TPC2023 Schedule
Session Timings for 2023's Conference is here
Location
Session
Speakers and Themes
The Ticketmaster Welcome Wednesday Party
#TPC2023 kicks off with a party generously supported by Ticketmaster.
Sponsor
Location
Session
Speakers and Themes
- Exhibition Halls
- 0900
Welcome Coffee
Exhibition floor is open
Sponsored by
- Halls 1,3 &4
- 0930 - 0945
Conference Opening – Welcome to #TPC2023
Updates, news and housekeeping ahead of a packed #TPC2023
- Halls 1,3 &4
- 0945 - 1030
MetaWhatThe….
A keynote presentation, LIVE, from INSIDE the MetaVerse
- Exhibition Halls
- 1030-1055
Morning Coffee Break
Sponsored by
Who else is coming to #TPC2023?
See who is already booked and headed for Birmingham!
Concurrent Sessions
10:55am - 11:55am
A ticket is just the start: how to improve your operational and commercial effectiveness in an integrated way
Your work doesn’t start or stop with the right ticketing strategy.
How do you optimize your operations? How do you save on costs? How do you optimize the leisure potential in your region? How do you increase average spend per visit? How do you convert visitors to loyal customers? How do you create synergy across venues?
We invite you to broaden your perspective and leverage the impact of your work across the full business
Beyond the pandemic; A snapshot of ticketed audiences in challenging times
First Covid, then the cost of living crisis: these events have shaken up the picture of not only how audiences attend but also who does so and how often. We’ll look at the latest ticketed audience data in line with longitudinal (ongoing) population research and analyse if we feel these changes will be permanent within the UK sector.
How VR is disrupting and impacting the events industry: Trends we are seeing
Interactive virtual concerts have been constantly innovating since the pandemic.
The numbers and revenue opportunities are compelling. The case studies mesmerizing – One virtual concert generated as much as 40% of the entire in-person tour revenue! In this session, we will review the trends in virtual concerts, from Marshmello to Justin Bieber.
We’ll also look at how quickly the technology is advancing, and what this might mean for the events industry from new audiences, revenues, attendance, engagement, outreach and ticketing processes.
Where can Web 3.0, the metaverse and VR/AR play a role in the fan experience of your live event?
Quick Wins for any Company/venue to Begin or Expand Their Access Journey
We’ll cover the basics of access and ways to begin or enhance your access journey. From Venue Guides to Staff Training to Audio Description – we’ve got tips and tricks that you can take back to your company!
Rachel Marks
Relaxed Performance & Processes and Disability Access Consultant
Whose job is it? A panel session exploring whose job it is to improve user journeys on websites?
“There is something wrong with the tickets page”
Sound familiar? But, what is wrong and how did it happen?
Is it a price, the copy, the marketing website, the buying journey, the website integration or sales rules? How diid we miss it, who should have checked it?
This panel of different voices will cover the discussion (or arguments) around whose job it is to create the best user journeys online?
So ticketing systems need to do more? Or do they just need to offer API solutions that allow web developers to build nice user journeys? Or do web agencies need to develop whole new product. Strap in, this could get bumpy!
New Ways of Striving for Success
Covid forced a lot of change, but some of it for good!
How have organisations used the time during and since the pandemic to re-evaluate and reshape what they do?
In this session two leaders from Aberdeen Performing Arts and Sheffield Theatres will outline how they restructured and refocused their teams and priorities as they strived to become stronger and more successful. They will share experiences, successes and set back as they look over
- Driving revenues through secondary spend
- Welcoming new and returning customers
- Making care and personal contact matter with the a skeleton staff
- Balancing sustainability of audiences with a maximising attendance
- Ensuring budgets tally and the books balance!
This session will conclude with a moderator Q & A / sharing session
Caroline Laurent
- 1155 - 1200
Travel Time
Concurrent Sessions
12:00pm - 12:30pm
During 'my' Time!
When you look back 4,6 or 10 years in your job, can you think about the hurdles you were facing and how you solved them? With everyone’s job and organisation different, how can we look at challenges as a true ‘moment in time’?
