Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Bringing In the Crowd






After reading an article by Steve Fall entitled, "Taking Attendance" about facilities using creativity to compensate for lower attendance. In a down economy, where live entertainment often take a hit, facilities have to think of new ways to attract a crowd and two popular methods are increasing the perceived value an event and discounting the cost of an event. 
Taking these two methods into account I have come up with some ideas. First I noticed people love to bring their children to sports events. Facilities could create "My Child's First Game" package. Parents could purchase a package that includes tickets for two adults and two children at reduced rates as well as snacks from the concessions. They can also include autographed memorabilia. This plays on sentiment, value, and discount. A parent may not be so inclined to purchase snacks from the concessions. However, they may perceive a value if all are combined. Memorabilia is an added bonus because people will have not only a proof of attendance, but also because something they later chose to sell or have appraised. 
Facilities can also introduce loyalty packages. Avid attendees can build up points and then be rewarded by a free or severely discounted ticket to a game. They may want to run this promotion for a limited time. People are more likely to take advantage of a value if they know it will not always be available. This will encourage those who may not attend the games frequently to come more often without giving away too many free tickets to those who already frequent the facilities.  A facility may use a percentage value to qualify loyalty, twelve games, for example. They could run a promotion that states, “Attend three games at regular price between October and December and receive a 30% off and 3 hot dogs and two beverages on your fourth visit.”

Auctions of exclusive events may be an avenue a facility can take. Because auctioned items do not have a cap on how much they can generate these can be a great source of revenue. People pay top dollar for exclusive items. Facilities need to sell the experience. 
As long as people believe they are getting a bargain for something they were thinking about or wanting to participate in they will bite and facilities will see an increase in attendance. 

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