T.News Blog • Page 5 of 22 • Tickets.com

The Hartford Symphony Spotlights Virtual Events

HARTFORD, CT – The Bushnell has been host to a myriad of performances in the greater Hartford area for over 90 years. Since 1992, The Bushnell and Tickets.com have shared a ticketing relationship bringing over 20,000 performances to the community.

During the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic brought venues challenges like never before, including temporary closures and new restrictions. Throughout the pandemic, despite the restrictions and challenges, The Bushnell and Tickets.com were able to bring The Hartford Symphony Orchestra® performances to the community.

Using Tickets.com’s comprehensive ticketing solution ProVenue®, as well as MyProVenue™, the patron-facing digital ticket complement, The Hartford Symphony Orchestra held summer events with limited capacity outdoors and indoor virtual events in colder weather.

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra (HSO)

In July of 2020, HSO once again began performing live with the Summer Splash! Series. To prioritize safety for performers as well as patrons, modifications on the ticket purchase flow and ProVenue set up had to be made including attendance caps, online-only sales, extended seat definitions for COVID waivers, and disabling ticket-forwarding.

As colder weather arrived and restrictions increased, HSO created the Spotlight Series. A brand-new way to experience the HSO, the Spotlight Series performances, which are still available through June, feature smaller ensemble collections recorded at venues in and around Hartford to be purchased and viewed as a virtual event. For these events, The Bushnell created new delivery types and buyer types in ProVenue for streaming/virtual, as well as modified order confirmations to include a link with event information details. Additionally in MyProVenue, featured promotions were set up to help communicate further details on these virtual events.

The Hartford Symphony Orchestra

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Purchase Tickets to the Spotlight Series

About The Bushnell

For 90 years, The Bushnell has been central to life in Greater Hartford serving as its unique gathering place for arts, education, and community activities.

As a dynamic 21st Century performing arts center, The Bushnell presents, creates, inspires and shares the best in the performing arts; and in partnership with others, serves as a catalyst to advance education, promote economic development and build a sense of community in Central Connecticut.

Today, The Bushnell, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, is the State’s largest arts organization and has been deemed a “Connecticut Cultural Treasure.”

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About Tickets.com

Tickets.com is a technology solutions provider focused on building premium live event experiences for clients and patrons. Established in 1995, Tickets.com has been the technology provider for over 1MM live events across the globe. Our team is dedicated to developing and delivering the most innovative and modern ticketing technology in the world. Through strategy, partnership, and innovation, Tickets.com is on a mission to disrupt the ticketing industry and provide the best live experiences.

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Email Marketing: Engagement Segmentation

Simple yet effective – segmenting your email lists to focus on your engaged subscribers can help you increase your open rates & clickthrough rates.

Who is an “Engaged” Subscriber?

An engaged email subscriber is someone that has last opened or clicked an email within the last 30-90 days depending on your email frequency.

Who is an “Unengaged” Subscriber?

An unengaged email subscriber is someone that has not opened or clicked in the last 30 / 90-180 days.

Emails can be set up in CrowdConnect or your email marketing platform with a variety of rules, if/and statements to help define what works best for your business model and target the subscribers ready to open and click.

How does this help?

Engagement segments help you to track your subscribers’ level of interaction with your emails.
They help you identify subscribers who have lost interest in your content.
Focusing on engaged audiences will increase the likelihood an email will be opened, read, and your ticket purchase links are clicked – and your overall ROI.

Why Not Send to My Whole List?

Emails do come at a cost, the more emails you send, the greater cost you incur. And while the cost increases, the effectiveness of your email overall decreases.

With CrowdConnect the Tickets.com official email marketing platform powered by WhatCounts we will help you easily segment your emails and fish where the fish are.

If you are a current client check out how to easily segment your engaged subscribers and start increasing your ROI today.

Knowledge Base

Interested in CrowdConnect

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Email Marketing: Emojis in Emails 🎟

Fun & Playful, Emojis: Can they help or hurt your emails?

It seems like a small thing, but the subject line in an email is a major factor in increasing your open rate.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves – is the emoji in a subject line right for everything? Probably not.

And if we send too many emails with Emojis it can also have a negative effect on consumers which ultimately unsubscribe.

So, what’s the answer? Testing of course! Make sure you test your subject lines using A/B testing. This can help you determine if the Emoji is an attention grabber or an annoyance.

