TOP TIPS FOR SELLING FAMILY EVENT TICKETS

With the summer holidays fast approaching, parents and grandparents are looking for ideas for great days out to keep the children entertained…which makes it the perfect time to promote your family event.

But, in a crowded market, how can you encourage prospective visitors to buy tickets?

With over 40 years’ experience hosting some of the world’s biggest family events like Disney on Ice, Insomnia Gaming Festival, WWE live, the World’s Biggest Panto and Dinosaurs in the Wild, we know a thing or two about hosting and promoting show-stopping family events.

Here are a few of our top tips for selling family events:

Getting the message right

- Adapt your messaging - key features or benefits may mean more to different people in the family. If you are targeting parents, you will need to adopt very different messaging to activity aimed at the children (and the channels to reach them are likely to be very different).

- One tone of voice doesn’t always fit all. Adapt your tone and language to drive engagement with specific audiences. BUT…don’t try to be something you’re not – think about your event brand. If your message is off brand or loaded with too much humour or text speak it will make your audience cringe!

- Don’t forget the grandparents! Often a childcare saviour, they can be looking for ideas to keep children entertained.

Think about the content – what do your audience need to know?

- Make sure you give your buyers all the information they need to make a decision.  A family purchase can be perceived to be an extravagance and they will need to make an informed decision. Provide the key details up front and remember that they may need multiple prompts before purchasing.

- Also, don’t forget, when you’re looking after children planning is everything. Make sure you provide all of the information visitors need to plan their day – clear directions, times, whether there is parking or proximity to public transport, food and drink offer, facilities on site etc.

Converting the sale

- Ensure your artwork and creative is engaging. It needs to sell the experience, not just the product.

- Make sure how to buy is prominent and easy – don’t make your audience work too hard, they have a hundred and one other things to do.

- Provide options for purchasing – not everyone wants to purchase online!

- Be aware of price sensitivity – when pricing tickets consider the overall cost to the family, not just an individual.

And of course...don't forget to track results with attribution modelling – you may not see direct conversion from specific activity, but it doesn’t mean customers aren’t purchasing. They may just need to think about it for a little longer and then go on to purchase later.

For more information on family events at the NEC, Barclaycard and Genting Arena visit: www.theticketfactory.com