Connecting sponsors & fans via CRM – #SportsBizZoom replay

These calls were recorded on 17th & 18th August 2020 as part of our weekly #SportsBizZoom calls.

Topic was Ticketing in 2021 – How many cheeks on the seats?

Opinions expressed on the call are personal only and may not reflect the view of the employer.

We want to maintain #SportsBizZoom conversations to be as open as possible so please respect that.

20:01:31 From Sean Callanan : Welcome please share your Name, Location, Work & Linkedin

Sean Callanan, Melbourne Australia, Sports Geek – https://linkedin.com/in/seancallanan @seancallanan

20:02:46 From Matt Kemp : Matt Kemp, Media and Entertainment Attorney, Cape Town, South Africa. https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattkempsports/

20:02:53 From Julianne Hamilton : Julianne Hamilton, Cricket Australia, Melbourne, Ticketing Manager for QLD. https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianne-hamilton-48872074/

20:03:01 From Alex Grant : Alex Grant, Melbourne Australia, Founder @ INTIX – https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexsgrant/

20:03:19 From Candace Duthie : Candace Duthie, Melbourne, NBL. No linkedin

20:03:39 From Yashveer Setia : Yashveer Setia, Melbourne, Recent Grad in Sports Management from Deakin. https://www.linkedin.com/in/yashveer-setia/

20:03:43 From ABHISHEK MAURYA : Abhishek Maurya – Student Sport Management, Deakin University, Melbourne

https://www.linkedin.com/in/abhishek-maurya-here/

20:04:35 From Travis Anderson : Travis Anderson – Operations Manager, Kalgoorlie-Boulder Basketball Association, Western Australia

20:04:36 From Travis Anderson : https://www.linkedin.com/in/travisanderson6430/

20:08:00 From Julianne Hamilton : Nice cat Candice 🙂

20:11:09 From Clinton Fernandes : Clint Fernandes, Melbourne, Australia, Consumer Sales Manager, St Kilda FC, – https://au.linkedin.com/in/clintonfernandesmelbourne

20:14:08 From Corey Kirby : Corey Kirby, PTI Digital Group, London (Soon to move back home to Victoria) Chief Operating Officer

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cjkirby19/

20:18:37 From Candace Duthie : Seriously got to get myself on linkedin!

20:36:06 From Alex Grant : @Candace, that cat just wants to talk ticketing!

21:01:32 From Candace Duthie : This was great – thank you! Jooce the Cat and I enjoyed it!

10:00:08 From Sean Callanan : Welcome please share your Name, Location, Work & Linkedin

Sean Callanan, Melbourne Australia, Sports Geek – https://linkedin.com/in/seancallanan @seancallanan

10:00:23 From Dominic Remond : Dom Remond

Principal at Grow Step – Helping businesses grow and monetize their audience and customer base, focusing on strategic partnerships, marketing strategy, digital and technology led transformation.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-remond

10:00:35 From Craig Green : Hi all.

10:00:37 From Bronwyn Greer : Hey everyone, Bronwyn Greer, Houston TX, Tournament Director for US Men's Clay Court Championships (tennis) https://www.linkedin.com/in/bronwyngreer2010/

10:00:45 From Ned Coten : Hi everyone…

Ned Coten – President & Board Chair of Basketball Australia, FIBA Competitions Commission & CEO of SportRM https://www.linkedin.com/in/nedcoten/

10:01:04 From Craig Green : Craig Green – SprtsHQ

https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-green-394a3810/

10:01:04 From danieltaylor : Daniel Taylor – Marketing, Market Research and Insights professional based in Philadelphia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dtaylor87/

10:01:14 From Tod Caflisch : Tod Caflisch – TechFoundry – Sports Technology – https://www.linkedin.com/in/tcaflisch/

10:01:16 From Hannah : G'day all! Hannah here from Sports Projects – https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahbayly

Ps. would love your feedback on the animated Zoom background!

10:01:17 From Paul Bains : Paul Bains, founder of New Zealand Sport Radio so not really someone who sells tickets but these chats are always enlightening https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulebains/

10:01:39 From Isabella Schiff : Isabella Schiff – Membership and Ticketing Manager at Sydney Kings – https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabellaschiff/

10:01:42 From Alex Grant : Alex Grant – Founder @ INTIX Ticketing – Melbourne, Australia https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexsgrant/

10:01:50 From Darren Anderson : Darren Anderson, Freelance sport consultant https://www.linkedin.com/in/darren-anderson-b2667185/

10:02:08 From Luke Campbell : Luke Campbell, Freshman at UMass Amherst

10:02:14 From Jaime Siegel : Hi everyone. Jaime Siegel, CEO of FlipTix. Fans leave events early and we sell brand new tickets to new fans or for upgrades to refill the seats.

