From Rushed Tickets to a Great Success at Sea

The Monash Chinese Culture Club (MCCC) at the Monash University Clayton Campus, took to the sea on their latest membership event, their annual boat cruise. The MCCC and Alumbra Boat Party took place on 13 April, 2012, and was a success.

“Everything went according to plan,” said Melissa Fung. The cruise was the club’s orientation event, the first large event for the year. The purpose was to promote the club’s name to new members and give them an opportunity to meet each other. “The feedback from our members was it was a great cruise,” said Fung.

The club cruised on the Lady Cutler Boat. “Attendees were able to sit and chat in the lounge/bar area, or dance in the upstairs dance floor area,” said Fung. The cruise was followed with an after-party at Alumbra.

Selling the Event

The MCCC used several techniques to promote their event, including emails and posters, but Facebook was at the center of their efforts. “The strategy that worked best was definitely Facebook, as we have a lot of fans on it, and that’s how people were able to find information about the event,” said Fung.

The MCCC set up a table at the University, and sold tickets there. “It was a good system,” said Fung, “However, we did not anticipate the sheer amount of people who were coming to buy tickets, so maybe a few more extra hands would’ve been more helpful.” They used their own design to create custom tickets through TicketRiver’s DYO tool. “It added the extra class to our event as the tickets looked special and with our design as well,” said Fung.

Achieving Goals

The MCCC is a well-established club, having been in existence since 1973. According to their page, the club’s main purpose is “to facilitate student integration through the organisation of events. In turn, the club hopes to enhance our members’ communication, confidence and social integration skills during their life at Monash University.” Social events like the Boat Party are one of the ways they accomplish this goal.

As a social club, the MCCC puts on a lot of events. Fung advises event planners give themselves enough time. “We were quite rushed and left everything last minute,” she said, “Our tickets had to be expressed posted because we had no time to get it done earlier!”

 Super Cute Garden Party for Kids

If you’re wandering around the Tyabb Art and Craft Village on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, you might just see a fairy. Especially if you happened by on 15 April, 2012, when the Buzzy Bee and Lady Bug Kids Garden Party was in full swing.

Fairies In My Garden is a fairy shop owned by Kim Anderson. Featuring fairy giftware, handmade soaps and candles, and other gifts “for the young and young at heart.” In addition to the retail business, Fairies In My Garden also offers fairy and princess tea parties for children. Children dress up and do fun activities and craft projects themed to the party package.

The Buzzy Bee and Lady Bug Kids Garden party was an event to promote a new party package “Buzzy Bees and Lady Bugs,” and provide a morning of fun for children.

The children were instructed to come dressed as their favourite thing from the garden, and they obliged. Some came as fairies, in tutus, wings, and floral garlands. Others came dressed as lady bugs and bumble bees and there was at least one spider. Anderson and her fairy helpers set a lovely table of treats under a tent. The children feasted on cupcakes and biscuits decorated with a buzzy bee and lady bug theme, and other festive fare. The event was held outside, perfect for playing games. “The highlight was just to see the children having fun,” said Anderson, “And the parents’ great feedback makes it all worth on the day.”

Thirty-three children attended the event. They ranged in age from two to eight years old. Anderson promoted the event by word of mouth, and put flyers in the store. She also announced the event on the Fairies in My Garden website, but she did most of her promotion through Facebook. “We would upload new photos of things we were getting, doing for the party,” she said.

Anderson used Ticket River Australia tickets for her party. “The event tickets were fantastic, easy to make online, and made it so much easier to keep track of entry.” She used the tickets for admission, but also creatively used them another way: “The tickets also doubled up as a lucky draw ticket, the kids popped the easy tear off stub into our big red tea cup and two lucky winners were drawn.” 

Anderson notes that time flew by during the party, but “everything ran to plan.” The  children had a lovely time, and the Buzzy Bee and Lady Bug Garden party was a hit. 

Electro Dance Music Promotion: A Sold Out Event

Bombs Away, Wild Nights Tour was hosted in Hobart, Tasmania by Frathouse-NFW Touring and Events on 20 April, 2012. “We tour and host a variety of artists, bands, and festivals around the southern part of the state,” said Adrian Barrett, co-founder of the company. “We are not limited in what type of genres we promote, but believe in bringing quality performances to our patrons.”

