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sports technology cornerUpgrading (and Upselling)from the Cheap SeatsIn-venue seat-upgrade apps have emerged. These applications provide fans more controlover their game experience, and teams more opportunities to capture dataand upsell ticket packages.By Trevor Allison, Ticket Sales ProfessionalQuick HitsSeat-upgrade applicationscreate a market for a team’sdistressed inventory through useof mobile apps which can only beaccessed by fans that are already inattendance at the game.The value of next-level seatsis more tangible in-house than it ison any seat map. Upgrades are theideal impulse purchase.Most companies havea price-share model with theteams, and there is no costto get started.The Golden State Warriorshave had over 300 fans thathave logged on to their appduring this season.Everyone’s been there before: you take a look at the calendar,find the perfect game to attend with your buddies,and put together the entire grandiose night, only to findout that your seats don’t exactly match your expectations.There was a time when that situation might ruin yourentire experience. But that isn’t the case anymore.Over the course of the past few years, a ticket applicationmarket has emerged which ranges across the board fromticket sales to paperless ticketing. One particular segment ofthe ticket application market that has been gaining tractionrecently is in-venue seat-upgrade apps.The idea of such applications is to create a market for ateam’s distressed inventory on a particular night at its venuethrough use of mobile application(s) which can only be accessedby fans that are already in attendance at that night’sgame. This is a particularly interesting space for teams, as itprovides an opportunity for both single game buyers as well asseason ticket holders to sit in seats that they may have neverthought they could attain.According to Nick Young, the President of Second Seats,the model relates to what the airline industry has been usingfor several years now to offer upgraded seat options forpassengers. “Airlines have focused relentlessly on pricing andcustomer loyalty because the margins are so low and the competitionis so fierce,” Young explains. “In the last few years,similar pain points have emerged in live sports and entertainment,and we’ve seen similar innovation.”The average purchasing decision for tickets to a game orconcert is made from a desk in between calls and emails atwork or from a laptop on the couch in between episodes ofSportsCenter. That is far from the case when using apps likePogoseat and the aforementioned Second Seats.According to Young, “The upgrade market exists becausethe value of next-level seats is more tangible in-house thanit is on any seat map. Throw in the sunk cost of the originaltickets, limited inventory, clear competition from other fans, alimited sales window, and the ease of mobile, and it’s a prettyclear picture: upgrades are the ideal impulse purchase.”Clearly, ticket upgrading is far more tangible than the initialticket buying process. In many cases, a fan can literally seethe seats that they are looking to purchase from their originalseats. And the product is not only simple for the consumer,it is a rather painless transition for the team or venue to getstarted as well.According to Evan Owens, Founder of Pogoseat, there’s asimple four-step process for a team to get activated into usingtheir application during their games. “The first step is todesign a unique seating map into our cloud-based system tocorrelate with the team or venue seating map,” says Owens.“Once the seating map is designed, we build the inventory andpricing set up. From there, it’s as easy as training the ushersand implementing a marketing plan in the arena.”Most of the companies in this market have even taken to aprice-share model with the teams, so there is literally no costto get started. When you combine the low cost to the teamwith the impressive accessibility that cloud-based systems offer,it’s pretty clear that this market has huge growth potential.Implementation has gone well for the teams that haveopted to begin using a seat-upgrade application. For example,the Golden State Warriors have partnered with Pogoseat forthis 2012-13 NBA season. According to Owens, the Warriorshave had over 300 fans that have logged on to their app duringany given game this season, and approximately 40 fans pergame are actually upgrading their seats.While the 40 seat upgrades may seem marginal from arevenue standpoint, the data that can be captured from thesetransactions proves valuable. Once fans upgrade their seats, theirinformation is plugged into the team’s Ticketmaster (Archtics)system and CRM system as well. This creates a golden opportunityfor a team sales representative to approach this customerabout purchasing season tickets, or if they are already a seasonticket holder, upgrading their current season ticket plan.Sports teams aren’t the only viable market for these applicationseither. Expect to see seat-upgrade apps make a big splashin the concert and touring events industry as well.Pogoseat has already secured a partnership with Ticketmasterand Live Nation to support concerts in venues acrossthe country, while Second Seats has been partnering with theWWE.“Second Seats is bullish on our growing partnership withWorld Wrestling Entertainment and the product we’ve builtfor the touring space,” says Young. “The upgrading setup ontour has more moving parts, but fans respond well becauseeach show has that one-night-only type of buzz.” #Are you interested in learning more about seat-upgrade apps?Write to Trevor at trevor.allison@yahoo.com.86 | S E A T | www.alsd.com | #SEATWinter2013