Lesson 9.1 - Slides-Role of Ticket Sales in SEM

Transcript Lesson 9.1 - Slides-Role of Ticket Sales in SEM

Lesson 9.1 – The Role of Ticket Sales

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Importance of Ticket Sales According to an article published in the Sports Business Journal, “ticket sales are the lifeblood of most franchises.” Sales from tickets and club seats can account for more than half of a typical franchise’s local revenue in all four major sports leagues, ranging as high as 80 percent for some teams Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Importance of Ticket Sales A fan’s participation in a game or event can be as important as the athletes and performers as they create an exciting atmosphere that energizes the performers and enhances the consumer experience Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Factors Influencing Attendance

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Winning teams traditionally draw bigger crowds

As the Washington Nationals surged to the top of the standings by the 2012 all-star break, they had already achieved five of the ten most-attended games in franchise history while enjoying a 28 percent overall increase in attendance (or roughly 6,500 more fans per game) Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Winning teams traditionally draw bigger crowds As the LA Kings wrapped up their 2012 Stanley Cup victory, they had already sold out of partial ticket plans for the 2012-13 season and projected the same result for full season ticket inventory —a feat that had never occurred in the history of the franchise Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Winning teams traditionally draw bigger crowds The Memphis Grizzlies finished the 2006–07 season with the worst record in the NBA and were dead last in attendance. The team’s continued struggles on the court led to several more seasons in which they finished in the bottom four in the league in attendance. However, as the team turned things around and began winning the last two seasons, they are now playing to crowds of 90% capacity, including two games in Memphis for the Western Conference Finals that sold out in just a few hours Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Winning teams traditionally draw bigger crowds In 2013, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a winning record and enjoyed a post-season appearance for the first time in twenty years, consequently they enjoyed the largest increase (a whopping 40%) in season tickets according to the

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Some markets traditionally attract more fan support and larger crowds by nature  New England  Hockey in Canadian markets  High school basketball in Indiana  High school football in Texas  College football in the south (Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Florida)  Soccer in the Pacific Northwest Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Some markets traditionally attract more fan support and larger crowds by nature In 2013, the Red Sox sellout streak ended 820 straight games, the second longest streak in the history of major league sports at Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Some markets traditionally attract more fan support and larger crowds by nature The Portland Thorns soccer franchise of the Women’s Professional League averaged nearly 13,000 fans per home game in their inaugural season (2013), by far the most in the league (three times more than the next closest team). That is also 4,000 more fans than Major League Soccer’s Chivas USA (located in the Los Angeles area) draws to an average home match. Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Some markets have a reputation for poor fan support Because so many Florida residents are transplants (not born and raised in the state), professional sports teams often have a difficult time attracting crowds

According to a survey conducted by Quinnipiac University in 2012, the most popular Major League Baseball team in Florida is the New York Yankees, not the Miami Marlins or Tampa Rays

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Rivalry Games Rivalry games are often an instant recipe for boosting attendance. According to a 2013 study by comebackcity.us, MLB regional rivalry games (Washington Nationals vs. Baltimore Orioles, LA Dodgers vs. LA Angels etc.) performed 18 to 25 percent better than non regional games.

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Rivalry Games The intensity of fan support varies from rivalry to rivalry and market to market. Click here to see USA Today’s ranking of the best NFL rivalries Click here to see Bleacher Report’s ranking of the 100 best rivalries in the history of sports Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Highly visible athletes and entertainers David Beckham played his last Major League Soccer game in 2012, but his impact on the league was significant The Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer sold 5,000 new season tickets in just one day after announcing the signing of mega star David Beckham The Beckham effect was felt by teams throughout the league, with the Houston Dynamo reporting a 200% jump in season-ticket sales Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Highly visible athletes and entertainers In the eight days after Dwight Howard announced his decision to sign with the Houston Rockets, the team has had its best stretch of ticket sales since moving into Toyota Center Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Highly visible athletes and entertainers In the first few weeks of his 2013 Major League Baseball debut, Los Angeles Dodgers’ phenom Yasiel Puig helped drive up the average price for Dodgers tickets by 88%. In the first two games of Puig’s career, the Dodgers drew an average of just over 37,000. After that, they only drew less than 40,000 fans once. Click here to see a graphic illustrating pre and post-Puig ticket prices Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Highly visible athletes and entertainers Much maligned New York Yankees’ third baseman, Alex Rodriguez, played in just three innings for the minor league Charleston River Dogs as part of his rehab from an injury, yet the crowd was standing room only in the 6,000 seat stadium Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Highly visible athletes and entertainers Thanks to selling power of superstars Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat sold out nearly every arena around the country when they came to town throughout the 2012-13 NBA season Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Highly visible athletes and entertainers When LeBron announced his decision to return to Cleveland in the summer of 2014, the team sold all of its season ticket inventory in less than eight hours.

