E-commerce ticket vendor Tickets.com has partnered with mobile marketing firm Txtstation Global Mobile Marketing to allow client venues and sports franchises to run mobile campaigns at live events.
Tickets.com has offered mobile purchasing and mobile barcoded tickets for four years to clients, including the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs baseball clubs. The partnership will extend Txtstation’s mobile marketing tools to these clients, who will be able to use text-based campaigns during events to drive consumer engagement.
“This is a natural extension in the mobile marketing space,” said Sheri Fink, e-commerce and strategic alliances director at Tickets.com. “We think it would be very useful in the sporting industry and in concert arenas for marketing at events.”
Fink added that venues can use live text campaigns to build their marketing lists.
“Right now, mobile tickets are not as significant as our sales online or through the call center, but we expect that mobile tickets will grow dramatically in the next couple of years,” said Fink.
Using the service, venues could allow consumers to text to vote on which song an artist should play or to get a discount at a vendor’s booth, for example.
The marketer’s goal at an event is usually to drive engagement, increase food and merchandise sales and create a social environment, said Julie Ask, VP and principal analyst at Forrester Research. “Venues are fun because there is an opportunity for a direct response and a direct interaction with the audience.”
Forrester estimates that only 2% to 3% of attendants participate in text campaigns at events, but Ask said that number is growing.
“More and more venues are doing this, but engagement depends on how well the promotion is marketed within the stadium and what the incentive is,” she said. “Coupon-based incentives work well if they are good. If you are giving me 10 cents off a $4 hotdog, that’s not as good as buy-one-get-one-free.”