As you put your tests together, here are some best practices to consider.

It can be too much of a good thing: Just like WRITING IN ALL CAPS, too many Emojis may indicate spam to recipients.

Context is key: with thousands of Emojis you can customize your choice to be relevant.

Consider your target audience: A survey of 1,000 Americans showed that, millennials regard using emojis positively.

Email Tone: Emojis can change an email from formal to playful. If you are messaging something serious, maybe skip the Emoji.

With CrowdConnect, the Tickets.com official email marketing platform powered by WhatCounts, we will help you easily add and test Emojis to your ❤️’s content.

If you are a current client, learn more about setting up your new welcome series in CrowdConnect:

Knowledge Base

Interested in CrowdConnect:

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Theatre North Improves Entry Experiences with Alfred Powered by Tickets.com

North Wollongong, Australia – Theatre North, located in Launceston, Tasmania, is an independent, not-for-profit organisation located at Launceston’s historic Princess Theatre. Theatre North and Tickets.com have shared a ticketing relationship since 1999, with Theatre North using Tickets.com’s state-of-the-art ticketing software, ProVenue® since 2014. Utilising ProVenue, Tickets.com creates and prepares all of the Theatre North events on their behalf.

The past year and the COVID-19 pandemic brought venues challenges like never before, including temporary closures and new restrictions, and the team at Theatre North was keen to welcome patrons back into the venue for ‘Coming Home’, a community-led fundraiser held in September. With a safety-first approach and eager to meet all of the government recommended guidelines, Theatre North took the opportunity to trial, Alfred™, the Tickets.com mobile all-in-one access control solution. Hayley Dobbs, General Manager Tickets.com Asia Pacific said,

“With so much change in the live experience industry, Theatre North has been strategic by testing new technology and solutions to fit their venue and their patrons.”

About Alfred

Alfred, developed for android devices is fully integrated with ProVenue and offers patrons a frictionless venue entry experience, streamlining the ticket validation process for both patrons and venue staff. Alfred provides the ability to not only validate traditional barcodes but also validate digital tickets and contactless tickets via the convenience of Near Field Communication (NFC).

Alfred supports complex ticket validation rules such as entry/exit scanning, specific entry restrictions, timed admission, and controlled interior access to areas such as suites and clubs. With centralised, remote management of devices–plus a choice of Wi-Fi and/or cellular data connectivity. Mandy Sheperd, General Manager commented,

“Along with providing additional ticket security, the Alfred scanners allow us to track real-time arrivals and enhance our attendance records. After the trial our Front of House team gave Alfred the thumbs up, and they are now able to check tickets using a safe, touchless, mobile system at all our events”.

The use of Alfred at entry points assisted with COVID related regulations and ensured that patrons were moving through the doors promptly to be seated. The use of Access Control at the Princess Theatre created opportunities for ticket delivery to be expanded, enabling patrons to receive their tickets via Tickets@home, utilise Digital tickets with the ability to add tickets to their mobile wallets, and access the online ticket management portal, MyTickets. Ange Cole, Box office manager said,

“The customer service from the technical support team has been second to none. They have the devices pre-set and talk through the easy operation and any settings we might need to change. The technology also allows for their remote login to provide any technical support we might need at short notice”

After great success with their Alfred trial, the team at Theatre North decided to move forward with the use of Alfred during their end-of-year dance season and as a permanent fixture for shows throughout 2021.

“We are thrilled to assist the Theatre North as they transition to 2021 utilising Tickets.com technology and support.”
Hayley Dobbs, General Manager Tickets.com Asia Pacific

About Theatre North

Theatre North, located in Launceston, Tasmania, is an independent, not for profit organisation located at Launceston’s historic Princess Theatre. As well as managing the Princess Theatre and Earl Arts Centre, Theatre North presents an annual season of professional performing arts from around Australia. Theatre North is passionate about exciting audiences and providing vibrant and varied experiences as part of the thriving cultural lifestyle enjoyed by the Northern Tasmanian community.

About Tickets.com

Tickets.com is a technology solutions provider focused on building premium live event experiences for clients and patrons. Established in 1995, Tickets.com has been the technology provider for over 1M live events across the globe. Our team is dedicated to developing and delivering the most innovative and modern ticketing technology in the world. Through strategy, partnership, and innovation, Tickets.com is on a mission to disrupt the ticketing industry and provide the best live experiences.

