Ticketmaster: Opportunities & Threats
I'm excited to launch 'Big Bets, Little Bets' series with the first spotlight on a ticketing titan. Let's inspect where a Lifecycle expert can make a positive impact.
Let me get this out of the way. It’s no secret that Ticketmaster has an infamous reputation for being overly greedy. They’ve been called out repeatedly by consumers, performers, and even the President in the 2023 State of the Union address.
This makes TM a great fit for this series because, as lifecycle marketers, we can drive an outsized impact on qualitative metrics like sentiment because we own a direct relationship with customers at scale. We should really lean into that responsibility and serve as torch bearers for the brand & work hard to earn and retain trust, one message at a time.
Further down, I’ll cover my focus areas, which will serve as the anchors to the big bets & little bets that I share in the next two posts. But first, let’s get into the threats or biggest obstacles for making an impact with our craft.
Threats
Ticketmaster is a gateway to entertainment. The fact that they provide people with access to experiences that they are passionate about should be a slam dunk in terms of having a brand that also elicits joy.
But oftentimes, it’s the opposite.
Ticketmaster is seen as a bully—an evil empire that dangles a carrot and takes such a large piece of the pie that it hurts both the customer and the artists, who would otherwise have a much more amicable agreement.
Ouch.
In my opinion, this is the biggest threat to any lifecycle marketer taking the reins: the feeling of everything being an uphill battle.
Want to upsell? Tough. You’re already seen as too expensive and greedy.
Want to ask for objective feedback from a broad sample? You’ll likely be creating a lightning rod for customer complaints and venting.
Want to send highly personalized content? It’s tricky. Musical tastes are subjective and oftentimes polarizing and even triggering.
For instance, I like Neil Young, Bowie, Radiohead, Alvvays, Beach House, and that type of stuff. If you send me an email to promote something that I actually loathe but is genre-adjacent, then there is a very high chance I’ll go ahead and unsubscribe because I’m never in the mood to be told about the next Black Eyed Peas or Ed Sheeran concert.
In other words, the compounding impact of having an existing reputation for being evil and then potentially sending off-base recommendations is a huge challenge for any marketer or growth lead to overcome.
Opportunities
So, given all the above context, what are the primary themes that are worth making a priority?
For the next several weeks I’d like to focus on two primary themes:
Leaning into joy/fun/entertainment and infusing it into every ounce of messaging from copywriting to design to surprise & delight tactics.
Improving relevancy both at the program level and the backend/data intelligence level.
Next week, I’ll cover the little bets I’d make to honor these two themes. By little bets, I mean the more practical and essential side of how to take action on my strategy.
I look forward sharing those ideas with you soon.
Say “hi” at Unspam
I’m heading to Greenville, SC on Monday & Tuesday for the first time to attend the Unspam (Email for Humans) conference by Really Good Emails. I’m not speaking or anything. Just excited to be around the email geek community for a few days and to learn from others. Please say hi if you see me there!
- Drew