Innovation in Ticket Sales

Introduction

Over the last ten years, various coaches and administrators of college athletics have been lamenting about a decline of the fan (students) attendance. According to Guerra, (2015), in the last five years, college athletics have experienced this trend at an alarming rate. He adds that students’ attendance at school sporting events has reduced significantly. Guerra (2015) noted that few numbers of students were attending home games while some who attend the events could be seen leaving the pitch even before a match was over. Statistics shows that since 2009, students’ attendance to sporting events particularly college athletics has declined by 7.1%. Different researchers have come up with various reasons to explain the reason why this trend was being experienced.

Through the various researches, it has been established that fewer ticket sales are the leading factor that contributes to a decline in fan attendance to sporting events in colleges. On the other hand, there have been a couple of factors which have led to fewer tickets being availed to the fans. Some of these factors include poor communication, technology (lack of internet access), behaviors (such as overcommitment in academics and overdependence on television sets), ticket prices, lengths of games and the quality of opponents (Guerra, 2015). Therefore, this article will present a more innovative approach that would increase ticket sales which on the other hand would result in a rise in fan attendance to collegiate athletics. 

Problem Statement

In present moments, there has been a devastating trend in college athletics. Notably, collegiate athletics has been experiencing a decrease in student attendance. For instance, National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) indicated that in the United States, there had been a reduction in students’ attendance to sporting events since 2009. The report notes that from 2013 to 2014 an estimated 2% decline in students’ attendance was realized. In another report, Guerra (2015) reported that since 2009, a 7.1% reduction in attendance to sporting events by students was accomplished. Apparently, with this data, it is clear that a decline in fan attendance is the primary hurdle collegiate athletics was facing in recent moments.

In modern days, it has become increasingly difficult to sell tickets. This is caused by certain issues such as technology, extensive use of TVs, quality of the opponents, and certain behaviors. Another factor is the quality of the game. Notably, many fans prefer attending to games of high intensity. As such, when their teams are playing against a lowly ranked team, they will often fail to attend to such matches since they already have a perception that they have won the game. Of essence, fans need to be made aware that attending to sporting events renders institutions healthy financially. Financial health implies that the school can support a particular sporting activity as well as initiate other new sports to meet the vast needs if the students.

Sporting events such as football have helped many universities to generate remarkable revenues. For instance, in 2012-2013, University of Texas was able to generate $81,475,191 from football. During that period, University of Michigan, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma generated $58,413,817, $51,269,043, $49,115,734, $47,102,381, $45,975,874 and $45,114,081 respectively. Others such as Louisiana State, Auburn, and Ohio State universities generated $48,453,532, $38,786,294 and $38,146,741 respectively from football in 2012-2013 period. In the last decade, many colleges have been facing difficulty in attending to their budgets and athletic funding programs. Some institutions have also been forced to terminate their sporting activities due to lack of finances to support them. Such adversities are as a result of a decline in students’ attendance to sporting events (Ho & Jiang, 2006). As such, it is imperative to establish mechanisms that would guarantee increased ticket sales. This is important since it will ensure that enough revenue is generated to sustain the various sporting activities. 

Theoretical Framework

Best Practices

In order to improve the sales of tickets, different practices need to be adopted. First, it is imperative for the fans to be connected to the game. Notably, the management can use different approaches to ensure that the fans are attached to the sport. First, they ma target the audience (fans) directly by assessing their lifestyle, areas of residence and the frequency in which they attend the various gaming activities. This information is important since it will help in restructuring the manner in which the tickets are availed to suit the lifestyles of the potential audience. Second, the management can ensure that the fans are remembered in many aspects. In that respect, the management can organize festival or rather events that involve the fans and the team. This will help in building an interpersonal relationship between the players and the fans. Another important practice is to embrace social media. Notably, social media is one of the ways in which the fans can connect exclusively with the players. Such connections will nurture the zeal to attend to a sporting event. 