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Email Marketing: Button Up.

Buttons, links, and other clickable actions are a major part of creating an email campaign with purpose. So, let’s get down to some strategies to help you improve your click-ability.

The link is a powerful tool that can be placed on text, and images.

Something to consider is the hover. When you roll your mouse over this link – what does it say? Does it give you context on where it will take you?

Why Use a Link?

Links are primarily used to “go somewhere.” Any time someone is navigating to a website, using a link is helpful and can be a good formula for providing more in-depth information.

Why Use a Button?

Buttons on the other hand are typically used to indicate an ACTION or getting a subscriber to “do something”, like buy a ticket. They also have the ability to stand out.

With CrowdConnect the Tickets.com official email marketing platform powered by WhatCounts you can easily add buttons and links to optimize your email performance.

If you are a current client learn more about how to set up Buttons and Links in CrowdConnect today.

Interested in CrowdConnect?

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Tampa Bay Rays Introduce Flexible Season Memberships

St. Petersburg, Fla. (Feb. 19, 2021) – The American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays announced a new and innovative Season Membership model powered by Tickets.com. As the Rays prepare for the long-awaited return of fans to Tropicana Field for the 2021 regular season, they have adapted to meet new fan needs in ticketing and experiences.

The Membership

New this season, Season Memberships allow fans a choice of six distinct membership levels, each with its own associated discounts, rewards and seating location options. When fans return to the stands, Season Memberships offer the flexibility to redeem credit for as many games as fans would like to attend in a way that best fits their schedule

“A season membership provides a great way to join the Rays family while receiving tremendous flexibility and value, along with priority access to tickets and incredible benefits throughout the year,”
said Rays Vice President of Ticket Sales & Service Jeff Tanzer.

Safety

With safety in mind, socially distant seating is a priority for the Rays. They continue to work with Major League Baseball and local public health officials to determine when and how to safely welcome fans back to Tropicana Field. Plans include health and safety protocols, such as reduced capacity, socially distant seating and mandatory face masks.

The Rays intend to announce further information prior to the start of the season. If games are impacted by COVID-19, season members with tickets to impacted games will receive credit to their MyProVenue™ MyTickets™ account for future ticket purchases or as a refund to the original method of payment.

Fan Experience

Fans with memberships can easily log into MyProVenue™ to see details on their membership level and to manage their seating choices.

In addition, current Rays Season Members will be notified in the coming weeks on how to select their new Season Membership package for the 2021 season.

For more information or to purchase a Season Membership, fans can visit RaysBaseball.com/SeasonMembership, call 888-FAN-RAYS or email tickets@raysbaseball.com.

ABOUT Tickets.com

Learn more about our software and services at If you are interested in learning more about Memberships & Loyalty programs, or becoming a client, please contact us.

ABOUT Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays mission is to energize the community through the magic of Rays baseball. The organization is committed to building a strong community bond through meaningful interactions and charitable donations, and has proudly represented Major League Baseball since 1998.

TICKETS.COM KNOCKS IT OUT OF THE BALLPARK WITH THE AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE

2020/21 CHAMPIONS – MELBOURNE ACES

North Wollongong, Australia – Monday, February 15^th 2021, the Australian Baseball League (ABL) 2020/21 season has come to an unprecedented, yet successful end during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tickets.com congratulates the 2020/21 Claxton Shield Championship winners, the Melbourne Aces.

The ABL began doing business with Tickets.com during the World Baseball Classic Qualifier in 2016, and the pair signed a league deal shortly thereafter. In 2020, the ABL renewed a 5-year deal with Tickets.com. The ABL utilises Tickets.com’s ProVenue® suite of products and services offerings, including the administrative support in creating events on behalf of the participating teams, provided by Tickets.com staff.

“Unlike other ticketing platforms, Tickets.com is willing to step up to the plate and offer more kinds of customer service experiences to meet the unique needs of each client.” Shane Tonkin, GM Commercial & Marketing, Australian Baseball League.

With modified conditions throughout the 2020/21 season, Tickets.com worked with the teams to ensure that there was a solution for all of the curveballs this unpredictable season threw. With sudden changes in border closures due to COVID restrictions, cancelled games, and changes in opponents, Tickets.com and ABL were covering all bases throughout the season.