So we have back to back Heads of Ticketing for Edinburgh International Festival joining us to share their moment in time at EIF and focus on what happen in those years, as we take a look back and see how the industry and its priorities have moved on. Who knows, we may even get the current Head of Ticketing too!
The Ticket Mamas, Procrastinators and Bet Hedgers Buying Today's Tickets
Pulling from a robust research report that delved into the behaviours and preferences of Aussie ticket buyers, this session will highlight the things ticketing professionals around the world must know about consumers to maximise sales, optimise marketing budget, and get their events sold out.
Whitechapel Gallery building audiences, increasing fundraising, and revenue
This session focuses on how Whitechapel Gallery are using funding and specialist advisor support they received through the Bloomberg Philanthropies Digital Accelerator programme to adapt and improve the way the operate and to invest in improvements to their CRM/Membership/Fundraising/Ticketing technology and how the learnings will help inform the wider sector.
Opening Up Access to Your Venue with Flexible Pricing Models
With 86% of adults in the UK concerned about day-to-day living costs and 39% saying they’ll consider going out less in the evenings, is this the right moment in time for your venue to consider opening up access with flexible pricing options like pay-what-you-wish, or other expanded concessions, such as free or reduced entry for low-income and/or unwaged patrons?
Even if your house is currently scaled to offer tickets at all kinds of price points, what happens when you take a chance and break down barriers completely by opening up an event — or even an entire festival — to pay-what-you-wish pricing across the board for all locations in the house?
We’ll also talk through the pros and cons of pay-what-you-wish over setting specific concessionary prices to help you ascertain what approach is the right fit for your organisation.
Why an app needs to be way more than JUST ticketing?
Since 2014, our company has been offering a fully digital ticketing journey to its customers, and in this session you will hear of the journey that PASSO undertook to build more relevant and engaging content for its users beyond simply selling tickets.
We will give an overview of the project and the successes (and failures) we saw along the journey of transforming the ticketing platform to a “Lifestyle SuperApp”, as well as the end results for our business, stakeholders and customers.
Embrace the Metaverse! Learn New Tools for Audience Engagement
You might not realise it, but we are already living in the metaverse!
How can we recognise, learn about and best leverage it? What are the first concrete steps we can take to better understand and engage with our millennial and GenZ audiences, and unlock this opportunity? In this presentation, we’ll also discuss how digital assets and engagement are changing the live-event industry and why creating a tightly-knit ‘controlled-loop’ community with high levels of peer-to-peer interaction is essential for creating and retaining your audience.
- Exhibition Halls
- 1230 - 1345
Lunch
Lunch is served in the Exhibition Hall, with seating is available in the Tessitura Hub, located in Hall 3.
Sponsored by
Concurrent Sessions
1:45pm - 2:15pm
Empowering Teams to Invent Tomorrow Together
We all want our teams to do well – but how do you build a team, understand its needs, and then equip it with the right tools to succeed?
Join Becky Shepherd (Factory International) and Guy Hiddleston (Artifax) as they look at the theories behind team success, and the ways in which it is possible to empower teams through accessible data, streamlined systems and efficient processes.
Becky will share takeaways from the journey of Factory International so far, as they aspire to evolve their team from one that supports the bi-annual Manchester International Festival, into one which supports a brand new multi-use building, with a mission to invent tomorrow together.
Microcopy and nudge theory: guiding your users to checkout
This session will explain how microcopy can improve the overall quality of the user experience, and will demonstrate (with examples) how getting this type of content right can seamlessly guide your users into the purchase path or donation/membership funnel. Before diving into the specifics of microcopy, we’ll take a quick look at the related behavioural economics theory of ‘nudge marketing’ – how it can both drive online purchase behaviour and also how it can backfire.
Are FOH and audiences ready for increased automation in the post-pandemic landscape?
