You need costumes for your show, so you search for “costumes” online and just pick the first thing that comes up, right?
Your varsity team made it to the playoffs, so searching “team uniform” will provide you with the perfect look in 30 seconds, correct?
You need a set for your fall play, so you just need to purchase some plywood and toss it up on the stage! Done!
Did any of those scenarios make you cringe? If you are here reading this, then it is likely you’re looking for a better way to promote your team, production, or event with online ticketing. Chances are you put a lot of thought into every aspect of your organization – from sets and field conditions to costumes and uniforms. Every aspect of your event is part of your BRANDING: defining who you are and what audiences/fans can expect from you! So why would you just type in “online ticketing” and pick the first name that comes up? What will this do for your branding?
Fantastic branding does three things for your events:
- Builds recognition
- Creates a cohesive and memorable experience
- Strengthens the overall brand
Let’s explore how each of these work and how the correct Online Ticketing Platform will help you achieve your goals.
Builds Recognition
The school website is most definitely themed in the colors of the school. The cheerleaders shout “Green and Gold” and the families all wear the colors to the games. The mascot – that crazy Lion – is everywhere! The entire school roars during pep rallies, and the morning announcements almost always mention the school’s tagline – “Learn Loud. Lead Proud. ROAR!” Branding is everywhere in the school. But then you go to buy tickets to Friday night’s varsity football game, and it’s all red & white, the colors of the ticketing platform you chose.
What does this do in the minds of the patron purchasing tickets? On the surface, it may not seem like a big deal. Just purchasing a ticket. Nothing exciting. They might have a kid in the game or playing in the marching band, and they’ll show up for the game because they have a ticket, but there was no connection to that purchase.
Now, imagine a ticket portal that’s got the Lion Roar all over it! It’s sporting the bright green that matches the uniforms. It has a motivational quote at the top of the page that the coach always yells so loud, that the families at the back of the bleachers hear every game! The images are all customized to match this year’s theme, and the starters are all recognized in the event listing! There might even be a link to the latest story in the local newspaper about this magnificent team that has the best chance of winning the trophy in school history! Now that patron purchasing a ticket is super excited to support this sure-to-be-sold-out event! They even make a donation at checkout to show how confident they are in this group of high school kids and their amazing coach. They are reminded of the team’s colors and the season’s theme, so they start planning their outfit. They show up ready to cheer as loud as they can and become part of your team’s history!
That’s building recognition. That’s building excitement. That’s using branding to enhance your brand.
ACTION STEP: Customize your Online Ticketing portal with your school’s colors.
Creates a Cohesive and Memorable Experience
For your spring musical last year, you had the most amazing sets and costumes! Your actors rehearsed for months ensuring every pause, every high note, and every group number hit their marks. The show was perfect and people talked about it for weeks after! But did you ever think about what happens before the show? If you’ve never given thought to pre-show energy, you should! Everything that happens leading up to your event is part of what draws audiences! The people in attendance sure loved the show, but what about the people that DIDN’T come? Why didn’t they come? What could you have done better to draw them in? Let’s take a piece of advice from Julie Andrews and start at the very beginning!
As soon as you’ve selected your show, your work as a producer & promoter begins! You need to think about your branding of this show – how do you want people to perceive your production of Little Women? Ancient and boring or timeless and relevant? You want them to feel the warm fuzzies that the script emotes! You want them to be drawn into the classic literature and join you in a world of tragedy and love. Your posters, your school announcements, AND your online ticketing should all carry the same message! Update your Facebook header AND your online ticketing portal with the same graphics so that there is cohesion in your branding. Make sure your descriptions are using the words that best convey the tone you want the audience to feel. If you sell any additional items online, make sure everything fits within that tone and theme.
Don’t stop with ticketing! Make sure all of your pre-event marketing is using that same tone: lawn signs, posters, etc. When audiences show up to see the show, carry that theme throughout your entire facility – the entrance, the lobby, the auditorium. Play music that matches the theme. Sell concessions that are themed for your show. Get the audiences ready for what they are about to experience.
ACTION STEP: Create a header graphic for social media and your online ticketing site that conveys the them and tone of your upcoming production.
Strengthens the Overall Brand
Customizing your branding for each event contributes to strengthening your overall brand! Sure, one week the game’s theme is neon, and the next week it’s blackout. You may slightly alter your branding to match that, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that your school has a strong mascot, regular color scheme, and a sense of fun to go along with the enthusiastic student section that carries out the weekly themes and shows up to support the teams!
Each year, shows change. One year you’re dancing in pink singing about a house party while the next year you’re in a prom dress covered in pig’s blood. The theme may be different. The tone may be different. But one thing the audiences will expect is quality and a great experience – from purchasing their ticket to the final curtain call! Every thing you do to enhance your branding, even if it is event specific, will work towards growing your audiences and strengthening your overall brand.
You can also grow an audience by capturing those that follow your amazing brand – on social media and in ticket sales. Make sure to save these lists and use them to promote upcoming events! Don’t create a new Facebook page for each new show. Use one branded page for your department and add events to promote each new show. Utilize your online ticketing’s CRM features and capture the emails of all attendees at the game to make sure they are all updated on any new playoff games added. There are many different ways to utilize cohesive branding to strengthen your organization and grow your audiences.
ACTION STEP: Send an email to all attendees of your last event to let them know about what’s coming next.
How BookTix Can Help
BookTix support staff can help you set up your customer facing portal so that it reflects your branding! Please reach out to our team if you need any assistance with this. We also have our BookTix University, a client-exclusive benefit, which offers many webinars on marketing and branding. Our new Email Marketing Tool can help you stay in touch with your patrons and promote future shows!
ACTION STEP: Sign up for a demo to learn more. https://www.booktix.com/learn-more/
