English National Opera (ENO), based at the London Coliseum in the heart of London’s West-End, is one of the world’s largest opera companies, providing an annual programme of opera, from popular classics, and operetta, through to more contemporary work and rarely-performed musicals.
To boost attendance at its shows, ENO wanted to communicate last-minute ticket offers. To do so, it turned to Textlocal’s simple online service to text customers with offers and information about forthcoming performances. “We were looking to mitigate any short-term sales downturn by maximising the value from unsold ticket inventory,” says ENO marketing manager, Jonathan Broad.
The SMS service has performed above expectations for ENO. “Looking at the last two campaigns, we spent a total of just over £500 on text credits, which yielded £8,000 gross profit,” notes Broad, adding that the Textlocal service appeals, since there is no contract or tie-in, while the online dashboard and functionality is intuitive, extremely simple and easy to navigate.
Textlocal says that other theatres could use SMS in a similar way to text contacts on their database with updates of all forthcoming shows, giving recipients the opportunity to book while there is still availability. For shows where there is a high level of availability, a text with a ticket discount will drive last-minute bookings and help sell empty seats.
To build the database, Textlocal advises businesses to offer customers the opportunity to subscribe to the text alert system when they buy tickets online or over the phone. An inbound number can also be printed on all print material, posters and the website, giving people the opportunity to opt-in for text alerts on forthcoming productions. Finally, says Textlocal, theatres, cinemas and other ticket-dependent businesses can use SMS to text barcodes and tickets for entry to shows.
For more information, discover how business SMS for entertainment and leisure can work for your organisation.
http://www.mobilemarketingmagazine.com/content/going-song