Since the pandemic, theatres have seen a fundamental change in buying behaviour. The lead-time on ticket sales has greatly shortened as cautious audiences would rather wait until the week before or even on the day to purchase their tickets just in case they get Covid and have to cancel. Consequently, there is now a business case for providing a better customer experience for these last-minute audiences as well as generating vital secondary spend.
To fee, or not to fee, that is the question…
A romp through the joyous world of ticketing fees and how to display them (or not). If you find yourself scratching your head about how to tell customers about your prices, booking fees, delivery charges and restoration levies, or just need a refresher on the regulations, this is the session for you. There will be plenty of opportunity for questions alongside a recap of advertising regulations, consumer law and the STAR Code of Practice.
Digitising Accessibility: CRM tools for disabled customers
- 1415 - 1420
Travel Time
Register for #TPC2023!
Venue Spaces from just £259+VAT
Concurrent Sessions
2:20pm - 3:20pm
When Procurement goes wrong
We have all been there, we have gone to find a shiny new (consultant, website, CRM system) – delete as appropriate…….!We find what seems like the perfect match, they have the skills, the features or the portfolio of just what we are looking for and then…..well things start to go wrong, or perhaps that happens 3,6 or 12 months in.
So where does procurement really go wrong? Are people making the wrong decisions, using the wrong criteria or setting unrealistic expectations?In this session Robin, Kate and Andrew will share their experiences of where they have seen procurement go right….. and wrong, as well as sharing a set of take-aways to make sure you get it right, first time.
Perspectives on Digital Leadership in Culture and Live Events
Digital leadership is the set of skills, knowledge and behaviours that individuals exhibit to successfully lead the digital activity of an organisation, whether they have the word ‘digital’ in their job description or not. In this panel — drawn from the worlds of performing arts, museums, and sports — we’ll look at how the right digital leadership skills can keep your projects on track and generate opportunities for your organisation.
Recruitment and Culture - Attracting and Retaining Excellent Teams
We’re currently facing current sector wide challenges with recruitment. This session will offer practical steps to help you build and retain a more diverse and representative workforce. We’ll also share some of the tools and approaches we’ve taken to understand and improve organisational culture over time and the impact of these efforts. It’s a very complex challenge and we’ve certainly not got it right all the time but it’s crucial to ensure an organisation thrives, particularly in the current landscape.
Transforming Tourism – Reimagining The Iconic Sears Tower & Skydeck Chicago
Hear how Chicago’s iconic Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) went from a “check the box” attraction into a Trip Advisor Top 10 worldwide attraction.
Details and best practices on Skydeck’s three primary goals – creating and delivering memorable guest experiences, maximizing revenues, and focusing on team morale – will be shared.
- Exhibition Halls
- 1520 - 1545
Afternoon Coffee Break
Sponsored by
Concurrent Sessions
3:45pm - 4:45pm
Groups - do we need to rethink / reset on how we service this valuable, but declining market?
Many venues have seen a decline in the number and party size of group bookings. With fewer Monday to Friday offices there are reduced numbers of work outings, the closure of coach companies and the loss of some of those ‘group organisers’ in the last few years have all impacted group numbers.
These issues, along with more traditional challenges, such as coordinating with teachers and schools all present challenges for sales teams, but how can we solve these?
In this session we will hear from sales leaders on how they are approaching the new groups landscapes as well as dealing with some longstanding challenges, as they look to build back a vital audience segment.
Jack Of All Trades OR Master of One?
Ticket sales. CRM. Emailer. Online checkout. Analytics. CMS. Fundraising. Box Office. Access Control. Retail platform. Payment processing. The features and functionality list goes on.
Should your ticketing system do it all? Or should it easily connect with a suite of dedicated tools and services?
For ticket vendors and system suppliers, the potential benefits of organisations using one single platform for EVERYTHING that goes on within it are clear. But is this desire pushing suppliers to focus on non-core features, rather than the prime objective of selling tickets?
Is the need for the all-powerful ticketing system clear, necessary and inevitable? Or is the quest to become the single source of truth causing it to in fact to become the single point of failure?
