June 14, 2011

CABMA General Session: “Identifying Incremental Revenue and Cost Savings”

On the second day of the 2011 CABMA Convention, topics ranging from compliance to social media strategies echoed throughout the World Center Marriott Resort in Orlando, Florida. Paciolan hosted a general session this afternoon on how athletics business managers can help their departments increase revenue and capitalize on cost savings, specifically when it comes to ticket sales. The panel included Paciolan Founder Jane Kleinberger, as well as Elsie Kuresa, Paciolan client partner, Matt Kautz, Paciolan social media and consumer marketing strategist and Ben Zierden, assistant athletics director for ticket sales and operations at Florida State.

Given the current state of the economy, the topics set forth in the session seemed to resonate with CABMA members, as the panel presented to a standing room-only crowd. “We want to bring you some compelling ideas that you can take back and put to real use. Our goal is to touch each and every one of you with at least one idea that will either raise revenues or streamline expenses,” stated Kleinberger. The three topics included online ticket sales strategies, correlating ticket sales with social media and overall ticketing industry trends.

The first example of successful revenue increase was a reverse parking auction, implemented by the University of Hawaii. The University hosted an online auction for premium parking spots to its season ticket holders and donors. With a well-executed and well-communicated plan the University increased revenue by $200,000. A cost savings idea came in the form of using an e-check for online ticket purchases, instead of the typical credit card transaction because credit card transaction fees are significantly higher. With ticketing becoming more digital with each passing season, any form of savings on the part of the institution could be significant. Another favorite idea for increasing revenue and selling the hard-to sell tickets was the creative ticket packaging. For example, packaging a high demand game ticket with multiple hard-to-sell game tickets to increase overall sales.

Social media strategies to increase revenue include sponsorship opportunities on Facebook. Many institutions have a significant number of fan traffic to their Facebook pages, making it a perfect spot for a sponsorship placement. This can not only increase athletics revenue, but foster new sponsorship opportunities and web traffic.

Finally, industry trends were provided by Florida State Assistant Athletics Director for Ticket Sales and Operations, Ben Zierden. Florida State recently implemented a partnership with StubHub to generate revenue and fill stadiums with tickets that might otherwise not be used. Zierden’s team has also had success using social media to engage fans, while dispersing news and information in a personalized and quick fashion.

Stay tuned for more NACDA & Affiliates Convention recaps throughout the week.