{"id":938,"date":"2023-02-02T17:46:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-02T17:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solutions.axs.com\/us\/?p=938"},"modified":"2023-12-11T22:14:39","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T22:14:39","slug":"axs-ceo-bryan-perez-on-international-expansion-identity-based-ticketing-and-personalized-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solutions.axs.com\/us\/2023\/02\/02\/axs-ceo-bryan-perez-on-international-expansion-identity-based-ticketing-and-personalized-experiences\/","title":{"rendered":"AXS CEO Bryan Perez on International Expansion, Identity-Based Ticketing, and Personalized Experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.18.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_enable_color=”off” background_enable_image=”off” background_position=”top_center” width=”100%” custom_padding=”50px||50px||true|false” global_colors_info=”{}” theme_builder_area=”et_body_layout”][et_pb_row custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” 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BY ROD YATES<\/strong>
ORIGINALLY APPEARING ON AUDIENCEREPUBLIC.COM<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

AXS CEO Bryan Perez was in his twenties when he had an epiphany.<\/strong> Having graduated from college and embarked on a career in investment banking, the avid gig goer was at a concert by The Allman Brothers Band in Texas when he asked himself a pivotal question: \u2018What would you do if you didn\u2019t have to work?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I remember thinking, \u2018Well, why can\u2019t I do this?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018This\u2019 was a career in the live events industry, a revelation that changed the direction of Perez\u2019 life. In the decades since he\u2019s occupied executive positions at companies such as Live Nation, AEG and Clear Channel Entertainment, and since 2014 has operated as the CEO of ticketing company AXS.<\/p>\n

In February the AEG-owned AXS will expand its operations beyond North America, Europe and Japan to include Australia, working in conjunction with Frontier Touring to open an office in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been working on this for nine months to a year,\u201d Perez explains. \u201cA lot of the prep work that needed to be done \u2013 systems configuration and installation, all the tactical things like bank accounts and tax IDs \u2013 has all been completed. So, we\u2019ll be selling tickets [in Australia] most likely in the first quarter of 2023.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here, Perez explains the thinking behind AXS\u2019 expansion, the increasing personalization of ticketing, the touring outlook for the next 12-24 months, and more.<\/p>\n

What made now the right time to move into the Australian market?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A variety of things. We\u2019ve made a lot of investments in our platform. Most notably, during the pandemic when most people in our industry had to retrench for obvious financial reasons, we actually put our foot on the gas, and we ended up retaining all of our people and using that opportunity to do a lot of the things that had always been on our wish list.<\/p>\n

The most important was merging our code bases to one single global code base. It used to be that we\u2019d have one version for one country and one for another and then one for a particular peculiar venue. We took a year and merged that into a single global code base.<\/p>\n

And so, what that meant was not only multi-language, multi-currency, all the things that you need in efficiencies of operation, but more importantly, our ability to transfer innovation and learnings seamlessly and instantly around the world.<\/p>\n

So, for example, there are things that we\u2019re doing in Japan right now that have become the basis of some feature sets and products in the United States, and vice versa. And so we\u2019re able to kind of export this innovation and everything that we\u2019re learning all around the world, very seamlessly, and very easily. And so that made it a really great time to continue to be more aggressive in terms of international expansion.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cDuring the pandemic when most people in our industry had to retrench for obvious financial reasons, we actually put our foot on the gas\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Australia has always been on our list. We felt the platform was right, the business was ready. We also felt that coming out of the pandemic there appeared to be a little bit of instability in the Australian market from a ticketing standpoint. And we felt like, because of the stability we had had during the pandemic, that actually gave us an advantage \u2013 now is the time to go for it.<\/p>\n

And then finally, and I think most importantly, is any time you enter a new market, you\u2019ve got to be able to understand the cultural norms, the business norms \u2013 just the realities of doing business in that particular market. No two are alike.<\/p>\n

And for that you really need boots on the ground. And with the AEG Presents and Frontier relationship, that really gave us that comfort that we had a sister company with good insight, that could help guide us to making sure that we were doing the right things to be successful in the market from the very first moment.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe consumer is now looking for more tailored experiences \u2013 we\u2019ve moved on from just goods acquisitions to life experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Over the years AXS has introduced numerous ticketing innovations, such as AXS Mobile ID, AXS Invite, AXS Waiting Room, and Amazon\u2019s One Palm Recognition Service. What do you think the next big innovation in ticketing will be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s going to be personalization. The consumer is now looking for more tailored experiences \u2013 we\u2019ve moved on from just goods acquisitions to life experiences.<\/p>\n

And they know that you\u2019ve got a lot of data on them, and they\u2019re willing to accept that as long as you\u2019re using it to their benefit. All those things come together in personalization, and that\u2019s really the ability to surprise and delight the fan with unique offerings that are tailored specifically to them on an individual basis and to communicate it to them.<\/p>\n

And that communication piece is so important, which is also what sets apart what we do with AXS Mobile ID and identity-based ticketing.<\/p>\n

When we issue you a barcode, we\u2019re not issuing you a ticket to seat 12 in row 13. We\u2019re issuing you a barcode that is [you]. And it\u2019s always [you].<\/p>\n