The panel will propose altering viewpoints on the questions above.
Access in Arts and Culture: Now, What’s Next?
Access is an ever-moving landscape but crucial to making sure we can welcome as many customers as possible through our doors. And there’s never been a better time to plan the next steps in your organisation’s access plan.
Arts Council England have teamed up with Arts Council Northern Ireland, Arts Council Wales, the BFI, and Creative Scotland to develop a new UK-wide access scheme. In this session, Phil Lofthouse, Tech Lead for the new scheme will offer an insight into the development process so far, the next steps for the scheme and when (and how) arts and cultural organisations can get involved.
But you don’t need to wait for the new scheme to make improvements in your access offering! Phil will also be introducing a panel of other industry experts, who can offer advice about how arts organisations could be improving their services today and how to take the next steps in your access plan.
For this session, Phil will be joined by Andrew Tinley, Operations and Access Manager at Derby Theatre, Kelly Parish, Senior Manager, Diversity at Arts Council England and Olivia Durkin, Training and Theatre Programmes Manager at Stagetext, a charity that advocates for and delivers text based access for deaf deafened and hard of hearing audiences.
Improving online ticketing with Google Analytics 4
“There’s now a new (better?) version of Google Analytics for us all to get to grips with. But what does an all-singing, all-dancing GA4 setup look like? And how will it help us improve online ticketing experiences and conversion rates?
This session will show off the ideal GA4 setup for a ticket-selling venue. With checklists, examples, and templates for you to take away and use.”
- 1640 - 1650
Travel Time
Register for #TPC2023!
Venue Spaces from just £259+VAT
General Session / Afternoon Keynote
4:50pm - 5:30pm
'It came home' - How the ticketing strategy for the Women's Euros 2022 filled stadia, broke world records and changed the future of women's sport.
- The challenge of a Women’s football tournament.
- The vision and insight that drove the ticketing plan.
- The new customer base successfully targeted for the matches with smart prices and marketing.
- Success on the pitch and in the stands.
- The legacy for women’s sport in the UK.
- Exhibition Halls
- 1730 - 1900
Cocktail Hour.....and a half!
Sponsored by
- 1920 - 2000
Travel Time
Location
Session
Speakers and Themes
- Exhibition Halls
- 0900 - 1000
Breakfast
Breakfast is served in the Exhibition Hall, with seating is available in the Tessitura Hub, located in Hall 3.
Sponsored by
Register for #TPC2023!
Venue Spaces from just £259+VAT
Concurrent Sessions
9:30am - 10:00am
How to analyse your ticket data & drive more sales from paid media
- Daily sales tracking + on-going paid media campaign = success.
- What exactly is your sales pattern telling you? Do you actually get a spike around payday periods & is the ‘half-term lull’ a myth for events & attractions selling to families?
- Forecasting ticket sales & why Cost per-Acquisition is the only KPI you’ll need to look at again
Anticipation Psychology in Ticketing: What Marketers Can Learn from Hollywood’s Anticipation Engine
Anticipation lies behind every ticket purchase. It works its magic in every concert-goer, before every sports event, festival, and show. But few understand the psychology of anticipation and how to use it to drive sales and loyalty.
Discover the science behind anticipation and how it can enhance excitement, improve experiences, and solidify memories among customers. Learn how Hollywood uses anticipation to generate hype, and the tactics you can steal to leverage the power of anticipation.
Our Dynamic Pricing Journey
From a static 5 price band seating plan to an automated and intricate demand led micro-zone setup. How did Wales Millennium Centre make its move into the world of dynamic pricing at what some would consider the worst possible time? A demand-based pricing case study.
Beyond the database: building your brand to grow your reach
Your database holds many mesmerising answers, but it’s only ever a historical record about people you already know. New audiences often look, feel and act very differently from your core niche. Growth brands understand that strong differentiation and extended reach generate future demand more widely, ensuring they come to mind at the right time. Follow an effective approach to identifying and tracking future potential audiences.
Learn why constantly iterating on your website & booking experience is crucial.
