Smart Art Marketing Smart Art Marketing Smart Art Marketing

In 2019, the number of Zuni Theatre tickets sold online exceeded the number of tickets sold at the counter for the first time. According to a survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department in 2018, about 400,000 people had purchased movie, concerts or theatre tickets online within six months, an increase of about 100,000 from 2007. The survey also showed that smartphone penetration increased from 85.8% in 2016 to 89.9% in 2018. The popularity of smartphones has made online shopping more popular, Online shopping is not restricted by space, customers can open their mobile phones anytime, anywhere, and then buy any product they want.

Ticketing service of cultural and artistic events in the performing venues of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) has been outsourced to Cityline since 2006. However, some audience members are dissatisfied with this ticketing system “URBTIX”, which discourages them from buying tickets online.

Ticketing services for art and cultural events in Hong Kong are mainly provided by URBTIX and HK Ticketing. For many years, they have sold most tickets of art and cultural, entertainment and sports events in Hong Kong held by the government and other groups. In recent years, some organisations have developed their own online ticketing services to promote local cultural events, such as art-mate, Ticketflap and PUTYOURSELF.in. Since ticket sales for cultural events involve big data related to marketing, like personal interest, overseas companies including eventbrite, Damai and accupass have also expanded their service in the local market.

With the completion of new cultural infrastructure, venues such as the West Kowloon Cultural District and the Tai Kwun have also developed venue-specific ticketing systems to provide their users with a complete experience for ticket purchase, participation and appreciation, to strengthen their brands.

Zuni X POPTICKET

Partnered with the online ticketing platform “POPTICKET” in 2019, Zuni Icosahedron aims to enhance local ticketing service and provide more convenient booking methods for the audience. POPTICKET provides a concise interface for audiences to select Zuni Theatre programmes. After logging in, audiences can select “express purchase” or “select seat”, and will receive an electronic ticket immediately after the purchase. On the other hand, Zuni also coordinated with performing venues last year, including the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Yuen Long Theatre and Tai Po Civic Centre, in an effort to use an authentic e-ticket. Audiences do not have to redeem a physical paper ticket as before. They can present the e-ticket at the admission point, eliminating the process of queueing and collecting printable tickets. They also won’t be afraid of losing any physical tickets. This year, Zuni and POPTICKET will continue to cooperate to promote the use of e-tickets and improve the audience’s experience in purchasing tickets and enjoying Zuni’s performance.

A ticketing system is the most direct platform, connecting participants and organisers like cultural organisations, art groups and museums. It is because every participant must register or even purchase tickets through a certain ticketing site to take part in various activities. A good ticketing system, in addition to allowing the audience to buy a ticket easily, should act as a bridge between organisers and participants. It should recommend activities for participants and increase the audience and revenue for the organiser. Let’s see how to use technology to develop  smart ticketing systems.

When we browse the ticketing page, we usually want to find activities for the weekend but are not sure what is suitable for us.  Apart from improving the search function, a smart ticketing system can use the AI Chatbot to match audiences with activities that suit everyone’s interests. Also, the system can memorise buying habits of audiences and provide personalised programme recommendations. After purchasing tickets, it can even recommend related products and catering services based on records.

In Taiwan, the National Theatre & Concert Hall aims to promote the digitalisation of art marketing by launching the “Open Tix”, a new ticketing system in February. In addition to optimising the interface, the new system will learn audiences’ buying habits and recommend related performances that the audience may be interested in.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) technology has been applied in various cultural activities, performances and exhibitions to enhance the participant experience. In fact, a smart ticketing system can make use of these technologies. For instance, it can allow audience members to preview your seat view by rotating your phone. Some might even watch video clips of a re-run production through a VR device.

Dynamic Ticket Pricing

The hotel industry has long used dynamic pricing to increase revenue, which the performing arts industry can make reference to  help fill seats.

Broadway in New York and West End in London have also started using dynamic ticket pricing strategies recently. West End shows typically sell only 70 percent of their tickets on an average night. According to sales, theatres use applications to automatically adjust fares of different seats. They increase the popular fares to attract more audience members, and thus filling the remaining 30% and increasing the revenue.

Digital Marketing

In addition to facilitating the audience, a smart ticketing system should support the organiser in implementing digital marketing. To implement digital marketing effectively, the system should be able to provide real-time ticketing data for the art group, analyse the composition of buyers, and track the source of the audience, etc.
Due to the rapid development of technology, ticketing-related technologies also update constantly. Zuni pays close attention to the technical upgrade of the LCSD performance venue ticketing system, in the hopes that the new system can keep up with technological enhancement. Zuni will continue to cooperate with different ticketing platforms to develop smart ticketing and promote the development of art and culture.