Can Attractions Provide An Alternative To The Ticket Souvenir?
Almost everybody has one.
It may be a vintage trunk, a beautiful wooden box with your name carved into it, or it might just be an old shoebox. Some lie under beds or at the back of wardrobes. Others sit proudly on coffee tables and bookshelves.
They are, of course – memory boxes – and though they may look different and be kept in different places, many of them will contain the same sorts of precious yet seemingly pointless objects.
Memory boxes are mostly made up of trinkets, collectables and items that stir memories. Some will be filled with festival wristbands, photo booth photo strips, tacky travel tokens from far-away adventures and attractions flyers. I would guess though – in fact, I’d put money on it – that every memory or keepsake box has at least one ticket in.
You book a seat on a plane, a gallery exhibition, a festival, a museum trip, a day at the zoo, a sporting event, a concert or a tour around a historic house or tourist attraction. You take the step, part with your cash and decide to go for it – life is all about experiences anyway, right? Then you receive your ticket, perhaps via email or maybe by post, and the excitement begins to build. The ticket is a reminder of where you’re going.
At some point though, that same ticket will become a reminder of where you’ve been.
Sometime after the ticket has been used it will likely be flung/placed/slipped into a memory box and every few years or so you’ll riffle through it, perhaps with a loved one, pick it up and say, ‘I remember that!’ Or, if your memory is anything like mind, it will help recall memories that had faded away with time. You’ll travel back there, you’ll remember the experience with fondness and you may even resolve to go again. Whether you do or not doesn’t matter so much because every time you see that ticket you will remember, and memories are important.
And yet, as we fall deeper and deeper into the digital era, these mementoes are becoming fewer and fewer.
Digital tickets are replacing physical tickets and there’s a lot that’s good about that. After all, that’s one less thing to remember when you leave the house. Yet, digital tickets don’t make the memory box. Even if you’re someone who prints them off, they’re – well – they’re not the same. They’re paper instead of card. They have boring black QR codes instead of shiny silvery holograms. You won’t even get that little tear through them to show that they’ve been checked by the doorperson.
Digital ticketing is not a phase, that’s for sure. Most suppliers shake their heads at attraction clients who ask about paper ticketing options – I’ve seen it, and I agree with it. But what is the future of digital ticketing? How can attractions ensure the experience is still memorable for visitors for years after, without the ticket souvenir to remind them? Can ticketing suppliers bring back the sentimental touch somehow? And what will we be putting in our memory boxes instead?
Are Digital Tickets Better Than Physical Tickets?
Digital ticketing has solved many problems. There’s no need for visitors to have a printer or to worry about tickets being delivered to them on time. Since we’re already leaving our house with our phones, there’s nothing extra to remember. No need to worry about forgetting the tickets.
Ticket queues are also generally faster since digitisation. Scanning is quicker and venues can calculate in real-time how many people have entered an attraction which can make it safer, especially in terms of music concerts and other events where capacity needs to be monitored. The process is not always simple though. Technology is incredible but sometimes unreliable and when this happens there isn’t always an expert on hand to help.
Years before I worked in attractions and then as a ticketing consultant, I worked in the pub trade. Whenever we worked out the shift timetable there was always one golden rule – at any time there had to be someone on staff who could change a barrel. You see, if a beer ran out, you had to have someone able to change a barrel and not everyone had been trained to do that.
Now, if your digital ticket fails to scan, is there always someone on the door able to deal with technology failures? Not necessarily. When relying on digital ticketing there has to be a plan if things go wrong. The potential issues that can occur with ticketing failures can lead to significant problems, as highlighted by the Liverpool FC vs Real Madrid Cup game at the Stade de France. Aside from the poor management and planning of this event, much of the congestion also stemmed from fraudulent tickets and scanning issues.
If a ticket fails to scan there needs to be an accessible system a member of staff can access at speed to check if a ticket is valid. Especially since there is also a rising problem with fake digital tickets. Particularly in the world of football.
Ticketgum reports that over the course of a football season, an average of 80 to 100 forged tickets are seized per game and most people appeared to have no idea their ticket wasn’t genuine. Ticket forgery has always been an issue but digital tickets are easier to forge.
However, advances in technology are on track to fix this. Blockchain technology, for instance, can provide a register and enable quick and secure verification checks. Furthermore, this technology enables customers access to see previous owners of tickets and track resale prices to ensure they’re not being scammed. Therefore, digital ticketing, as it advances, should provide increased protection for customers and confine sellers to conduct resales within fair parameters, as agreed by the original issuer.
Another potential issue with digital tickets though, is they need a device to be stored on. Whilst phones have amazing capabilities and many of us are using our phones for multiple functions, including to pay with, the battery can only go so far. Furthermore, the need for a smartphone to access a ticket presents an accessibility issue, otherwise known as the digital gap. Assuming that consumers have smartphones overlooks a section of society that may not have access to or be able to use such devices. Not having a second option may present an accessibility problem and for some attractions, this may impact who can visit.
Environmentally, digital tickets come out on top. Although, it is easy to forget that there is a carbon footprint with every digital transaction too so it may be worth considering whether every email you send post-booking is entirely necessary or if there can be fewer. Furthermore, there are still many people who choose to print out their digital tickets anyway so in some cases digital tickets can increase the carbon footprint. Though of course carbon emissions and costs are saved in postage.
Generation Z And Digital Tickets
When looking to the future, it’s essential to look at the wants and needs of the upcoming generations. Tech-savvy Gen Z are generally far more able to access information on their phones. However, despite their reputation, studies have shown that Gen Z have the desire to switch off on occasion.
A survey by UK-based media company, Full Fat, found that 89% of Generation Z consider the actual experience more important than collecting images to post on social media. This may be why no-phone festivals and music events seem to be becoming more popular. Phone pouches are even being provided at certain events to enable attendees to fully immerse themselves in the experience. This shouldn’t affect the use of digital ticketing as such though it is worth considering that this trend may well spend through the attractions industry too.
How Can Attractions Provide An Alternative To The Ticket Souvenir?
There is no doubt that physical mementoes enable people to preserve memories. So if it really is the end of the physical ticket then attractions may want to consider offering an alternative. Photo opportunities, such as staged areas for picture taking are a good alternative but many photos never leave the digital space. Photo booths or polaroids provide a solution as visitors are then able to leave with a photograph to remind them of their experience. Fabric wristbands often find their way into memory boxes as do guides, leaflets, programmes and flyers.
Providing items suitable for a memory box is a form of remarketing. They are a reminder of the experience and therefore may well encourage visitors to return in the future, or else recommend an attraction to friends and family.
Top Tips For Attractions Using Digital Ticketing
- Consider accessibility and ensure visitors can present tickets at the door without a smartphone, if necessary
- Ensure there is a system and a trained member of staff should a digital ticket fail to scan and need checking manually
- Work with the right ticket supplier and get in touch for help with ticketing software procurement
- Consider other souvenirs and tokens that can provide an alternative physical reminder of the experience for visitors/attendees
- Ensure you’re using the data provided through digital ticketing to remarket and continue to engage with former customers
Is your digital ticketing software working for you? Maybe you’re not sure you’re making the most of your service or perhaps you’re wondering if another technology provider may be better able to fulfil your requirements. Evaluating your software can be a difficult process and procurement is an even more demanding feat. Maybe I can help?
Rework are experts in shortlisting, selecting and implementing the right technology and establishing productive partnerships between attractions and ticketing providers.
Get in touch to find out more about how we can assist you.