- We’ll discuss how customer expectations are constantly evolving, and businesses must keep up to avoid falling behind.
- Discover how small, incremental changes can lead to increased revenue, streamlined operations, and improved brand reputation.
- Learn practical tips for gathering proactive feedback and prioritising improvements to enhance the booking experience.
- Plus, we’ll explore the benefits of AB testing to validate iterations and ensure success.
- 1000 - 1010
Travel Time
Who else is coming to #TPC2023?
See who is already booked and headed for Birmingham!
Concurrent Sessions
10:10am - 11:10am
Small minded? Not us. Big thinking about customer experience from WAY up north.
How can we get people off the phone buying tickets and online to self-serve OR do we even want to do that???
These big thinkers from small nations have different experiences to share with you from having multiple phone calls with the same customer about the same ticket transaction to getting people through a highly automated slick online sales process.
Who is right? You decide.
Asdis Kristjánsdóttir
Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated? - why complex marketing campaigns are frustrating buyers
Marketing and on-sale campaigns often involve limiting access to tickets. This might be achieved by restricting ticket access by date and time, sales channel, customer segments, access codes, basket rules, the list goes on.
The results can be a mixed bag; some strategies excel, many don’t. The ones that don’t frustrate captive buyers and harm your sales as well as your brand.
This session will debunk some myths associated with high impact marketing campaigns. We’ll present examples of promotions and on-sales that have worked wonders and demonstrate strategies which are alienating buyers and sending them elsewhere.
They’ll be data, they’ll be case studies and they’ll be actionable takeaways.
Ticketing Without a Ticketing System
Ronnie Scott’s, the iconic London jazz club, doesn’t have a ticketing system. Yet they still manage to sell out almost every show, every night of the week. In this case study, led by Ronnie Scott’s digital agency, you’ll find out why a well-established venue would choose to work without a ticketing system — and what you can learn from their unusual approach.
Leveraging Automation to Enhance Customer Relationships
In this session, Kofi Ohene-Djan, marketing manager of Liverpool’s Royal Court and Nick Stevenson, Head of Customer Success at Ticketsolve explore how venues can leverage automation to streamline their day-to-day operations, while also building lasting relationships with their customers. By using targeted and well-timed communication, automation can increase customer retention and frequency of attendance.
They examine practical examples of automation in areas such as ticketing, marketing, and customer service, and discuss how these processes can be customised to meet the unique needs for different organisations. With the right automation tools in place, venues can optimise resources and deliver an exceptional customer experience that keeps audiences coming back for more.
- Exhibition Halls
- 1110 - 1130
Morning Coffee Break
Sponsored by
Concurrent Sessions
11:30am - 12:30pm
The ups and downs of attraction websites. What the 2022 Visitor Attraction Website Report tells us about ticketing
For the first time, digital benchmarks related specifically to websites in the visitor attraction sector have been established. Meaning industry professionals now have an accurate picture of what good looks like across similar websites, allowing for better decision making with genuine insight.
Improving online ticketing with Google Analytics 4 (Repeat Session)
“There’s now a new (better?) version of Google Analytics for us all to get to grips with. But what does an all-singing, all-dancing GA4 setup look like? And how will it help us improve online ticketing experiences and conversion rates?
This session will show off the ideal GA4 setup for a ticket-selling venue. With checklists, examples, and templates for you to take away and use.”
How to invest in innovation and optimising workflows
An international viewpoint on process optimization: How to invest in innovation and optimization instead of rebuilding every few years Staying ahead of the curve in a continuous challenging environment, where everyday processes and workflows can quickly overwork your brain.
In this session we will reflect on new innovations in cross-functional workflow automation, as well as some profound and insightful observations to help you get your eyes on the ball where it concerns audience development, ticketing, organizational and marketing practices.
Welcome to a Cookie-Free World
The growing trend of “cookieless” advertising is steered towards a future where all parties will have the ability to opt out, enabling greater ad transparency and trust by consumers and advertisers. And with Google planning to stop supporting third-party cookies on its Chrome browser by the end of the year, marketeers need to reevaluate spend distribution and measurement of consumer engagement and spending habits.