Bombs Away, Wild Nights Tour was one of the many tours the company does each year. Bombs Away is an electro dance duo, touring as part of the “Wild Nights 2012” CD launch. “After their fantastic performance at Breath of Life Festival, we had to have them back for a show,” said Barrett. “It was their first time in Hobart and it was a sold out event.”

Sold out events are the goal of many event planners and producers, and Frathouse-NFW Touring and Events used several strategies to make it happen. They got the word out on promoter networks and Facebook, and sold tickets from Ticket River Australia. “We believe in our product, so the biggest thing we need in our tickets is for them [to be] non-copyable,” said Barrett. “We sell them from generally two venues, plus our promoter network. So having that, plus numbers, is a big part to our strategy.”

Events like Bombs Away, Wild Nights Tour can be chaotic, but Barrett found the ticketing straightforward and simple. He found that for this kind of event, physical tickets worked better than online ones. “Us having the tickets in our hands allowed things to go more smoothly than ever before,” said Barrett, noting that it can be hard to manage online tickets with the door list, and allows people who don’t know the event to end up with tickets. “We have used other ticketing companies and found it hard to control what is happening,” said Barrett. He liked the tickets themselves, too. “The tickets are simple but detailed, cost effective, and non-copyable.”

Barrett advises those planning similar events to plan ahead and stay positive. “Write it down, think it through, and on the night don’t panic,” he said, “Positive energy out, positive energy back.”

The sold-out event was a huge success. “[The] floor was bouncing in time to the music!” said Barrett. Frathouse-NFW Touring and Events plans to do more with Bombs Away. “We will be bringing them back later in the year with their live band,” said Barrett.

Fun and Fashion: Image is Everything

Shopnfriends is a group of personal shoppers and image consultants in Perth who specialise in bringing fashion to everyday men and women. The personal style consultants help individuals become “savvy, confident shoppers.”

Making a Difference

Recently, the Shopnfriends consultants held a Fashionista Expo and benefit.

“Our Fashionista Expo was designed to bring our clients, friends, and fans together for an afternoon of fun and fashion,” Janine Davidson, Image Consultant and Proprietor of Shopnfriends told me. “We held Fashion Parade and had stalls and entertainment. It was held at the end of the school holidays, so that the mums could have a break!

“Part proceeds went to the Make a Difference foundation which helps families in need, especially with disabled kids. Numbers were a little down on last year, but all seats were filled.”

Make a Difference is a non-profit organisation, which “aims to raise significant funds through various projects to make a difference to the lives of those in necessitous circumstances, thereby improving the overall quality of life across various Western Australian communities.”

Getting the Word Out

In order to reach potential attendees for the Fashionista Expo, Shopnfriends relied on several methods. They first send out email messages to their current database of customers. They also engaged folks through their Facebook page. Additionally, they relied on some good old fashion signage to direct attendees to the event.

Their methods worked because there was a lot of buzz about the event. The organisers created a “buy 2 get 1 free” special, which “a lot of people took up.”  They also reduced the price of the tickets from $25 to $16 dollars. This was a great price for an afternoon out and the lower price also encouraged more folks to join in.

And What an Afternoon it was!

“The fashion parades are always fun,” Janine said, “but this year we had a wonderful group of ladies from Bellydance Central shake their stuff as the entertainment, so that was exciting. We also had a more spacious venue at the Joondalup Reception Centre, and new stalls, so that there was really something for everyone! Bags to makeup, eyelashes to jeans, bras to vinegars it was all there!”

Though the audience wasn’t aware of it, there were many last minute changes with the models. Behind the scenes it was “organised” chaos, but everything turned out well in the end. The event was a great success.

For those planning similar events, Janine advises, “Give yourself at least 6 weeks to plan the event, and lean heavily on different people to help you with specialised tasks. It is impossible to do it on your own.”

Right on Target for a Perfect Event!

 A good game of darts is a social sport that brings friends together in the spirit of competition. A throwing game, commonly played in pubs, the goal of darts is to get an arrow as close to a specific target as possible.  Whether the goal is fun or professional play, participants have a great time over a game. When you’re charged with hosting a darts championship, you’re sure to have as much fun planning as playing.

