A common theme you have shared in the 2025 Talking Tickets Global Survey is that people are looking for “exclusivity” in the purchases they are making.
This is especially true when it comes to the truly unique experiences.
Things like:
- Sitting on the dirt at Fenway Park.
- Being in the first row at a show with a favorite band.
- Getting a private tour of a certain exhibit.
- Getting into an event that doesn’t even have tickets on sale.
I could go on.
The interesting thing is that The Economist tracks these kinds of services. They call it an “ultra-rich services index” and it has risen by 90% since 2019.
John Wall Street covered the Rogers Centre renovation last week and highlighted how that has changed what’s possible in North American premium experiences.
I think you need to push further.
Premium in sports, especially in North America, typically means expensive, not really special.
A formula for you to consider is this.
True premium experiences are:
- Limited + Elevated Service + High Price
As an example, I worked on a music festival before COVID.
Great location.
Prime market for ultra premium.
Huge potential for FOMO.
One of the ideas I worked on was “The Million Dollar Ticket”.
I don’t remember all the details, but a few of the things that were worked into the offer:
- An on-stage suite for “The Million Dollar Ticket” buyer.
- Only one item for sale.
- A VIP server assigned to the location.
- Meet and Greet with the headliner each night.
- The penthouse suite at the partner hotel.
- A chaffeured Model X.
Again, only one person could buy this and bring a few friends.
The big point is elevating the offering.
I’m not even sure we pushed as far as we could have.
Lean into the exclusive, the things that can’t be replicated, and charge for that experience.
50% of the American economy is being supported by buyers in the top 10% of income right now.
This has multiple impacts:
- Less money for people in the bottom 90% of the economy to spend on goods and services. You see this starting to raise concerns because people are falling behind on their car payments.
- If these folks start spending, it could create a cascade of negative feedback loops in the economy.
- The ultra wealthy are looking for even more exclusive services and goods to buy because it is even more difficult to be truly unique in that cohort of buyers.
How does this play out for you?
A few ideas:
Spend more time focusing on overall brand building.
You need to make sure you lean into the sense of community, excitement, and excellence that comes with attending your event.
You will need to do some market research to uncover what people do think about you.
42% of you say you have no brand tracking.
But 36% of you do market research to find new opportunities.
You can do both at the same time.
Reprice according to what the data says.
Spending data is pretty clear.
49.7% of consumer spending is coming from about 10% of the economy.
America is an outlier, but even in countries such as France, England, and China, spending by the top 10% of earners is over 24%.
As a practical consideration, how do you think about this?
You probably have room to raise the prices at the top and lower prices at the bottom.
Elevate the unique.
Premium seating bowls have expanded over the last few years.
I tell people I work with, “When everything is premium, nothing is premium.”
The solution is the create smaller, more unique spaces for your most important buyers.
As Corey tweeted about in regards to empty seats in a premium section at a recent Cardinals game:
The days of offering “all you can eat and drink” are over.
That’s not going to move the needle on a truly premium experience.
I’ve done research in the past that was definitively clear:
Ultra high net worth buyers like to buy their guests food and drink.
Or, they like to let someone buy them a drink or a meal.
For them, it feels less transactional and more relationship based.
Recap:
- In countries around the world, the top 10% of earners are spending over 20% of the money. In the US, that number is 50%. This should change your POV on selling and pricing.
- As the economy becomes more top heavy, buyers at the top have shifted consumption to luxury goods and services.
- Your job is to make sure your experience is “luxury” and not just premium. Premium just means expensive in most places. Luxury has a different meaning.
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