This presentation by James Dale and Ben Bunce from SINE Digital will cover the essential steps to building a future-proofed performance marketing tech stack and discuss how to prepare for a world without cookies.
- Exhibition Halls
- 1230 - 1330
Lunch
Lunch is served in the Exhibition Hall, with seating is available in the Tessitura Hub, located in Hall 3.
Sponsored by
12:45 - 13:15 Lunch Time Briefing
Register for #TPC2023!
Venue Spaces from just £259+VAT
Concurrent Sessions
1:30pm - 2:00pm
The Fan of the future and how to reach them
How to sell more tickets to the fans of the future
New digital habits and consumption behaviours in 2023 are driving a critical urgency for festivals and events to understand how to engage with fans of the future.
• Why Gen Z is using TikTok over Google and what this means for events
• Perfection fatigue and why lo-fi creative is coming out top
• How to use the power mimetic desire to sell more tickets
Community tickets - reaching new audiences and changing lives
In Spring 2022 Wales Millennium Centre soft-launched a new community ticketing scheme to reach communities who previously would not have even considered attending. This session would explain the scheme, how it can be booked securely online, or in person/phone, the pay-what-you-can aspect, our journey- response from producers, the pitfalls (1 major one), our learnings but most importantly some real-life examples of what this has meant to individuals experiencing theatre for the first time.
Learn why constantly iterating on your website & booking experience is crucial. (Repeat Session)
- We’ll discuss how customer expectations are constantly evolving, and businesses must keep up to avoid falling behind.
- Discover how small, incremental changes can lead to increased revenue, streamlined operations, and improved brand reputation.
- Learn practical tips for gathering proactive feedback and prioritising improvements to enhance the booking experience.
- Plus, we’ll explore the benefits of AB testing to validate iterations and ensure success.
- 1400 - 1410
Travel Time
Concurrent Sessions
2:10pm - 3:10pm
Quick Wins for any Company/venue to Begin or Expand Their Access Journey (Repeat Session)
We’ll cover the basics of access and ways to begin or enhance your access journey. From Venue Guides to Staff Training to Audio Description – we’ve got tips and tricks that you can take back to your company!
Rachel Marks
Relaxed Performance & Processes and Disability Access Consultant
Transforming Tourism – Reimagining The Iconic Sears Tower & Skydeck Chicago (Repeat Session)
Hear how Chicago’s iconic Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) went from a “check the box” attraction into a Trip Advisor Top 10 worldwide attraction.
Details and best practices on Skydeck’s three primary goals – creating and delivering memorable guest experiences, maximizing revenues, and focusing on team morale – will be shared.
Data. Decide. Do!
Wanting to make data driven decisions but don’t know where to start?
Join Kate for a 60 minute workshop, as they introduce the three key elements of data driven decision making: Data, Decide, and Do. Whether your in the data gathering, decision making or doing phase of your work right now, bring along your examples and workshop them using this three phase approach.
Attractions and museum ticking after the pandemic
Join Ella Roberts (Head of Red House, Britten Pears Arts), Linda Spurdle (Digital Development Manager, Birmingham Museums) and Simon Davies (Director, MODE) as they take us through what’s changed and what’s new in attractions and museum ticketing.
Ella will be discussing the changes they’ve made at The Red House in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, the historic home of composer Benjamin Britten and his partner and singer Peter Pears.
Linda and Simon will be telling us about how Birmingham Museums Trust is using Shopify to manage ticketing and other transaction points across the organisation, creating a unified system. They will present where this innovative project is up to, what they’ve learnt along the way and what’s next.
- Exhibition Halls
- 1510 - 1530
Afternoon Coffee Break
Sponsored by
- Hall 3
- 1530 - 1615
'The Recipe for Delivering Excellent Customer Service'
Derek Younger
Director, Sales and Ticketing Services, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington DC
