Tickets.com’s T.Cares Program Helps Raise Funds for the Princess Poppy Rainbow Appeal for Lifesaving Treatment

The parents of a six-year-old girl with stage 4 cancer have thanked Tickets.com and their T.Cares initiative after being left in a desperate race to raise funds for lifesaving treatment. Three weeks ago, through its work with MK Dons Football Club, Tickets.com donated four VIP matchday tickets to the home game against Shrewsbury Town in Sky Bet League One to the Princess Poppy Rainbow Appeal.

The Princess Poppy Rainbow Appeal was set up by Poppy’s parents, Claire and Ross, to raise funds for potentially lifesaving treatment. Poppy Bailey was diagnosed with stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma at just four years old. Her family have been tirelessly fundraising so that she can access treatment options abroad, which could cost hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Tickets.com contacted Claire and Ross – whose local football team is the MK Dons – to offer a hospitality package which they could auction off to raise funds. “We were blown away by Tickets.com‘s generosity, which came completely out of the blue,” says Claire. “Despite everything we’re watching Poppy go through, we’ve also seen the best of human kindness.”

The lucky highest bidder – a local grandfather – was able to take his grandson to see the game at the state-of-the-art MK Dons stadium, where they were treated to premier hospitality, reserved seats on Directors’ Balcony, a stadium tour and visit to the Dons’ dressing room, and were presented with a commemorative gift.

“The prize Tickets.com donated was just amazing,” says Claire. “Our spirits were really lifted watching the auction total rise, knowing local people were supporting Poppy, all thanks to Tickets.com‘s kindness. The money raised really could help save Poppy’s life.”

Natalie Jones – Internal Sales Manager at Tickets.com said the following:

“Poppy is a local girl and I have been overwhelmed watching the whole community pull together to raise funds for her much-needed treatment. All at Tickets.com were delighted to be able to contribute by providing tickets for a fantastic day at MK Dons Football Club. We were so pleased they then were able to raffle these off and all monies raised added to their fantastic fundraising efforts. This shows the important of being active in the local community through the T.Cares program.”

Through the global T.Cares initiative, Tickets.com employees seek to support the communities where they work and live – from charity fundraising and community service, to creating unforgettable experiences for those in need.

For more information about T.Cares and to find out how your charity or project could get involved, visit https://provenue.tickets.com/t-cares/ .

The Princess Poppy Rainbow Appeal are still desperate to raise the funds needed to continue Poppy’s treatment. You can support Poppy’s campaign by donating through her fundraising page https://justgiving.com/campaign/princesspoppy or by texting ‘POPPYB’ followed by any whole amount (up to £20) to 70085. Find them on Facebook or Instagram @princesspoppyrainbowappeal.

paranaple arts centre | Devonport, Tasmania, Australia

The paranaple arts centre is home to the Devonport Regional Gallery, Town Hall Theatre and the Devonport Visitor Information Centre in Devonport, Tasmania, Australia (Devonport). Managed by the Devonport City Council, the paranaple arts centre was challenged during the pandemic with events being postponed, rescheduled, and restrictions in play like many venues across the globe. Fortunately, The paranaple arts centre team was able to pivot and adjust using some key tools provided by Tickets.com.

“The team at Tickets.com were very helpful ” – Tim Cooper, Visitor Services Coordinator, Devonport City Council, Devonport, Tasmania, Australia

Tickets.com Interviews | Tim Cooper, Visitor Services Coordinator, Devonport City Council, Devonport, Tasmania, Australia

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Exploration and Reinvention in Memphis with the Museum of Science & History (MoSH)

In 2020 the Museum of Science & History (MoSH) was on the precipice of launching a 5-year strategic plan to reinvigorate the organization. A new Executive Director was in place, plans for a rebrand were being contemplated, and then the pandemic hit. But while live events were put on pause, the team at MoSH dove head-on into research and testing for their long-term strategic vision.

