Banville said if teams are thoughtful about the way they communicate this data, fans will respond wellRICK OSENTOSKI
In the wake of Facebook’s recent data breach in recent months, Ticketmaster Senior VP and Head of Data & Marketing Services John Forese said one of his company’s biggest goals is to build a solid foundation of trust with consumers. “There’s no reason why they shouldn’t know exactly what you’re collecting, what you’re going to use it for, and if they want to opt out, they can,” Forese said during a panel discussion at the ’18 AXS Ticketing Symposium. He noted there is an “element of salesmanship that we have to do with the fan as to why their location is relevant, and, if it’s not relevant, they will see through that.” AEG Sports COO Kelly Cheeseman said the industry is headed in “absolutely the right direction” as far as letting fans know how companies will use their data. “It’s [all about] holding ourselves accountable,” he said. NBA Senior VP/Team Marketing & Business Operations Matt Wolf said it is okay to transparently ask for someone’s information. “They have to opt in and give us that,” Wolf said. “It’s less about using the data and more about people feeling misled.” SSB CEO Mike Banville: “If teams are thoughtful about the way they communicate this data, fans will respond well.”
CLOSING THE GAP: Following a panel discussion on the importance of identifying fans entering buildings and their needs, Forese said technology is filling the void. “At the point of the first ticket purchase, you know who’s buying it because they’re giving you their credit card information,” he said. “But you don’t know if they’re a broker or a real fan. We’ve invested a lot in trying to verify this person up front.” Cheeseman said the way ticketing companies like AXS, Ticketmaster or StubHub are partnering with clubs will also help. “Everybody’s coming to the clubs with a different level of understanding of what we want,” Cheeseman said. “Willing to partner with us in a different way as opposed to feeling like it’s a bit of a competition.”
DOWN THE ROAD: Looking at what could be the main driving points in the industry a year from now, Forese said ticket pricing is improving and has serious implications for where brokers will fit. Wolf said TMBO is focused on fan segmentation and learning more about developing new communications lines with potential consumers. Where before it might have been finding the quickest way to “get someone in the funnel,” he said, the first instinct should be “to learn a little bit more about them and then to refine our strategy. I think we’ll see many more examples of matching the right person with the right product at the right time as data becomes better and we’re analyzing it in real time.”
