Presence, a new ticketing system recently unveiled by Ticketmaster, will check spectators into events using smartphone audio data. The technology promises all kinds of benefits for all kinds of stakeholders. For attendees, Ticketmaster says, it will mean shorter lines and exceptional convenience. For sports and entertainment providers, it will mean the chance to capture data on people in each seat. Knowing preferences in dates, seats, concessions and other purchases will give purveyors a big leg up in marketing to their customers.
The question is: Does Presence really represent breakthrough technology? Opinions differ.
Sounding less than impressed with Presence is Denver-based Maureen Andersen, president and CEO of INTIX, the 38-year-old, Indianapolis, Ind.-based professional association representing the ticketing industry. “The premise isn't that much different from deploying a ticket to your phone in general,” she said. “I had to question myself in how different it is from Flash Seats, or any other barcode- or QR code-centric solution.
“Having the ability to transfer the ticket to other users, or a portion of their order to other users is not new. I'm all for new technology and am all ears when Ticketmaster announces they have new technology. But what I'd like to know is, is anyone currently using this ticketing system? Is it in beta?”
Andersen also says she doesn't understand the claim that this product shortens lines. “That seemed a really odd statement to me when they made it,” she asserted. “The ticket line may be shorter, but you still have a security line.”
With every technology-enabled ticket innovation that comes to the industry, she adds, her first question is what will the technology do for the customer and the customer experience. What she's interested in is technology that supports the customer's needs and purposes, as well as transparency that makes attendees feel comfortable. “Everybody is continually trying to do that,” she said. “As an industry, we keep trying to do that. The value is in the journey. And as long as we keep trying to do it better for the customer to, we as an industry win.”
Still, she dares Ticketmaster to show off its differences and convince folks it really is a game changer at an upcoming trade show. The perfect place and time, she asserted, is Baltimore Jan. 23-25, 2018. “Tell them to bring it to INTIX, and show it off there,” she said.
BEGGING TO DIFFER
Taking a different view of Presence and its status as a game changer is Tony Knopp, co-founder and CEO of InviteManager, a Ticketmaster-affiliated company with headquarters in Calabasas, Calif., and offices in Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C.
Asked to name what Presence offers that we've not seen before, Knopp answered, “Everything.”
“This is significantly different,” he said. “Breakthrough technology generally has one of two characteristics. It solves a major problem or trades convenience for data. For years, sports teams have wanted to know exactly who is in their seats, so they can market to them more effectively and sell them more stuff. Google and Apple found a way to trade convenience for data. That's what Ticketmaster is doing. We're going to make it so easy for you when you enter a game. You can buy a beer, buy a souvenir, have access to your seat without even pulling your phone out of your pocket. They've made it so easy for all people willingly give up their data.”
Ticketmaster Presence is not the only product attempting to attain these objectives, he added. The company's chief competitors — among them AXS Veritix, Tickets.com, SeatGeek and Paciolan – are all competing to achieve the same goal.
AXS Veritix's magnetic stripe entry was just another way for entertainment and sports entities to determine who is sitting where, so they could more effectively target market to those individuals. The trick is doing so without harming the fan or attendee experience. “Mag stripe showed up 10 years ago, because that was the technology we had then,” Knopp said.
HOT DEBATE
Among those particularly furious about the technology are ticket brokers, who argue that Presence and other ticketing systems currently in development are not in the best interests of fans. “Let's be honest,” Knopp added. “You're ticket brokers. It's not in your best interests.”
At essence, Presence reignites a debate about just what the definition of a ticket is. “That was argued in the California courts, when StubHub sued [National Basketball Association team] the Golden State Warriors and Ticketmaster, with the basis of the suit being the question of whether tickets are a license or an owned property,” Knopp said. “The court sided with a license, and I agree.”
But demonstrating just how hotly contested this debate is, Knopp pointed out that while he believes a ticket is a license, his company's co-founder believes it is an owned property.
