Ticketmaster continually seeks ways to enhance the fan experience and provide clients with innovative entry options at their venue. Ticketmaster clients across the United States have begun implementing Wicket’s authentication technology for ticketing, payments, credentialing and access control.
Wicket, a privacy-first facial authentication platform provider, offers several key benefits, including security, fast and simple deployment, and a seamless integration with Ticketmaster.
During the 2024 college football season, the University of Florida introduced Wicket at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to improve the entry process for students. The pilot program was a resounding success, significantly reducing wait times and leading to hundreds of opt-ins for the program. In this article, we explore how Florida effectively used Wicket’s capabilities during its two-game pilot program to get fans through the gates faster.
CASE STUDY: UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
Onboarding
For Ticketmaster clients, getting started with Wicket is easy, as the technology seamlessly integrates through the Nexus Partner Program. With numerous successful deployments in collegiate and professional sports, Wicket offers a comprehensive program that educates teams on the product and equips them with best practices for promoting the service and encouraging fan enrollment.
Free, Fast and Easy
As a secure form of ticketing, Wicket makes enrollment straightforward for fans:
- Fans log in to their Ticketmaster account to connect with Wicket
- Fans upload a selfie and opt in to Wicket’s authentication program
- Tickets are linked to the fans’ biometrics, and they are now ready for faster entry on game day
Wicket offers numerous benefits, but Florida emphasized the one that resonates most with fans — skipping lines.
Florida promoted its Express Entry lane through a dedicated landing page highlighting the three key benefits for fans — free, fast and easy. The landing page also provided educational content for fans and instructions for which gate to enter on gameday. Florida continued communicating this “Skip the Line” selling point through email campaigns and additional on-site signage.
Implementation — Getting Fans Through the Gates
The marketing campaign was a success! Now, Florida needed to implement the Wicket devices at the stadium gates. The devices were customized to showcase the Florida Gators brand, and signage was strategically placed around the stadium to direct fans to the correct entrance.
I saw a lot of people do it and go ‘Wow, that was easy.’ For me, it’s a no-brainer to solve a problem that fans are most vocal about.”
Mike Castle
Associate Athletics Director, University of Florida
The signage also included QR codes that directed students to enroll for facial ticketing. During the second game of the pilot program, the onsite signage contributed to over 300 students enrolling before entering Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, demonstrating that these fans saw the benefit and were ready to get in the stadium faster.
Results
The Express Entry Program was a resounding success for the University of Florida. In just two games, over 800 students enrolled, and 735 tickets were scanned through the Express Entry lanes with zero opt-outs.
In addition to providing a great experience for fans, participants in the program were able to enter the stadium four times faster than before, creating a home-field advantage for the team on the field as more fans were in the stadium at kickoff.
Ticketmaster makes it seamless for us to innovate our entry solutions through partnerships with companies like Wicket. We’re excited about how well our pilot program went in 2024 and looking forward to expanding our use of Wicket at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium and other venues.”
Mike Castle
Associate Athletics Director, University of Florida
The University of Florida plans to build on this success by implementing the Express Entry lanes for all games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium during the 2025 college football season. Wicket will also be introduced at other University of Florida athletic events in the near future.
How Ticketmaster Clients Can Leverage Wicket
Ticketmaster clients can integrate with Wicket through the Nexus Partner Program. To get started with Wicket, please reach out to your Ticketmaster representative.
Not a current Ticketmaster client but want to learn more about our services and partnership? Get in touch with us here.