10:02:20 From Louise Jeffs : Louise Jeffs – Corporate Sales Manager, Cricket Australia, Melbourne https://www.linkedin.com/in/gardinerlouise/

10:02:26 From Jen Pitson : Hi all, Jen Pitson – GM Commercial & Development, Motorsport Australia. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-pitson-a2253253/

10:02:38 From Jaime Siegel : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaime-siegel-bb821a/

10:02:50 From Michael : G'day all, Michael Blackburn, National Sponsorship Manager at Qoin https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-blackburn-87006370/

10:03:20 From Krystal Dykes : Krystal Dykes – Assistant Box Office Manager, Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto, Canada https://www.linkedin.com/in/krystaldykes/

10:03:41 From Doug Mann : Hi all, Doug Mann – Membership Sales Manager @ Victoria Racing Club – happy to connect – https://www.linkedin.com/in/doug-mann-905018a/

10:04:49 From Hugo van Rhijn : Hi from Atlantic Canada I am Hugo from FlyFan (https://www.flyfan.app)

10:05:11 From Jim Dorash : Hi Everyone, Jim Dorash Sport Consultant https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimdorash/ in Brisbane, Australia

10:07:44 From Vicky : Hi everyone, Vicky Watt, Consultant at EngageRM, Adelaide Australia https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickywatt/

10:17:52 From Kat : Hi Katrina from Corporate Partnerships Manger from Sydney Kings https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinalindner/

10:18:53 From Christine : Hey Team, Christine, Events Marketings https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-turnbull/

10:19:11 From Fiona Gant : Fiona Gant – Membership Manager Melbourne United Basketball Club https://au.linkedin.com/in/fiona-gant-a7720563

10:19:59 From Paul Bains : An interesting one from our chat and clearly with Sean is liking to collect their tickets. With virtual tickets is there a space for memorabilia tickets for fans?

10:21:51 From Everett, Markeisha : Hello Everyone! I jumped on a bit late, but excited to learn and connect with you all. I am Markeisha Everett and I work in college athletics. Overseeing tickets, branding, marketing and licensing. https://www.linkedin.com/in/markeisha-everett-6a24a7b/

10:22:07 From Krystal Dykes : @paulbains we just did a virtual and hard copy commemorative ticket here at the Blue Jays!

10:22:15 From Hannah : @Paul – like the sports card trading boom now, great call!

10:23:26 From danieltaylor : @Krystal – wanted to say you guys are doing a fantastic job! What you have done in Buffalo and the videos/imagery on your social media was exceptionally good

10:23:28 From Alex Grant : @Fiona, having been to a few United games, with potential patron density, is the membership becoming more important given GA tickets may not be available?

10:26:49 From Fiona Gant : @alex, yes a lot more focus has gone towards membership this season in particular

10:27:35 From Paul Bains : Sounds like AFL are hopping that fans effectively donate their money from season tickets where as other sides are either credit forward or refund

10:28:00 From Travis Crothers : Hi to all I haven’t met previously. Connect with me here. www.linkedin.com/in/traviscrothers

10:29:00 From Louise Jeffs : Don't forget sponsor requirements as well

10:30:12 From Alex Grant : @Louise, Historically sponsors tickets don’t turn up as much as paid tickets which makes for an interesting discussion given potential patron density

10:30:15 From Hannah : Absolutely @Louise – will this spell the decline of contra agreements for seats/tickets? There's a lot of questions on perceived and actual value around this in the current scenario

10:30:48 From Hannah : Scarcity driving the value

10:30:57 From Jaime Siegel to Sean Callanan (Privately) : That is what we are talking to the AFL about – allowing and incentivizing members to transfer tickets

10:31:55 From Hannah : Placing the onus on the receiver is a big thing too. Ensuring there's no waste

10:32:06 From Krystal Dykes : @danieltaylor thanks – we have a great group of people

10:32:23 From Bronwyn Greer : Could not agree more @Alex, our sponsors value our hospitality space over their actual seats in the stadium. Do we opt to not give them seats this year, given they don't show for that. Tough call. Value over $ spent for some…

10:32:34 From Louise Jeffs : @hannah that's right with limited capacity you don't want empty bays

10:33:21 From Bronwyn Greer : @hannah you're right, no show when seats are limited is tough for TV as well

10:39:04 From Vicky : We worked with AFL clubs to communicate ‘virtual functions' including accessing inner sanctum interviews etc. Out feedback is that when things go back to normal this will be something they will continue for their away games.

10:40:23 From Hannah : Physical ticketing – the corporate side of things seem to be the last fan sector holding onto the ‘prestige' of tickets in this way. Personally I'm conflicted between it being (many times) a monstrous waste of money and environmentally damaging, but also a crucial element of branding and value-add for those upper tier experiences.

10:41:37 From Jim Dorash : What's going to happen for the AFL Grand Final – Who is going to host Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide – what about ticketing for members and sponsors? Seating capacity?

10:42:35 From Vicky : @hannah this is very true. The club I used to work through broke away from this. There was a little push back but it didn't take long for their corporates to adapt.