But there's no question sports teams, to cite one example, will benefit from the insights gleaned into who is in what seat. If they know for instance, that Fan A attends Los Angeles-area Major League Baseball night games in mid-week, buys six to eight beers at each game and doesn't buy souvenirs, and Fan B attends weekend afternoon games, purchases lots of sodas and hot dogs and carts home a bunch of souvenirs, they know a great deal. Fan A is likely single and Fan B a family man taking children to a game. The team can more effectively market and promote to each of those fans' interests and priorities, Knopp said.
TICKETMASTER'S STANCE
Calling Ticketmaster Presence “the next generation venue access control and fan engagement platform,” executive vice president of product for Ticketmaster North America Justin Burleigh said Ticketmaster considered the paper ticket both old-fashioned and anonymous. It also opened up fans to more instances of fraud with every live event.
Ticketmaster knew the identity of the ticket buyer, not the seat holder. The Ticketmaster team “realized the entire live event experience could be improved and more personalized if the paper ticket was replaced with technology,” he said. “Now, Presence provides insights into the full-chain of custody of a ticket, helping to solve these types of core problems that have plagued the industry for decades. With Ticketmaster Presence, we’re now able to decrease fraud, increase venue security and drive knowledge around new, incremental fans.”
To date, more than two million fans have entered venues using Presence software technology with zero instances of fraud, Burleigh added. Presence is slated to continue roll-out through 2017 and 2018, with plans underway for worldwide expansion.
Knopp said there is going to be “a lot of kicking and screaming for a little while. And some of it will be valid, but most will be coming from retailers, ticket brokers and marketplaces. But the competitors are doing the same thing; they have their own technologies they're developing, and they'll compete, and the controversy will eventually go away.
“But Ticketmaster will take the brunt of the controversy while it lasts.”
LETTER FROM MAUREEN ANDERSEN
As with all of you, I am horrified, deeply saddened and wounded at a core level that our simple world of entertainment and enjoyment has been so brutally shattered following the senseless Las Vegas attack. However, we are a people, an industry and a profession of action, and our new world order demands that we must pick up the gauntlet of change and take on the challenge of revamping, reordering and recharging our venues and our business. We will take on this challenge to provide safety and assurance for our audiences and our performers because it is important to us and to the world.
Entertainment, music, theatre, joy and laughter will prevail, as it always has, because it is the hallmark of a society and our culture. We will stand together to make the changes necessary to our infrastructures that will continue to provide safe, inviting and accessible environments.
Our program is expanded and enhanced this year with new opportunities to engage with each other as attendees; to engage with our vendors and exhibitors; to share innovative technologies; and to consume educational content that is stimulating and thought provoking.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Sold out exhibition hall with 65+ technology vendors and industry suppliers
• NEW: Technology Pavilion, filling fast, with festival space for vendor kiosks
• NEW: Innovation Technology Stage for demonstrations of new technologies
• 30 knowledge based 60- and 90-minute education workshops
• 16 Inspiration Stage bite-sized 15-minute educational presentations
• Awards and Celebrations
INTIX is proud to announce our opening and closing keynotes with timely and important speakers.
Opening the 39th Annual INTIX Conference and Exhibition on Tuesday, Jan. 24, will be a powerful keynote from Melanie Pearlman, executive director of the Counterterrorism Education Leaning Lab (CELL). This is a not-to-be-missed keynote.
Rounding out INTIX 2018 will be Mike Lorenc, Head of Industry – Ticketing, Sports & Live Events, Google on Thursday, Jan. 25. Mike will present The Pivot to Digital and highlight the growth of mCommerce, emerging trends in digital marketing and technology and the power of technology to drive event discovery.
INTIX has a new strategic, long-range plan and a clear purpose: To Ignite Success! INTIX has been visiting, and will continue to visit, regional ticketing and industry groups throughout the rest of the year. We look forward to seeing you at one of these events and certainly at INTIX 2018 in Baltimore in January. If you haven’t been to INTIX, come see what we have to offer. If you haven’t been to INTIX in the past few years, come back and try us out again. We promise you a new experience with greater breadth, depth and experiences! Join us in Baltimore Jan. 23-25, 2018 at the Baltimore Hilton. Register at www.intix.org/pag