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Highly visible athletes and entertainers After Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the 2014 Daytona 500, ISC quickly saw a double-digit bump in sales at many of their tracks immediately after the victory (ISC owns 12 tracks — Daytona, Talladega, Auto Club (California), Chicagoland, Darlington, Homestead-Miami, Kansas, Martinsville, Michigan, Phoenix, Richmond and Watkins Glen).

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Storied facilities with tradition also have a unique appeal that help attendance  Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox)  Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs)  Lambeau Field (Green Bay Packers)  Madison Square Garden (New York Knicks, New York Rangers New York Liberty, St. John’s University etc.) Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Stadiums with Tradition Attract Fans 2013 marked the one-millionth fan to tour Lambeau Field as a visitor, one reason the Packers’ enjoyed record financial success last season Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

New stadiums and venues rely on improved amenities to excite consumers The new $1.3 billion Yankee Stadium has an in-house museum, party suites, a members-only restaurant and many other luxury amenities "We tried to reflect a five-star hotel and put a ballfield in the middle," said Yankees COO Lonn Trost.

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

New stadiums and venues rely on improved amenities to excite consumers As a fan-friendly element of the Minnesota Twins ballpark, the stadium features three-sided shelters where fans can go to warm up on chilly game days Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

New stadiums and venues rely on improved amenities to excite consumers Standing more than 110 feet tall, Charlotte Motor Speedway’s new 16,000 square foot HDTV (80-feet tall by 200-feet wide ) features instant replays and live lap by lap action on its more than 650,000 pound videoboard during races (the board, for those keeping score, is 30 percent larger than the screen at Cowboys Stadium, which previously held the title of world’s largest television screen) Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

New stadiums and venues rely on improved amenities to excite consumers Click here for a link to a review of several new stadium scoreboards in Tampa, Seattle and Houston for the 2013 season Click here for an infographic comparing the size of each NFL team’s scoreboard Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

New stadiums and venues rely on improved amenities to excite consumers The Atlanta Falcons and the city of Atlanta agreed to a deal in 2013 that could result in a $1 billion new stadium by the 2017 season, complete with “ tremor seating ” that shakes the seats when players are hit.

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

New stadiums and venues rely on improved amenities to excite consumers The San Francisco 49ers new stadium (opening for the 2014-15 football season) cost $1.2 billion, seats nearly 70,000 (including the most lower-bowl seats in the NFL and, in a new twist to stadium architecture, stacking all the suites in a hotel-like structure on the facility’s west side) and all the hi-tech amenities a fan could ask for.

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

New stadiums and venues rely on improved amenities to excite consumers The new Minnesota Vikings windows.

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

New stadiums and venues rely on improved amenities to excite consumers The Miami Marlins 2012, features a left-field beach with a swimming pool (fans buying seats in this area will have a view into the home bullpen), a bobble-head “museum”, a right-field porch where fans can catch home-run balls and sliding glass panels behind left field to showcase Miami's skyline new stadium , which opened in According to MLB.com, Marlins attendance was up a stunning 67 percent from the previous year at the 2012 Major League Baseball all-star break Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

New stadiums and venues rely on improved amenities to excite consumers By 2014, between a drop in the team’s on-field productivity and the allure of a new stadium wearing off, Marlins attendance dropped so substantially that they ranked in the top five lowest in the league.

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Promotional Efforts Drive Sales

In 1952, the legendary Bill Veeck introduced “Bat Day” with the Cleveland Indians, a promotions tradition carried on today by many minor league baseball clubs, including the Indianapolis Indians

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

DAY

Sat Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat

Sun

Mon

DATE

5/1 5/2 5/3 5/4 5/5 5/6 5/7 5/17 5/18 5/19 5/20 5/21 5/22

5/23

5/24

TIME

7p 2p 11a 7p 2p 7p 7p 7p 11a 2p 7p 7p 7p

7p Indianapolis Indians Promotional Dates

PROMOTION

Scooby-Doo Appearance Logo Baseball Day / Tiger Scout Day / State Employees Day Baseball in Education Ladies Night Business Day Special 317 Ryders Motorcycle Club Night Girl Scouts Night / Nurses Night / Kelley Racing Night Radio Sponsors Night / Monday Dollar Menu Baseball in Education Day Business Day Special Insurance Night (2-for-1) / American Stroke Association Night Morton Salt Night (2-for-1) / Team Picture Night / Boy Scout Night Donnie & Eliza Thornberry Appearance / Lafayette Community Night

Wiffle Bat Day / YMCA Day (2-for-1)

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Promotional Efforts Drive Sales

In an effort to generate some excitement surrounding the franchise after a disappointing season, the Phoenix Suns leveraged the draft lottery as a ticket sales mechanism by launching a “Big Pick Big Offers” promotion that provided fans a discount of up to 65% off 2013-14 SixthMan memberships (their unique card-driven ticketing system), as well as the potential to meet the Suns’ top pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Promotional Efforts Drive Sales

Concert promoters now offering VIP packages, offering fans opportunities to access the best seats for the show and often times exclusive access to the artist for a premium price. Packages might include a back stage tour and pre-show dinners.