Tickets.com Interviews |

Kevin Thompson, Executive Director, Museum of Science & History
Jeff King, Director of Guest Services, Museum of Science & History

Strategic Vision

Beyond a new look, the strategic focus was to create a more inviting space to increase engagement with patrons and to foster more curiosity in every patron touchpoint. Everything from new content to new communication strategies to new technologies were explored.

The MoSH team even collaborated with the national Metal Museum in Memphis to install a twenty-five-foot statue of a Mosasaur to greet incoming patrons. Part of creating an inviting space comes from making a less intrusive ticketing experience. Jeff King, Director of Guest Services commented, “The less you notice the ticketing experience, the better,” which is in part why moving to digital tickets was so important to MoSH.

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Hickory Crawdads | Migrating to Tickets.com ProVenue Ticketing Platform

The Hickory Crawdads joined Tickets.com in late 2019 and have been maximizing their use of vouchers and reporting functionality from the ProVenue system. Additionally, they have expanded their group sales and offered new fan purchase flow options with FEVO, a Tickets.com certified Registered Developer.

Tickets.com Interview | Kristen Buyner, Director of Ticket Operations, Hickory Crawdads

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Phillies | Always Loyal with Stored Value

PhilliesScript PNG The Philadelphia Phillies in tandem with their concessionaire Aramark have been in the stored value game for over 18 seasons. Working closely with Givex™, a Tickets.com certified solution via the Registered Developer Program, they have taken stored value to a new level.

What is Stored Value?

Stored value is ticket functionality which enables barcoded tickets to have multiple functions, (gate entry, food, beverage, and merchandise redemptions) with the scan of a barcode on a Point of Sale (POS) system.

“The Phillies have been a valued, long-time Givex partner and are using gift cards and Uptix to enhance their fans’ ballpark experiences,” said Debbi Blackburn, Vice President of Business Development at Givex. “Our leading stored-value ticket technology and overall Givex tools provide them with new opportunities to engage with and reward fans for their incredible loyalty,” she added.

Stored value tickets are used every game day at Citizens Bank Park for a slew of programs including, Designated Driver Program, fan appreciation gifts, group outings, club-designated premium areas, customer service issues, and more.

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Medieval Times | Royal Re-Opening with Strong Communication

Tickets.com sat down with Kristen Schascheck, Vice President of Sales at Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament (Medieval Times) to discuss how this unique attraction faced the many challenges re-opening castles across North America.

Medieval Times is North America’s most popular dinner attraction featuring heroic knights on spirited horses displaying astounding athletic feats and thrilling swordplay along with a four-course feast fit for royalty. With ten North American locations (Florida, California, New Jersey, Illinois, Texas, South Carolina, Maryland, Georgia, Arizona, and Ontario, Canada), the pandemic posed a wide range of new regulations and safety protocols. Changes to the Castles included items like seating arrangements, entrance modifications, distancing and cleanliness protocols, personal protective equipment, and adjustments to food and beverage service.

Kristen Schascheck said about the changes her team has gone through, “Our internal motto is ‘be like water.’ We have learned to flow with whatever challenges and changes come our way!”

Tickets.com Interview | Kristen Schascheck, Vice President of Sales at Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament

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Wolf Trap Celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 2021 with New Technology

2021 marked the 50th anniversary for the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts (Wolf Trap) and a sorely missed return to live events at the venue.

Wolf Trap is a unique venue in many ways. For one, it is part of a nonprofit organization nestled inside of a National Park. Secondly, performances at Wolf Trap cover the full spectrum of music and performing arts genres, and lastly, the venue operates three different stages for these events. The Filene Center is an outdoor venue that can seat 7,000 patrons, while the outdoor Children’s Theater-in-the-Woods can seat about 800, and The Barns indoor venue is the smallest and can seat 382.