“At each turn, we adapted to the event changes by creating, removing, adjusting, and cancelling as needed. We automated refunds so that cancelled games were processed seamlessly. This allowed the ABL to offer patrons the option to have refunds added as a credit for redemption in-house or online for their next purchase. ” Hayley Dobbs, General Manager Tickets.com Asia Pacific.

Despite the fluid situation, another successful season has come to an end. Rollovers for Season Memberships and Auto Memberships Renewals are underway for the 2021/22 season, and patrons can lock in their preferred seats in advance.

“We look forward to working with ABL over the coming seasons” Hayley Dobbs, General Manager Tickets.com Asia Pacific

ABOUT Australian Baseball League

Founded in 2010 as a joint venture between Baseball Australia and Major League Baseball, and since 2016 owned solely by Baseball Australia, the Australian Baseball League (ABL) continues to thrill fans around the world with a dazzling combination of Australia and New Zealand’s best home-grown talent and top prospects from around the world.

The creation of the ABL gives Oceania’s best baseball talent the rare chance to showcase their skills in front of a home crowd and reinforces the existence of a legitimate pathway to the Big Leagues right in our own backyard.

ABOUT Tickets.com

Tickets.com is a technology solutions provider focused on building premium live event experiences for clients and patrons. Established in 1995, Tickets.com has been the technology provider for over 1M live events across the globe. Our team is dedicated to developing and delivering the most innovative and modern ticketing technology in the world. Through strategy, partnership, and innovation, Tickets.com is on a mission to disrupt the ticketing industry and provide the best live experiences.

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Contact APAC Sales

Email Marketing: The Value of the A/B Test.

We all know that data is running behind so many of our marketing tactics, but we don’t all know how best to take advantage of what the data can do for us. With a few simple process changes you can make your email marketing a more effective tool in your marketing arsenal.

One of the simplest ways to make an improvement is to use data to test out your theory. An A/B email test can help you figure out what’s engaging your email subscribers and what’s not. Using a sample size of your market test 1 change and compare your Open Rate results as well as engagement metrics like Click Rate to determine which version was most effective. Use that answer to be your winning send to the rest of your target market.

Here are 5 simple A/B tests that you can use today!

Subject Lines
Image Choices
Color Choices
Promotional Offers
Placement of your Purchase Link

With CrowdConnect the Tickets.com official email marketing platform powered by WhatCounts your test results are easy to read as you analyze your subscribers.

If you are a current client learn more about how to set up A/B tests in CrowdConnect using our Knowledge Base.

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How can my venue get ready to re-open?

Reopening your venue after this hard-hitting pandemic is likely one of the most difficult operational tasks your venue will take on. But as the world opens up and begins to embark on its new normal, re-opening may mean surviving yet another tough year. While the world begins to reopen and embark on its new normal, re-opening may mean surviving yet another difficult year.

Developing strategies to make this possible – can make all the difference. To get you started – Tickets.com has put together some simple steps to help your venue succeed while keeping your patron and staff safety as a top priority.

What is Social Distance Seating?

Social Distance Seating in short is making room for pods or groups of the same party to sit with one another, while maintaining a minimum distance from a different pod or group.

5 Simple Strategies to Social Distance Seating.

Plan Seating Configuration Accordingly – Consider setting up your venue seating based on general admission configurations (seating by zones) to separate parties. Alternately consider planning reserved pod-seating. By examining your venue map and patterns in multi-ticket purchases you can map out an optimal reserved seating configuration to sell in pods.

Save Your Seats Appropriately – Use a ticketing platform like ProVenue to manage your inventory with extended seat definitions, and hold codes.

Empower Your Patrons – Provide digital tickets and self-service ticket management for your patrons with a web-application like MyProVenue you can minimize staff and patron contact. Consider software that has the flexibility to forward tickets while maintaining social distance pods as well as one that makes flexible schedules work. We all know there will be some movement – so make sure that patrons can manage exchanges, vouchers, and account credits without overburdening your staff.

Talk to Your Patrons – In times of trouble – MORE communication is better. Use whatever customizable text you can to provide your patrons all the information they need to purchase socially distanced seats and enter your venue safely. In MyProVenue, from purchase flow to event day messages, can be customized to provide guidelines, venue rules and more. When “talking” to patrons consider using QR codes to quickly direct patrons to key messaging including: how to access digital tickets and safety protocols.

