The iPad is one versatile tablet and many are looking to the device to make their day to day operations run more efficiently. From doctors offices to schools, the iPad is making its debut in many an industry. Today, the iPad is entering show business with Eventbrite.
Eventbrite is a site for anyone planning or attending an event. Event planners can sell tickets online, promote events and publish their events socially all in one place. The company has sold more than 31 million tickets online through its business model and now it has its eyes set on door sales, something that will generate more business for them and their customers.
Integrating with the iPad and an Eventbrite app, a card swipe and ticket printer, Eventbrite has revealed Eventbrite At The Door. The tool will enable event organizers to take payments and issue tickets right at the venue’s location.
Because Eventbrite attracts events held in nontraditional venues, a common issue organizers face is the inability to accept credit cards for on-site ticket sales. Cash-only establishments are often a deterrent in our card-carrying and tech savvy society.
The app alleviates the problems both organizers and attendees face without introducing the middleman element of a box office. Organizers don’t have to risk losing business because they’re ill equipped with a cashbox. The ticket sale process is intuitive, which makes it ideal for quickly training single-day staff. Keeping security a priority, the app encrypts all data and backs up the collected information automatically.
When purchasing a ticket through the app, they’ll incur a fee of 2.5 percent plus .99 cents per ticket – the same fee they would’ve incurred had they ordered tickets through the website. Guests who have misplaced or lost their ticket can easily be confirmed through the app, as well.
According to Eventbrite co-founder Julia Hartz, it’s something they already do – making the most of ticket sales.
“Eventbrite At The Door is a really natural extension of how to capitalize on any type of ticket sale that can occur,” she says. “That was very much where event organizers were missing out on revenue or collecting the revenue and not being able to connect with their customers afterward.”
Eventbrite made headlines last month when it raised $50 million to finance its growing presence in the event ticketing market.
The company has turned its focus to larger events, and last summer it sold 60,000 tickets for a Black Eyed Peas concert — its largest event ever, according to The New York Times.
Eventbrite said that with the new funding, it will continue to aim for bigger events, build more analytics and social media tools, and invest in its mobile products – perhaps Eventbrite At The Door is part of this new financing. In addition to established companies like Ticketmaster, Eventbrite is competing with newer startups like Ticketfly.
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Michelle Amodio is a TMCnet contributor. She has helped promote companies and groups in all industries, from technology to banking to professional roller derby. She holds a bachelor's degree in Writing from Endicott College and currently works in marketing, journalism, and public relations as a freelancer.
Edited by Jennifer Russell
