Paper tickets, PDF tickets, these are largely anonymous. That’s why we leverage Presence and Ticketmaster’s latest tools to go mobile only entry. [With Presence, we] turn that anonymous fan into a known fan so that we can provide better service for them and we can better understand them.
Matthew Jafarian
EVP of Business Strategy, Miami Heat
Challenge
Launched in 1988, the Miami Heat has been a staple for Florida basketball fans since its inception. With roots in Downtown Miami, loyal fans come back time and time again to experience the vibrant Heat fandom. Striving to better connect with their fans, the Heat were on the lookout for a new way to identify customers arriving at the arena on gameday; an insight that was not possible to capture with paper tickets alone.
Solution
The Heat opted to end paper ticketing entirely by partnering with Ticketmaster to create a seamless experience for fans. By adopting Ticketmaster’s Presence® – the next generation venue access control and fan engagement platform that replaces paper tickets with digital passes, they saw it as an opportunity to discover new insights on how to reach more fans and drive revenue. Since its 2017 inception, Presence has streamlined countless back-office operations while also providing real-time insights that allow organizations to better understand, protect and engage with fans.
Since integrating Presence, the Heat has been provided much greater visibility into the fans in the arena, in addition to the original ticket purchaser. Because each ticket is connected to the original purchaser’s Ticketmaster account, If a ticket changed hands with ticket transfer, the Heat was able to see this chain of custody, uncovering how and when fans transfer tickets. In doing so, they successfully were able to identify new-to-file fans and gain a better understanding of fan behavior. By utilizing digital ticketing, the Heat was able to win both on and off the court.
Results
Following their adoption of Presence, the Heat has captured new fan intelligence allowing the team to engage with more fans in meaningful, one-on-one experiences, while protecting fans from ticket fraud. With the fan data they’ve gained from Presence, the Heat has been able to use those insights to drive more informed business decisions – leading to a 30 percent increase in ticket sales year over year.