Australian Darts Legends Association

In early November, the Australian Darts Legends Association held its annual championship at Central Coast Leagues Club, Gosford NSW. Founded in 1997, after the World Cup, the Australian Darts Legends Association was created for players over the age of 45.

“The Australian Legends Championships had a teams’ event, singles event, doubles event and mixed doubles. Each event was divided into four graded divisions in men’s and in ladies’ events,” Connie Spinks of the Australian Darts Legends Association explained to me.  The championship is a graded competition where players choose to play at their own level. Over 360 players from Australia attended.

A Championship, a Celebration

The Association chose to have tickets professionally printed for this event.  Custom collateral can create a professional feeling and set the tone for an event. Having paper tickets on hand made it easy to distribute them “to the state groups so that the players could attend the opening ceremony and presentation dinner.”

For the current championship, the Association chose to go with one ticket, but upon evaluation, Connie said she felt that it might be beneficial to print tickets of different colors to represent the separate events in the competition.

“The tear off stubs allowed us to have Lucky Draws,” Connie said. This meant the fun and competition didn’t end when the games of darts did. For the championship, “the prizes were trophies in each division for winners and runner up. The lucky door prizes were alcohol and gift sets.”

“The service we received from your Ticket River was excellent. I was amazed at how soon you had the tickets printed and to us. Also, I found it quite easy to design the tickets with your templates.”

[Ticket River] assured people our event was real and attracted even more customers. Tickets get passed around to a lot of different people. If we did not use Ticket River we would have a smaller crowd.

~Marla Hunter, Pretty Like Money

Friday 28^th October, the Hip Hop Halloween 2 Costume Party took place at the Beach House in Garden City. The event was promoted by Pretty Like Money. “Our organization is based in Brisbane. We do night club events based around urban music; we also have merchandise,” Marla told me.

“Our event was a Halloween costume party attracting uni students and urban music lovers looking for a different scene. Unfortunately, we have not branched out into fundraising just yet but hope to do so in the near future.”

For the event, Marla’s team chose the Halloween General Admission Ticket. The black and white ticket features a spooky, haunted mansion with the full moon rising behind it. A freaky font proclaims the title of the event and all its information. With a detachable stub and individual numbering, the ticket makes it easy to keep track of attendees and manage door prizes and raffles.

“We use tickets to create more awareness of our events. We use them to pre-sell and also to give away to people who have not heard of our organization. It is another way to assure our consumer after they have seen posters and posts on the net. They have proven to work very well. We use them for every event.”

Marla and her team recognize the importance of professionally printed tickets and collateral. They lend legitimacy to the event and raise its profile with attendees. The tickets are printed with the event information and the name of the promotion company, so that attendees will remember who created the event. If they have a good time at the original event, attendees are more likely to purchase tickets for others put on by the same organization.

To promote their event, Pretty like Money turned to the web. They used net posters on their website and social networking. Facebook Events allowed the company to share news of the Hip Hop Halloween 2 party with a wide audience.

For those planning similar events, Marla offers this advice, “Stay positive, and stay focused.”

TicketRiver tickets give people the illusion that I’m a big professional outfit.

~ Jimbo, Australia’s Crudest Comedian

When you know you have the talent and the moxie to put on a show, and you want the audience to believe it too, you need to have a professional edge. Entertainer, Jimbo, who describes himself both as Australia’s Crudest Comedian and The Homeless Comedian, has taken that lesson to heart. Professionally printing custom tickets in advance of his shows, he is able to raise his profile with those who come to see them.

“I’m a stand-up comedian who lives on the road touring Outback Pubs. The purpose is to make people laugh!” Jimbo told me. The tickets, in addition to self-marketing, help draw those people in.

For his acts, Jimbo prints the Purple Two Tone General Admission Ticket. Utilising various shades of purple, the ticket features information about each gig. The tickets are individually numbered and feature detachable stubs, which make it easy to keep track of the attendees. Though the ticket design is simple, a custom printed ticket can add an air of legitimacy to any event.

On the road most of the time, Jimbo takes a laid back approach to advertising. “I simply give posters to pubs to put up in their venue and maybe one down at the local shops. If people turn up, I do a show and if not I have a beer with the staff.”