10:43:07 From Alex Grant : @Jim, very political discussion, Perth have said 50% capacity unto the 2nd proposed AFL GF date, so how do you lock that in and sell on a “maybe” when other states may say 100% you can use 100% of capacity

10:43:13 From Louise Jeffs : @hannah this year all hospitality will be either mobile or e-tickets. Will be a big change

10:43:17 From Hannah : Love that @Ned – pivot it to a merchandise/memorabilia thing over function

10:44:18 From Alex Grant : Mobile tickets come with their own problems, having used them at our events for the last 5 years on a mainly under 25 crowd, mobile tickets cause their own issues that I’m interested to see how this works with traditional scanning operations

10:44:21 From danieltaylor : was that for Vlad?

10:44:28 From Jim Dorash : I'm a hockey fan – purchased NHL Centre Ice to have access to watch all NHL playoff games -in future do clubs get their own TV package for fans with links to the teams social media platforms so you watch the game and react on twitter. Yell at the TV and yell on twitter.

10:45:28 From Louise Jeffs : @alex the ticket agents have advised if the ticket is saved in Apple Wallet or google equivalent that this helps for faster scanning

10:46:06 From Alex Grant : @Louise, not exactly, things like screen protectors, bad lighting etc all affect this

10:46:09 From Christine : Ski resorts have been using rfid for years and could be good industry to look to

10:46:16 From Ned Coten : We’re seeing the technology getting a lot better in regards to connecting the ticket to the identity – I think this will be much more prevalent in the future using tools like blockchain to ensure that digital tickets are trackable regardless of who has them.

10:46:26 From Alex Grant : A screen protector reflects the laser back and makes it impossible to scan

10:46:28 From Jaime Siegel : MUsic festivals commonly use RFID bands

10:46:28 From Vicky : We have quickly pivoted our ticketing portal to mobile tickets only to support Govt requirements. We also went to a QR code rather than a barcode as we have found some of the turnstile scanners can have problems with barcodes. Clubs who have used this ie Adelaide and Sydney have commented they would prefer to move away from paper tickets only.

10:46:53 From Alex Grant : @Vicky, exactly the issue in using traditional 1D barcodes

10:47:32 From Alex Grant : @Jaime, not in Australia as debit cards for payment have always existed

10:48:03 From Alex Grant : Debit cards with contactless sorry*

10:48:12 From Hannah : Capacity v. income can't be ignored. But the value inherently increases when supplied is less

10:48:59 From Jaime Siegel : @alex in the US, the data has shown that customers with RFID and cashless activation buy more than 20% more concessions.

10:49:30 From danieltaylor : Will be interesting for the Premier League soccer – what’s worth more – having fans in the seat or the sponsorship income of the covers they have put on seats without fans in the stadium?

10:49:49 From Hannah : Potentially it's a further tier-ing or fracturing of memberships with a focus on in-person vs. at-home deliverables that still provide value?

10:49:58 From Alex Grant : The US has a lack of contactless payment, simply using a technology like square at an event in Aus has increased payments by on average 30%

10:52:18 From Paul Bains : That splitting of events is possible where American sports take 3+hrs so might work for cricket over here but not so much rugby and football (Soccer)

10:52:49 From Louise Jeffs : My core repeat customers are just waiting for me to provide them with options. Won't be the same sized groups but there is an appetite from the regulars

10:53:31 From Paul Bains : So fro things like baseball and basketball in the states do they do weekend tickets and weekday tickets for example?

10:54:00 From Bronwyn Greer : @PaulBains, yes they do. You can tailor a package almost ot exactly what you want. Pick and choose games…

10:54:17 From Jaime Siegel : @paul it is true that shorter events make a shorter window for Flipping, but it is also allows for upgrades for fans that are already in the event to move into better seats that have been vacated. It is not like 20% of seats will Flip, but even a few percentage points is gravy for the team

10:54:54 From Paul Bains : @Jamie good point thank you

10:55:10 From Jaime Siegel : @Paul it really depends on the teams. Many baseball teams do have very flexible programs.

10:55:37 From Darren Anderson : Cult Status – Tim Duggan

10:56:24 From Paul Bains : @Jamie it’s like restaurants having special prices for mid-week lunches for retired people. There are people who can make midweek and are often forgotten as we target 9-5 people

10:57:20 From Travis Crothers : Thanks, Sean

10:57:34 From Matt Scully : Thanks, Sean!

10:57:38 From Ned Coten : Great conversation Sean well done!

10:57:47 From Louise Jeffs : Thanks Sean and everyone!

10:57:49 From Tayah Bot : Thanks Sean!

10:57:52 From Bronwyn Greer : Very good call tonight Sean, thanks!

10:58:07 From Jaime Siegel : thanks Sean!!

10:58:33 From Vicky : Thanks Sean

10:58:47 From Jen Pitson : Great to hear everyone's insights! Thanks again Sean.

10:59:18 From Hannah : Can't wait for next weeks – see you all then!

10:59:26 From Krystal Dykes : Thanks all!

See you at SEAT in Las Vegas

Join us at SEAT in Las Vegas - June 23-26

Join Sean at SEAT Las Vegas in June.  All attendees will have the option to claim a discounted Pick My Brain session.

Listen to Sports Geek

Sports Geek podcast available on all podcast platforms

Check out Sports Geek Amplify

Sports Geek Amplify out now - all episodes available in Sports Geek podcast feed