Go Contactless at the Entrance – Pedestals that use Near Field Communication (NFC) technology are a great way to limit the staff scanning at entry and VIP areas as they can be unattended. Also consider hand-held devices that use NFC to reduce entry friction. Tickets.com makes contactless simple with Alfred, our all-in-one access control solution, which syncs seamlessly with ProVenue our ticketing platform and MyProVenue our patron digital ticketing technology.

For more information and to find out how we can help your venue

Learn More about Tickets.com

ProVenue

MyProVenue

Alfred

THE MOSCOW BALLET BRINGS THE GREAT RUSSIAN NUTCRACKER TO LIFE FOR DESERVING CHILDREN THIS HOLIDAY

In a year filled with so many unknowns and challenges, the Moscow Ballet with the help of Tickets.com brought some holiday magic to those in need. The experience began with a commitment to support The Young and Brave Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports families of children and young adults during their battle with cancer.

Throughout the run of the Great Russian Nutcracker, the Moscow Ballet was able to help support donations as well as give two special ballet bears a home in the arms of Kalea & Noah Avery, through The Young and Brave Foundation.

The surprises and delight did not stop there as the Moscow Ballet was able to offer up more holiday magic with children from three additional nonprofit organizations across the country, BeYoutiful Foundation, Camp Good Days, and Roswell Park, all had an opportunity to meet the exceptionally talented ballerina Anna Trofimova, of the Moscow Ballet this Saturday, December 12 in a live video call.

The event started with Trofimova introducing herself to the children, and showing them different detailed costumes from the Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and a traditional red tutu, Trofimova’s favorite color. Each child then had the chance to ask the ballerina different questions, from “What do you do in your free time?” to “Who is your favorite superhero?”.

A lot of laughs and fun were had by all, especially the aspiring future ballerinas on the call, and in that moment, life seemed suspended in mid-air like a magic leap. Following the meeting, the children and their families were treated to an exclusive premiere streaming of the Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker before the public release.

The Moscow Ballet also donated a number of beautifully crafted Nutcracker books to patients at the Roswell Park Hospital, and as a further token of their commitment to community you can share a digital copy of the Nutcracker story with your family and friends.

And don’t forget to experience the beloved official holiday classic, the Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker streamed safely from home with your loved ones. Get your ticket now.

About T.Cares

Tickets.com strives to make a difference not only in the ticketing industry, but also within the community. The T.Cares program seeks to support local community efforts by partnering with various nonprofit organizations to provide remarkable experiences for individuals and their families who may be facing hardships or various obstacles in their lives.

The Young and Brave Foundation

The Young and Brave Foundation was established in 2009, it is a nonprofit organization to create a community of support for the families of children and young adults during their battle with cancer. In March of 2011, The Young and Brave Foundation received its 501(c)(3) non-profit status with the vision of helping young adults and children diagnosed with all forms of cancer. Donate today!

Beyoutiful Foundation

The BeYOUtiful Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization committed to taking ACTION! Awareness has been created, it’s time to make a real difference. Designed to provide hope, love and a path to feeling beYOUtiful. Connecting salons & stylists to local survivors, providing online education (covering cutting, styling, utilizing wigs & dealing with chemo hair), we’re here from diagnosis to remission and beyond. From little girls, to bright young ladies, supermoms & businesswomen, the BeYOUtiful Foundation is for all of us. Click here to donate!

Roswell Park

Roswell Park was one of the first institutions in the nation to be recognized by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as a comprehensive cancer center. Roswell Park provides expert cancer care and conducts top-tier research aimed at finding ways to prevent and cure cancer, with NCI support. Three major studies have found that long-term survival rose from 6% to 20% overall, as well as within specific cancer types, for patients who were treated from the start at NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers, compared with those treated elsewhere. Learn more and donate to Roswell Park today!

Camp Good Days

Camp Good Days provides residential camping programs at our beautiful Recreational Facility, located on the shores of Keuka Lake in Branchport, New York, as well as year-round recreational and support activities, in the Rochester, Buffalo and Syracuse, New York areas for children with cancer, sickle cell anemia, and the entire family. At Camp Good Days, participants have the opportunity to regain some of what cancer has taken away from them. While a vast majority of our children reside in NY, Camp Good Days has no geographical boundaries and accepts children from all 50 states and all over the world. No child with cancer is ever turned away from Camp Good Days. Donate today!