Jimbo travels non-stop through Australia, performing his act along the way. While he’s out to entertain, he’s also out to have a great time. His advice to others pursuing a similar career? “My advice for anyone wanting to do standup comedy in Outback Australia is be prepared for the lean times and the ride of your life.”

]]> http://www.ticketriver.com.au/blog/index.php/event-of-the-week-jimbo-australias-crudest-comedian/feed/ 0 http://www.ticketriver.com.au/blog/index.php/event-of-the-week-professional-womens-wrestling-alliance/ http://www.ticketriver.com.au/blog/index.php/event-of-the-week-professional-womens-wrestling-alliance/#comments Sat, 22 Oct 2011 09:44:16 +0000 admin http://www.ticketriver.com.au/blog/?p=196 Australia’s First and Top All Women’s Wrestling Promotion Shows Us How It’s Done

With these tickets, we feel, upon stepping into our venue for a show, people get the same feeling they get when purchasing a ticket to a major artist/band coming to Australia from overseas. Or for a big stage show. And that is the atmosphere we want to create, and can do so with the tickets at Ticket River.

~James McMath, Professional Women’s Wrestling Alliance

Part show, part sport, full spectacle! When James McMath and the Professional Women’s Wrestling Alliance (PWWA) needed to give their events an extra advantage, they turned to TicketRiver to help them up the ante.

A professional wrestling group based out of New South Wales, the PWWA is the sister organization to Australian’s Professional Wrestling Alliance (PWA). The PWWA is “Australia’s First and top all Women wrestling promotion.” It is one of a kind in New South Wales and features local, national, and international talent.

Determined to promote, plan, and pull off events that draw a crowd and feel truly professional, the PWWA uses online templates to design and print tickets. “Having the Ticket River produced tickets give us an edge on a lot of companies. Originally, we were creating our own tickets, but they didn’t look right,” James told me.

For an event this past September, the PWWA chose, the Pink Image General Admission Ticket. The two color ticket features pink and black as part of its design, making it perfect for the all ladies wrestling event. There is also space for the PWWA logo. The ticket has individual numbering and a detachable stub, which are great for tracking attendees.

“The biggest highlight [of this event] would have been the main event match, which was a match pitting three women against each other, Jessie McKay from Campbelltown, NSW, Nicole Matthews from Vancouver, Canada and reigning PWWA and SHIMMER Champion Madison Eagles. These three contested against one another for the SHIMMER Championship, an international championship being defended for the first time ever outside of North America. It was an outstanding match and had the audience in attendance give them all a standing ovation following the conclusion.

How did PWWA attract such a great audience for this event? First they look to their existing customers. “We sell tickets to events at each event we hold. PWA Australia holds one show per month, first Friday of every month (unless stated otherwise) at the Liverpool Masonic Centre in Liverpool. At these shows, you can purchase tickets at a reduced rate for a show upcoming.

“We also sell tickets at the door, with a higher purchase rate. We target those already attending our events, and possibly wanting to bring a friend who may not have experienced Australian Wrestling before, and thus encourage pre-buying the tickets rather than at the door. Pre-buying the tickets also guarantees a seat, as we will reserve seats under the name of the buy upon purchase.” James explained to me.

Presales of tickets at a discount rate have a couple of advantages. Ticket buyers are excited to purchase tickets at a lower cost, and event organizers can better gauge attendance before the event.

To promote its events, the PWWA uses a number of different methods, including “posters and hand out fliers to draw the initial attention of the local surrounding areas to where we will be holding events. On top of that, Facebook and Twitter along with other social networking is great for internet media attention. Alongside, we also produce videos that go on our official YouTube account to promote the shows, featuring the wrestlers themselves speaking about upcoming bouts.”

James advises, “”Make sure to target the correct audience for these kind of events. Do not promote just in one field, experiment with them all.”

And his advice is solid! The event in September “went off without a hitch! We pulled in a stronger audience than originally thought coming to the date, and were very pleased with the entire show.”

When it comes to planning an event and ensuring strong attendance, consider the advice of Shane Herbertson of the Learmouth Football and Netball Club:

“Get the tickets out early. Professional looking tickets are a good selling point.”