Through the sale of premium packages, concert promoters and artists can make as much on 10% of their audience as they do on the other 90%. While an average concert ticket may cost $90, the VIP ticket can go for $1750. Broadway shows have also enjoyed a lot of success through the implementation of premium VIP packaging.

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Promotions Personnel Most organizations employ a full-time staff to manage promotions and sales LSU’s athletics staff features an entire department devoted to promotions, including a director, two assistant directors and two coordinators The NBA’s Golden State Warriors employ a staff of five to focus specifically on group ticket sales Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Promotions Personnel The frequency of promotions and size of sales staffs are dependant upon a team’s available ticket inventory The Green Bay Packers, whose home games have been sold out on a season ticket basis since 1960, do not have any ticket sales personnel on staff and, subsequently, do not typically host any ticket driven promotions at games By contrast, the New Orleans Hornets have a staff of nearly 30 sales representatives with a ticket sales focus Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Promotions Personnel After the 2010 announcement of the signing of free agents LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, the Miami Heat quickly sold out of ticket inventory. Soon after, the team infamously let go a reported 30 ticket sales staff members. Said team spokesperson Lorrie-Ann Diaz, “Now that the supply for (season tickets) has been exhausted we no longer require a season ticket sales team.” Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Market Research in Ticket Sales How do fans feel about the ease of buying tickets?

What motivates fans to buy tickets?

What factors impact a fan’s decision to attend a particular game?

Does the organization review fan demographic information when creating ticket marketing strategies?

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Market Research in Ticket Sales Which newspapers and sections are fans most likely to read?

Which radio station favorites best fit fan demographics?

Which television stations are fan favorites?

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Ticketing Trends

 Like any other industry, business trends play an important role in how sports and entertainment properties market their products and services  A popular industry trend is the development of “flex” ticket packages Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Ticketing Trends

The “Orlando Flex” ticket package offers buyers access a number of different parks, including Universal Studios, Sea World, Wet N Wild and Busch Gardens * Flex package purchasers only have to pay for parking once and the package is good for 14 consecutive days * Flex package buyers can “jump” between parks as many times as as they wish during those 14 days Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Ticketing Trends The New York Mets offer flex packages of 5, 11, or 17 games Fans have the luxury of choosing any games they want

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Ticketing Trends

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Ticketing Trends

 Another current industry trend is the inclusion of food related promotions as a means for adding value to ticket packages in an effort enhance the overall game day experience Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Ticketing Trends The Houston Astros reserve 500 seats for each home game as $25 “all-you-can-eat” seats in three mezzanine sections where fans can, through the seventh inning, consume unlimited hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, peanuts, soda and water The Kansas City Royals partnered with Jack Stack Barbecue that makes the company the exclusive tailgate caterer of Kauffman Stadium, creating a unique opportunity for fans interested in having their tailgate parties catered who now have the ability to choose from a variety of buffet menus Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Ticket Promotion & Sales LESSON 9.1

Blank Slide Available for Teacher Edits

LESSON 9.1 REVIEW (ANSWERS) Ticket Promotion & Sales

1)Understand the importance of ticket sales to the sports and entertainment industry Specific evidence supporting the importance of the ticket sales function would include a 2003 report by the Sports Business Journal that $11.7 billion was spent by consumers on tickets to sporting events that year. Additionally, ticket sales typically generate between 50 – 66% of a Major League Soccer franchise’s annual revenue. Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

LESSON 9.1 REVIEW (ANSWERS) Ticket Promotion & Sales

2)Identify factors that influence a fan’s decision to purchase tickets  Performance  Fan loyalty and fan support  Highly visible athletes and entertainers  Facilities, venues and stadiums  Promotion and sales Copyright © 2014 by Sports Career Consulting, LLC

Lesson 9.1 - Slides-Role of Ticket Sales in SEM

Transcript Lesson 9.1 - Slides-Role of Ticket Sales in SEM

Lesson 9.1 – The Role of Ticket Sales

Factors Influencing Attendance

Winning teams traditionally draw bigger crowds

Ticketing Trends

Ticketing Trends

Ticketing Trends The New York Mets offer flex packages of 5, 11, or 17 games Fans have the luxury of choosing any games they want

Ticketing Trends

Ticketing Trends

Blank Slide Available for Teacher Edits

Directory