a 12-person team with around 300 accounts each.
“Now the team isn’t reactive, they’re proactive, because we can assess risk in real time,” said Walls. “Because of CRM data, we know the likelihood for someone to renew, who is at risk, and how they want to be interacted with.”
The University of Minnesota has started using a targeted sales system. Since beginning to establish leads through the CRM system, the university has seen $1 million in new revenue.
“We’re enabling the sales team with new information,” elaborated Holck during the opening reception. “Now we just start to dream and, with technology, we can turn those dreams into actions.”
Interviewed for this story: David Cushing, (415) 551-2075; Brent Holck, (612) 624-6282; Jeremy Walls, (619) 795-5000