On 6 August, Shane’s organization held an annual ball for its members. “We’re a football/netball club and each year we have a ball where everyone gets a bit dressed up and has a bit of a party. [It's] good for team morale to have these events,” Shane explained.

For the Annual Ball, Shane’s team had tickets professionally printed by TicketRiver. They chose the “Yellow Image General Admission Ticket.” The ticket is true to its name, incorporating the color yellow with black text and a white background. The ticket has space for an image, and Shane’s team chose to use the logo of a swan.

The tickets included all the important details of the event. Each general admission ticket was individually numbered with a detachable stub, and this came in very handy for the Annual Ball. “We were able to use the numbered ticket stubs as a means to draw a door prize. [This] saved issuing additional door prize tickets. Counting up how many people were there was easy,” Shane told me.

In the case of Learmouth Football and Netball Club having tickets professionally printed paid off. The general admission tickets served several important purposes. This can be a take-away for any organization planning a similar event. Sequentially numbered tickets with detachable stubs provide a secure way to track attendees, and they can serve a dual purpose. If you’re planning a draw as an additional attraction, attendees can use their stubs to claim prizes. Additionally, a high quality ticket bearing the logo of the team or organisation provides a tangible, branded image for attendees.

As for selling the tickets, Sean’s team took a laid back approach. “Ads around the club and word of mouth,” were the basis of the sales strategy. “[We] had good numbers there, so I guess it worked out ok,” Shane said.

For Shane and his team, the highlights of the event were a “relaxed atmosphere, food and drinks, music.” “Not having to clean the place the next day,” also made the list.

With professionally printed tickets in the party portfolio, a well planned event and a stress free venue, it sounds like the Learmouth Football and Netball Club’s Annual Ball was a real success!

When you buy a ticket and look at it for the month or so before the show, it is the face of the show; the first image of the show. It’s the first thing they connect with. It has to portray the image the right way.

~Alex Risby, Businessman’s Boxing

On 4 August, Alex Risby’s organization hosted the Businessman’s Boxing event at the Ivy Room. “I hold a corporate boxing event to raise money for a charity and to give myself added income,” he told me. “It also provides a service where ‘slightly ego-driven’ competitive corporate ‘doers’ can have a go in the ring — and have their friends, clients and family support them.

“At the same time I use the opportunity to raise money for a charity. It’s a good deed and many businesses out there love to help when the opportunity is put to them.”

How does Alex sell tickets for the event? He has a very coordinated plan: “I create a few flyers using a graphic designer and campaign, firstly, for fighters by email. I then do the same, once I have the fighters, who I train mostly myself, as a qualified boxing coach, to sell tickets and present the show. I email them to about 300 people and they pass them on. I book a ritzy Sydney location — Ivy Ball Room — and create tickets to give to people once they buy them.”

For the event, Alex chose the colorful General Concert Ticket, which features a pair of images of the event’s logo as well as information about the event. The ticket has a detachable stub and features individual numbering, so it is easy to keep track of guests and sales.

“I get the fighters to sell tickets to their friends, family and clients. I find that there are some guys who pull an amazing interest and some who pull only a few. But it balances out to fill the room. I also put an ad in a magazine for sales. But mostly it’s the fighters who sell the tickets.”

“The highlight to me is the fundraising. I get a ‘hero page’ created, and as we spend the three months training, we alert people as to what’s going on, and they can donate money online to that fighter as they please.

“On our previous show, we raised $62,000 for the Humpty Dumpty Foundation. Amazing.” The Humpty Dumpty Foundation provides support for children in hospitals and health centres across Australia.

“The fights are great to watch too and usually, for the crowd, the highlight is watching their friend/colleague fighting for the good cause.”

For those planning a similar event, Alex advises, “Be methodical. Stay ahead of the tasks. Don’t rely on other people. Know what you need and check everything off. Remain well managed so you can sleep at night.

“Be honest with everyone.”

How did Ticket River’s products help to enhance the Businessman’s Boxing event? “The tickets are part of the Brand.The show, the event, the tickets, the meals, drinks, service and quality of product are paramount. The venue is very swish. I have to stay on top of the crowd so the tickets have to be iconic…as small a factor as a ticket is, it is a very important one I believe.”