Stakeholder Theory

Under the stakeholder theory, the management is required to take into consideration the interests of the various stakeholders. The interested parties in this regard refer to a group of persons who can affect or be affected with the objectives of a corporation (Polite, Waller, Trendafilova, & Spearman, 2011). In athletic sports, they include investors, the fans, suppliers, community, and the suppliers among others. In that regards, the theory assumes that in any given sport, the management decisions have a direct impact on the fans and it ought to be considered from different angles. As such, this model ensures that the overlaps that exist between the management and social (fans) responsibility of a particular sport are examined in depth (Covell, 2005). 

Therefore, sports play a crucial role since it acts as a mechanism through which corporate social responsibility is deployed (Polite, Waller, Trendafilova, & Spearman, 2011). It provides insight into the social responsibilities and their effects on a sporting activity. Essentially, the important area is the point where these responsibilities interact with the revenues generated by corporations. Notably, sports form a means through which the social and economic gaps in the society can be traversed. It also creates an opportunity for improving the quality of life. Of essence, it enables institutions to operate profitably thereby becoming self-sustainable.

Notably, this model has founded o two main questions (Polite, Waller, Trendafilova, & Spearman, 2011). First, it inquires about the role of the corporation. On this aspect, the stakeholder theory encourages that manager to ensure that they nurture and work in close collaboration with the various stakeholders. In so doing, the management will be able to perform remarkably in terms of ensuring that fans attend to sporting activities on the pitch. Importantly, it ensures that the financial success of the institution is realized. Second, the theory seeks to understand the responsibility or rather the role that the management have over the various stakeholders. Under this question, the stakeholder theory requires the managers to have insight on the relationships they desire to create with the stakeholders (Polite, Waller, Trendafilova, & Spearman, 2011). 

Demand and Supply

As aforementioned, there is the issue of fans failing to attend games or rather sporting activity due to increased prices or the quality of the match (Bouchet, Ballouli & Bennet, 2011). In such instances, it is imperative for the management to understand how it is pricing the tickets for the various games. This may see the prices of very competitive games shooting up slightly and those of less competitive games going down slightly. Typically, when the demand is high, the prices are also expected to go high as opposed to when the demand is low (Popp, 2014). A competitive game is an example of a case where demand is high. This may lead to an increase in ticket price to help the institution cater for the fewer revenues generated in less competitive games (low demand). 

Results and Discussions

The results obtained herein suggest that there is a significant decline of fans (students) attendance in athletic sports in institutions. Various literature materials have suggested that the reduction in ticket sales is the reason why this decrease is apparent. Some of the issues noted include technology. Technology if used appropriately can influence sporting activities positively. However, with the technological divide that is evident in most parts of the global, it becomes hard for some people to gain access to vital information (Wanless & Judge, 2014). Apparently, there is the broad adoption of technology in present times. As such, most institutions sell their tickets electronically. Regressively, some individuals may lack the means to access such tickets, or even the process might turn out to be expensive for them. 

Another factor is the increase in ticket prices. Different scholars have strongly suggested that the prices of the tickets have increased drastically. A rise in price implies that some individuals from low-income families cannot afford the tickets. Furthermore, technological advancement has also led to increased overdependence to Medias such as television to view live events. As such, many students opt to watch collegiate athletics from their homes. In addition, students have become too occupied with academic activities and have neglected sporting activities. As a matter of fact, such students usually perceive that attending to sporting events is a waste of time. Apparently, some best practices have been identified that would ensure an increase in ticket sales. These practices are;

Target audience : The best way of targeting fans is through segmentation. Apparently, this can be done by understanding the lifestyle, demographics, geographic location and the frequency in which they use the product (Snipes & Ingram, 2007). Of essence, it will be important to have insight on the persons who are willing to purchase the tickets for the various athletics and how they can be reached with ease.

