Happy New Year y’all!
2022 was a tough year for me. So I’m hopeful that 2023 will have new adventures and fewer troubles.
Thank you for reading, listening, and working with me this year…I’ve had the chance to work with some amazing folks this year. So thank you.
To the tickets!
End of the year, not a traditional newsletter. But let’s see if we can add some value and have some fun.
I. 2022 into 2023: Some thoughts, ideas, observations, and other stuff…
Thoughts on 2022:
- I’m glad I made it out of this one alive. My long COVID battle and hospital put the fear into me.
- I’m not surprised that the struggle to sell tickets in many markets was real. There was too much investment in the “V-shaped” recovery narrative and not enough in looking at what had happened in the market.
- This newsletter grew 12% this year. Amazing! Thank you! This means that every time I send out this newsletter, thousands of folks read it. Again, amazing!
- The podcast’s audience grew 16% this year. Still down from 2019, but again around 3,000 listens a month. Amazing! For a very niche thing…pretty sweet.
- Being on “Call to Action” was a highlight. And, making their list of quotes…even better.
- Globally, we saw a shift in consumer behavior, consumer power, and regulation that led to more collective action for workers, and consumers, and, this even caused regulators to take action. This matters because ticket sales, merchandise, etc. are driven by a consumer economy that has people with more money to spend and more competition for business. Competition is a good thing…yeah.
- We also saw inflation continue to impact folks around the globe: 6% is the global number.
- College football attendance declined for the 8th straight season. This isn’t a problem $6 tickets will fix it. It isn’t just in college football because MLB’s attendance has been declining since around 2007. Theatres in Melbourne are down around 20% since 2019. Broadway has about half the attendance it did before the pandemic began. The Met Opera’s average attendance is down 14%. There are struggles around the world with getting people back into venues. Costs, uncertainty, new habits, and more are driving this.
- We also saw Live Nation sell 100 million tickets. Attendance at football matches in the UK grow. And, the NBL grow attendance by 21%. We can learn lessons from both sides.
Predictions for the new year:
- Selling tickets will be tough in most markets. We have economic challenges in some markets. Other markets have too many shows going on with too few buyers. We are also seeing changing buying habits. The same old same old, not going to work.
- People’s new habits will become clearer: Purchase intent is interesting to look at. We see that there isn’t a big swing in anticipation of going to shows, concerts, or games. If you are going, you are going now. What we are seeing is that people want to go to movies, to see friends, and to see families. Also, movies…people say they are 25% more likely to go to the movies. This highlights a disconnect because it is all about getting together with people they love and care for and events, games, concerts, etc…should be leading the way.
- We will continue to see an overreliance on pricing gimmicks: The struggles to sell tickets in sports, theatres, and other venues have led to a doubling down on “get-in pricing”, discounts, and overreliance on dynamic pricing. This is bad because my experience and my research have shown me over and over again that price doesn’t create demand. Demand is created by the perception of value.
- We will see a rebound in markets with heavy tourist-centered economies: International travel will rebound in 2023 and the data seems to point towards traditional tourist markets getting some relief. Also, almost ⅔ of Americans are planning on taking a trip in the next six months and they are budgeting $1,000 more to make up for inflation.
- WFH/RTW/Hybrid still won’t be a clear point forward: There’s been no consistency on this stuff from the start. That doesn’t seem likely to change when you look at data like the percentage of jobs that can be done remotely in DC: 53%. This uncertain work environment is hurting ticket sales for a lot of places because the traffic patterns are different. Peak travel is down on commuter lines by about 40% or more in cities like DC, NYC, and Boston. London, Sydney, and Melbourne have seen drops of around 20%+.
My focuses:
- Now that I’m back to 100% from my COVID troubles, you’ll see me hitting the roads a bit more. I’m planning on Seattle, NYC, London, and Milwaukee right now.
- I’ll broaden my scope of attention a bit more by continuing to focus on strategy even though I know there will continue to be numpties that will say, “we don’t do strategy” or “that’s not how we operate”. Their continued struggles should point to the reality that you probably do need to think differently about your situation.
