Live Event Tickets, Subscription-Style

The subscription model has long brought consumers to movie theaters to spend a night out: MoviePass, for all of its recent challenges, has popularized the idea of movie-tickets-as-a-service available to consumers for a monthly fee. And it laid the foundation for kindred-spirit offerings, enabling subscribers to see just about anything, including pro football games and rock concerts.

That is the approach that INWEGO is taking with its subscription offering for live events. The service allows new venues such breweries and event festivals get exposure, while reducing friction in the process of getting live event tickets into the hands of consumers. INWEGO General Manager Chris LeCraw told PYMNTS.com in an interview that the service is “a simple and flexible way to find new things to do in your city and take[s] the hassle of buying tickets and going with friends.”

To see the events available on the platform, consumers can download an app or visit the company’s website for a preview. In order to claim tickets, which are available in a five-day period leading up to an event, consumers tap a button on the app to reserve a spot. So a consumer could visit the app on Wednesday and book a ticket to see a concert on Friday night. In addition, consumers can invite friends to attend an event through the app, as LeCraw said, noting it’s more fun to go to events with other people.

Whether they attend an event alone or with friends, users can check in to a venue on the day of the event in order to retrieve a mobile barcode to serve as a ticket along with a seat location, if the event has reserved seating: “It acts just like any other mobile ticket that gets you into the venue and into your seat,” LeCraw said. He added that the idea behind the system is to make it as seamless as possible for the consumer to get from his or her couch to the place where he or she experiences the action.

Event Venues And Festivals

For event venues, digital ticketing lessens the burden on staff and the front office, LeCraw said. “They don’t have to worry about dealing with paperwork or checking people off a list,” he said. And, while LeCraw said his company has relationships with sports teams and concert venues, it hits the pavement when the firm launches in new markets by meeting with venues and promoters. Its pitch? The service seeks to help get new fans into venues. (LeCraw said that his data suggests that subscribers are open to trying new things.)

What makes a good event venue for the platform? When the company enters a new city — it recently came to Tampa, for instance — it seeks to cover what is new and exciting in the local area. Those types of experiences could include new festivals, comedy clubs and breweries. At the same time, the company works with big professional sports teams as well as colleges for athletic events. The idea, according to LeCraw, is to provide a wide range of contents to appeal to a broad audience.

When it comes to the company’s target market, LeCraw doesn’t think in terms of ages, instead focusing on life stages. In particular, the company thinks of post-college, pre-kids consumers as its target audience. That group, LeCraw said, has some expendable income but still has the flexibility as well as the time to try out new experiences.

To reward this market, and its other customers, the company has a GoRewards program that gives consumers an allotted number of points when they renew their subscription, which they can pay for via credit or debit card. The points can be used for early access to events along with a priority list if tickets become available after the supply of tickets runs out on the platform.

Overall, the subscription business model is gaining ground: 25 percent of consumers have more subscriptions now than six months ago, according to the PYMNTS Subscription Commerce Tracker. At the same time, the U.S. households’ average subscription renewal rate is 85 percent. That shows that consumers are not only singing up for subscriptions like INWEGO — they are likely keeping them, too.