Elusive fans : One of the most vital components in sports marketing is to ensure that the fans have a gist to commit their time and resources to what the advertiser is trying to sell. However, in modern days, it has become increasingly complicated to effect such transaction despite the advancement in technology (Wanless & Judge, 2014). This is because the current sporting market has become too cultures and moving speedily thereby requiring information to be condensed so that it can be accepted.

Communication : The best way in which the fans can be made aware of particular events is through communication. As such, the management ought to ensure that the students or rather fans are engaged, and their interest in the sport is maintained (Snipes & Ingram, 2007). This may require the management to target the individuals who are actively inquiring about the product (sport). Once such people have been engaged, the administration should work tirelessly to keep its promise and regularly communicate with them through the various social media platforms. The communicating in this regards should aim at establishing their levels of satisfaction as well as what ought to be done to better their experience while attending sporting events.

The sense of Inclusion : Another important practice that ought to be adopted by collegiate athletes is creating a sense of inclusion among the fans. Under this practice, the fans need to be made to feel like they form an important part of the sporting fraternity. Such move will ensure that they commit their resources to the game. Various incentives can be given to the fans to create a sense of belonging. Such incentives can include online account management and better seating alternatives among others (Popp, 2014).

Connective medium : Different scholars have also indicated that when the social media is used effectively, the fans may be able to connect easily with the various teams. There are the various social media platforms that can be employed in this case that include Twitter, SnapChat, and Facebook among others (Wanless & Judge, 2014). 

Conclusion and Future Recommendations

In conclusion, athletic sports play a crucial role in colleges and universities. It not only helps in bringing together people from vast walks of life but also ensure that the institutions generate enough revenue. The generated revenue will assist in promoting the sport as well as aid in the initiation of other new sporting activities in the schools. However, with the decreasing trends in fan attendance to sporting events, it is hard for institutions to realize such goals. This pattern is caused by factors which can be addressed if immediate measures are taken to ensure that the fans feel that they are valued. 

In that respect, this paper recommends that the management ought to embrace mechanisms that would elevate the satisfaction levels of the fans. This can be achieved by actively engaging the fans so that they can commit their resources including time and money to the sport. Besides, the management ought to adjust its pricing strategies such that it takes into consideration the financial status of the fans plus the quality of the games. In so doing, fans from all lifestyles will purpose to attend to sporting activities. 

References

Bouchet, A., Ballouli, K., & Bennett, G. (2011). Implementing a ticket sales force in college athletics: A decade of challenges. Sport Marketing Quarterly , 20 (2):84-92 

Covell, D. (2005). Attachment, allegiance and a convergent application of stakeholder theory: Assessing the impact of winning on athletic donations in the Ivy League. Sport Marketing Quarterly , 14 (3), 168.

Guerra, A. (2015). Student attendance at Collegiate Sporting Events Comprehensive Report . National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) & University of Oregon, Warsaw Sports Marketing. Retrieved from http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nacda/sports/nacma/auto_pdf/2014-15/misc_non_event/NACMAResearchInitiative2015.pdf. 

Ho, J. C., & Jiang, P. (2006). Enhancing revenue in college sport events by practicing yield management and e-commerce. The Costal Business Journal , 3 (1), 47-55. 

Polite, F., Waller, S., Trendafilova, S., & Spearman, L. (2011). Social accountability and responsibility in sport: An examination of the national collegiate athletic association. Sport Science Review , 20 (1-2), 111-135. 

Popp, N. (2014). Ticket Sales in College Athletics. The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Report. Retrieved from http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nacda/sports/nacda/auto_pdf/2014-15/misc_non_event/dec14.pdf. 

Snipes, R. L., & Ingram, R. (2007). Motivators of collegiate sport attendance: A comparison across demographic groups. Innovative Marketing , 3 (2):65-74.

Wanless, E., & Judge, L. W. (2014). Improving Collegiate Ticket Sales: The Importance of a Trained Sales Staff. Journal of Facility Planning, Design, and Management , 2 (2).