- You will get branding. You will get marketing strategy. You will get pricing. You will get tons of competition and alternatives because that’s where the challenge lies for too many people. A feeling that people should inherently know that they should pick sports, theatre, concerts, or whatever.
- I’ll try to give you a better frame around any technologies so that you can apply them to your business. I see a lot of technologies that could boost a lot of businesses, but the teams selling the products aren’t always focused on the needs of the venue or customers…they are too focused on the tech. Or, they’ve bought into some worldview that doesn’t allow them to be as “loud and proud” about their impact as they should be.
- The big emphasis will be on improvement and progress. Progress, not perfection.
II. Things I Learned:
Here are a few highlights:
- I nailed the Commanders’ launch: They got 85M impressions, but you can do that yourself for $100.
- Women’s sports has tons of potential: It takes investment to grow any brand…that’s the lesson for women’s sports. With investment and attention, the sports will grow.
- Pricing is a struggle: I’ve hit the pricing topic many, many times this year. But I’m linking here because it also allows me to say hello to Richard Howle.
- Premium buyers have changed: All buyers have changed. But I spent a ton of time focusing on premium buyers and brands this year.
- Eventually, customers will be heard: That’s the story behind Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, and the decline in attendance in many places.
III. Streaming turned the Premier League into the new American pastime.
COYS.
The Big Idea: Mass still works to raise high-level awareness, but you can monetize the niches.
Also, futbol is amazing!
IV. Peter Drucker was right. Let 2023 be the year of focusing on the outcome:
Focus on impact, not actions.
Also, let’s think about if we are applying “the Golden Rule”:
I always talk with y’all about thinking about how you would feel if this happened to you. Here’s a different take on that idea.
V. Links:
Alice Tapper’s experience with misdiagnosis is a lesson to us all:
2022 had some health scares for me.
I did receive a clean bill of health a few weeks ago. So the year ends on a high note.
I drop Alice’s video in here because as we turn the page to 2023, many of you will say something like “take care of yourself” as a resolution.
With that comes the need to advocate for yourself.
There is a lesson for all of us in Barnes and Nobles’ turnaround:
“If you want to sell music, you have to love those songs.”
I remember when Lennon and Taboo were on Broadway, I still sold a lot of tickets to those shows because I love Broadway and the theatre.
Not just the hits, but everything about it.
I never thought going to Times Square every day for work was a punishment. It was the greatest gift.
Today, I love strategy, brands, and marketing because they have the power to give people opportunities, growth, and stability. And, I still love doing it around tickets and events because this stuff is some of the most powerful, positive stuff in the world.
Also, read the piece for the take on pricing.
Want to know how not to price?
Just look to Elon Musk.
I may have shared this before, but I was looking at it during the holiday and it hits.
Don’t do research.
Don’t frame the price.
Be iffy about what you are doing.
All keys to not winning.
SponsorsUnited is a cool tool:
I’ve played with the tool in the past.
It is easy to use and powerful.
I’ve wanted to write up something about this before, but haven’t had an angle. So give them a look. If you need an intro, let me know.
Tom Cruise does his own stunts:
This is what you get at the end of the year…my pick for the movie I can’t wait to see on my summer vacation in Miami in 2023.
This is an amazing stunt.
The Blackhawks’ 2010s success is all due to Pearl Jam:
Okay…okay, a few of y’all sent me the article and the tweet. So I figured I’d throw it in.
Also, if you are in for a little binge-watching before the New Year, the 2016 Philly Pearl Jam show known as the ‘Ten’ show is streaming on Amazon Prime for free until the 1st.
Enjoy.
Linktree: Find everything I’m up to.
Join the ‘Talking Tickets’ Slack Group. Almost 300 people from around the world.
The folks from Booking Protect will be at INTIX in Seattle in January. You’ll be able to meet the Booking Protect team in person.
Offering your customers refund protection:
- Gives customers certainty in their purchase.
- Gives you a new revenue stream.
- Improves your customer service.
Great podcast conversations: Take your business to new heights by learning from the best in the business.
Recent Conversations:
- Simon Severino
- Zoe Scaman
- Harold Hughes