Jack Lucas is the man in the know when it comes to ticketing in the Pacific Northwest. He switched from the venue side of things to establishing TicketsWest in the 80s. Now, the company has expanded to include several other regions, and Lucas’ role has expanded into promotions and production. In short, Lucas is a busy guy, but he took some time to talk to Venues Today about how the ticketing industry has changed and the future of TicketsWest.
How did you make the switch from the venue industry to the ticketing world?
I was actually with the City of Spokane (Wash.) Entertainment Facilities in the early 80s and the city decided they wanted computerized ticketing and put out an RFP. There weren’t too many major ticketing companies back then and they awarded the contract to Don Barbieri, a local businessman whose family had started the company back in the 30s. Don came to me and asked if I would leave the employment of the city and start this new ticketing company with him, so the City of Spokane was our first client and I’m proud to say that, over the years, they’re still a client.
How did you become involved with WestCoast Entertainment?
Once I had the ticketing contract for the city of Spokane, the Broadway musical Cats was touring. In 1987, the production had planned to stop in Seattle and Portland, Ore., but were looking for a third city to make it financially viable for them to tour the Pacific Northwest. Mike Kobluk, who managed the Spokane venues, called me in and asked if we wanted to get into the Broadway business. I didn’t know much about it, but turned to look at Don Barbieri who said to me, “Jack, God hates a coward.” With that we looked at Mike and agreed to do it. The run was hugely successful and sold out. In 1987 we started our first Broadway series as a presenter and promoter as WestCoast Entertainment.
Who are your mentors in the industry?
I’ve been very fortunate in my life to have been mentored by two very well-respected individuals within the event industry. Mike Kobluk, one of the former presidents of the International Association of Venue Managers, and Kevin Twohig who won the McElravy Award two years ago. In terms of having been given the opportunity to work with them doing anything and everything, and also now on the ticketing side still having them as mentors, has been invaluable. I was born and raised and still live in Spokane, as do they, so I have interaction with them typically on a weekly basis even now.
When did the company start expanding outside of the Pacific Northwest?
In the late 90s I felt if we were going to have a long, successful strategy, we really needed to start expanding. Back then, my staff was a lot smaller than it is today, so a lot of this was me getting on the road and doing it the old-fashioned way — do a cold call, knock on the door and say, “Can I tell you the TicketsWest story?” That’s how it was built. Today it’s a little more sophisticated in terms of answering RFPs, but the face-to-face is what helps secure business.
What sets TicketsWest apart from other companies?
I think we focus on and really give a lot of attention to our clients. When they have a challenge we step up and do what’s right. It’s a relationship business, and you don’t take those relationships for granted. Plus, we provide a great product. You can be the nicest guy in the world and have the greatest team in the world, but if you don’t have a great product you’re not going to stay in business. It all starts with the product and the rest is just details.
You said you’ve been entertaining offers to bring on some East Coast clients. How do you choose who would be a good fit to work with?
Above and beyond anything else, there has to be a good return on investment. Today, everybody wants digital technology, CRM, and all the bells and whistles. We have all of that, but there is a cost attached and equipment. It’s two main things. One: Is there enough volume this client is generating to offset and create a good return on investment? Two: We all like to work with people that we like who have the same mindset that we do, which is concentrating on guest services. That said, you like working with people that you enjoy, but above and beyond anything else it just has to make good business sense.
TicketsWest uses Paciolan’s software. How did that relationship come about?
In the late 90s when we were beginning to expand, I felt ticketing was starting to change. Before that we had our own proprietary software, but I put together a group of five or so people from our team and we went out on an almost 12-month road trip and looked at almost every ticketing software that was out there — even some in Europe and Australia. After a total analysis of all of those, we chose Paciolan. At the time, they couldn’t do everything we needed (like the importation of barcodes from other proprietary systems), but we gave them a list of a few things and said if they can make them happen within a certain time frame, we’d sign the deal. To Paciolan’s credit, prior to signing that deal they had addressed everything. We signed with them and have been there ever since. It’s been a great partnership and we honestly couldn’t ask for a better company.