Bernard S. Berry III, Senior Director Ticket Services Wolf Trap, spoke on how grateful the Wolf Trap team is for the support the venue receives from its patrons,

“The community responded any way they could, supporting anything that we put out, whether it be streaming or fundraisers… They (patrons) were going to make sure that Wolf Trap lasted through the pandemic. Everything from the members saying to just ‘hold on to my tickets’ and making donations until we figured out what was going on, to the public saying ‘nope, we trust you’. And when your spirits are low, as you are canceling shows, to be buoyed by the fact that the public not only would like to see you around, wants you to be around, needs you to be around, I don’t even know what to say about it other than, thank you.”

Tickets.com Interview | Bernard S. Berry III, Senior Director Ticket Services Wolf Trap

In 2021 when Wolf Trap re-opened its doors to the community, the box office team to worked closely with Tickets.com to temporarily create modified seating plans in the ProVenue® ticketing platform and leaned in on digital, “…we adapted our ticket selling methods,”

The Wolf Trap team made key strategic changes including:

Leaning in on digital
Becoming a Tickets.com Certified Registered Developer and creating a home-grown custom solution.

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NASCAR Speeds Ahead with Ticketing Technology

NASCAR ticketing technology moves at the speed of, you guessed it, NASCAR. Tickets.com sat down with Kari Gritton, Managing Director of Consumer Strategy at NASCAR to discuss the return to live racing with fans, how their strategies have evolved, and the technology that helped them manage the constant changes.

“We were days away from the NASCAR Cup Series at Homestead Miami Speedway when all of sports and live entertainment shut down,” said Gritton.

Tickets.com Interview | Kari Gritton, Managing Director of Consumer Strategy at NASCAR

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Jackson Hole Rodeo: There is No I in Team

For over 125 years the Wilson family has strived to keep western heritage alive at the Jackson Hole Rodeo. Founded in the 1890s, Jackson Hole Rodeo is a family-run destination for events in the Wyoming area. The rodeo hosts a variety of events from bull riding, horse riding, roping, barrel racing, and more.

The Rodeo began utilizing Tickets.com’s ProVenue^® back-office ticketing platform in 2018 and selling online tickets through MyProVenue™ at the same time. Additionally, the Rodeo utilizes Alfred^®, the proprietary all-in-one access control solution for ticket validation from Tickets.com running on Zebra^® handheld devices.

King Mountain, the weather is a major component of outdoor sports and rodeo activities. The Rodeo typically operates events seasonally from June – August. The rest of the year the Wilson family and staff work to maintain the Rodeo facility, plus manage the care and feeding of the animals on site. “Our facility is not like a regular store, we can’t just close shop in August when the fans leave,” said Brandon Wilson, Partner at the Jackson Hole Rodeo.

So how did the Rodeo swing it in 2020 and 2021?

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CrowdConnect Email Opens on Mobile Devices

Email Marketing: Opens by Device

Did you know that roughly 85% of email subscribers use smart phones to access email? And roughly 70% of mobile users delete badly formatted messages in under three seconds?

Time is short. Consider simple ways you can learn about your subscribers to improve your ticket sales on mobile.

Opens by Device

Opens by device is a quick report to understand whether your subscribers are opening emails on a mobile device or on a desktop. If you host a variety of events at your venue, this can also be a helpful tool to identifying which events are more likely to be opened on a mobile or desktop.

5 Quick Creative Considerations for Marketing Events on Mobile

Short subject lines. Longer subject lines may not display on a mobile device.
Keep images to under 600-pixel width. Some mobile devices can’t handle responsive designs.
Use a large font. A small screen makes fonts smaller, consider using a 14-pixel font to make it easier on the eyes.
Create a simple call to action. A button is an easy way to identify where a patron should click where as an image does not have that same effect.
Use a single-column templates. Multiple columns may condense and be hard to navigate on a small device.

CrowdConnect the Tickets.com official email marketing platform makes it easy to look at Open by device metrics.

If you are a current client interested in learning more about the Open by device reports within CrowdConnect, read on from our Knowledge Base.

Interested in CrowdConnect the Tickets.com official email marketing platform powered by WhatCounts? Learn More.