What do you see for the future in ticketing?
As the generation changes, we see that mobile sales are increasing. For one of the recent events we had on sale, about 25 percent of all online sales went through mobile, so that’s huge. It varies with the type of event. Are you going to get that on a circus? No way. But you are going to get that with Beyonce or a newer act because of the demographic you’re marketing to.
What’s one of the differences in ticketing now as opposed to when TicketsWest started?
With most major shows the majority of sales occur on the internet. I remember the days when we would do a big rock-and-roll concert and release tickets at the outlets. People would camp overnight and line up because they wanted to be first in line. Now they still want to be first, but they’re in front of their computer in their jammies with no makeup and their hair is a mess. So the way the consumer buys a ticket now is a lot more convenient, as it should be.
Why is it important to keep some outlets?
We’ve seen a reduction in the number of outlets, but there’s a generation that wants to talk to you and ask if you’ve ever sat in those seats or been to that building — they want that interaction. In some areas we have outlets that do extremely big business. We always say technology is great when it works, but we all know that sometimes technology fails. When it does fail, you need those call centers and outlets to be a backup. I don’t think call centers will ever completely go away, and nowadays we can use home-based agents.
What do you think about the big push for data?
Everybody wants data because we all want to get better at knowing who our ticket buyers are, what they do, and how much money they make. Are they married and do they have a family? When’s their birthday? We all want to know who is at our venues. As a promoter, I’ll look at the barcode scanning reports after one of my events to review who was at my show? If I gave tickets to VIPs or media, I want to see if they showed up.
How can venues use the data to improve sales and customer service?
If there are suites in a venue, it’s helpful to know how often they’re being used. If I know that Mr. Lucas has attended 98 percent of the events and I’m meeting with him tomorrow to renew his suite, it’s going to be a very different conversation than with Mr. Smith, who’s only used his suite about half the time. It’s helpful to know what the usage is to be able to prepare for those sales conversations. Plus, if there’s someone who’s only using their suite 35 percent of the time, I need to reach out to them — not at the end of the contract, but as the year goes on to see if there’s anything else we can do for them to get them using that suite again.
What technologies are you looking into?
We’re just starting to get into stored value. We do have a gift card option right now branded TicketsWest, so we do stored value things with that. One thing to consider is that you have to integrate everybody in a venue, including concessions, merchandising and ticketing, with the same third party who provides the storing. It takes a bit of coordination. We’re also looking toward RFID as entry. I think that will happen in the future as it’s used more and more and the price point goes down.
That’s probably going to have to happen before it’s widely accepted, but by the time that happens there may be something else to replace it.
How does dynamic pricing fit in?
It’s very proprietary and confidential, but we have those algorithms out there. That being said, the cost of employing something like that means you have to have the product that drives that type of business. For a lot of the industry now, if a producer has a product that demands dynamic pricing, a lot is done on a per-analysis basis. We’re helping the producer do an analysis on their ticket sales, sometimes on a daily basis, and changing prices depending on what that shows us.
There are lots of boutique ticketing companies cropping up. Do you think those pose a threat to TicketsWest?
In ticketing there’s a niche for everyone and there are several companies that have come up in the last few years. I think when you look at TicketsWest, we provide a full-service product and services type of company. I always say that if you’re going to sell tickets for major arenas, performing arts centers and sporting groups, you really have to build an infrastructure like a Mercedes. You may only use it 15-20 percent of the time when you have very large on-sales, but if you’re going to be in this business at a certain level, you have to have it. You can have everything right, but if you can’t initiate and fulfill a large on-sale, you’re just not going to be in business very long.
What do you think when you look back at your career so far?
It’s been a great ride for me. That’s for sure. I think the industry has been good to my staff and good to me. INTIX provided me the lifetime achievement award last year and in 2004 awarded me ticketing professional of the year so, in a career, what more could someone ask for? When I look at the list of honorees, I feel very honored and humbled. I think it gives confirmation that we’ve done things right. You just don’t stay in this business for 27 years by doing things the wrong way.
Contact: (509) 435-6100