And that gives us the ability to have that more consistent communication channel. Now we can communicate and understand what your preferences are and give you those surprise and delight experiences.<\/p>\n

And we\u2019ve seen great success with it. Perfect example is the festival environment. We can speak to the fan: \u2018We know you\u2019re a great candidate to upgrade into this particular offer. And by the way, we\u2019ve reserved two seats for you, you\u2019ve got 24 hours to come back and purchase them if you want. If not, don\u2019t worry about it, we\u2019ll put them back in inventory.\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s those kinds of surprise and delight personalized experiences that I think is the revolution that\u2019s coming in our business. And it required data and segmentation and a lot of sophisticated understanding of what all these behaviors and data points mean.<\/p>\n

And then thoughtful offer creation, and then the ability to communicate down to the individual level. We\u2019re seeing great success with it in the United States, and we\u2019re ramping that up across the entire portfolio. That will be something that we\u2019ll be bringing to Australia.<\/p>\n

Do you have an indication of what the uptake is when you offer those surprise and delight experiences?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It depends on the event and the property, but it\u2019s not uncommon for festivals to see very solid six figures in sales of on-site upgrades over the course of a multi-day weekend. It\u2019s real meaningful revenue.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not uncommon for festivals to see very solid six figures in sales of on-site upgrades over the course of a multi-day weekend\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In regards the One Palm Recognition Service \u2013\u00a0that was initially rolled out at Red Rocks amphitheater in 2021. Is that expanding?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a partnership with Amazon, who developed the technology, and it\u2019s interesting because in some ways we think it\u2019s the next generation of identity-based ticketing. But we find it not nearly as invasive and controversial as, for example, facial recognition, where people are concerned that you\u2019re scanning my face, and I don\u2019t know what you\u2019re doing with it.<\/p>\n

This is one of those things where the fan is in complete control \u2013 they can marry their AXS Mobile ID to their palm, everybody has a unique palm print. And it\u2019s abstracted, so it\u2019s not like we\u2019re keeping your palm print stored in some server somewhere \u2013 it\u2019s reduced to kind of a mathematical equation. And then we just link those two things. But if you don\u2019t want to use it, you just keep your hand in your pocket and log in like you always do.<\/p>\n

But if you do want to use it, it is super convenient. The one thing we\u2019ve added now at the Mission Ballroom in Denver is the ability to pay with your palm. So, you\u2019re in and you go to the bar, and boom, you do the same thing [motions waving palm over sensor]. All you have to do is link your credit card to that same identity. So now you\u2019re talking the ultimate in convenience \u2013 I don\u2019t even have to show up with my wallet. Once we\u2019ve verified your ID that you\u2019re over 21 we never have to do it again, because it\u2019s always against your palm.<\/p>\n

So yeah, it\u2019s exciting new technology. And again, any time that you\u2019re kind of pressing the state of the art like that, it\u2019s really important to get feedback and grow into these new services and technologies. And so that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing with that one. But yeah, the next step has been to link the bar purchases to your hand as well.<\/p>\n

Has the data you\u2019ve gathered from that given you any unique insights into customer behavior? <\/strong><\/p>\n

We haven\u2019t stitched all that data together yet. The integration with the food and beverage systems just happened at the end of \u201922. So we\u2019re in the early days of monitoring pickup and insights.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe early [indication] in 2023 is that consumer confidence is back\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What are the current trends you\u2019re seeing in consumer behavior relating to ticket-buying? <\/strong><\/p>\n

I would say a couple things. One is the trends that we\u2019re seeing now \u2013 and they\u2019re slight, but they\u2019re there \u2013 is that during 2022 we were seeing a lot of events close very, very strongly. And that was because people were still wondering whether the event was going to take place.<\/p>\n

I think that\u2019s largely passed, as the early [indication] in 2023 is that consumer confidence is back, and so the trends are going more towards front loading a lot of the majority of it at the onsale.<\/p>\n

But we did see a trend during 2022 with people waiting until the last minute. We didn\u2019t necessarily see any decrease in enthusiasm for the event, or their penchant to spend depending on when they bought, nor did we see a ton of price differentiation.<\/p>\n

The only thing I would say maybe that\u2019s probably more US oriented is people who tend to purchase off resale markets at higher prices are going to spend more. But that\u2019s a lot of times because they have more disposable income.<\/p>\n

Although not every ticket sold on the [resale] market is above face value \u2013 we sell a pretty decent amount below face value, because [if people] can\u2019t go to an event because they got sick, something came up at home, they need to sell those tickets, and are just looking to get rid of them.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen some very successful initiatives with festivals where they speak very directly and clearly to their fan base, and it engenders an extraordinary amount of loyalty\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

How are you seeing successful promoters operate when it comes to selling tickets? <\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s really going back to the focus on the fan. More people are focused on the fan and transparent communication with the fan on what\u2019s going on. That really seems to be moving the needle.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve seen some very successful initiatives with festivals where they speak very directly and clearly to their fan base, and it engenders an extraordinary amount of loyalty, which means annual repeat purchases, which means you\u2019re de-risking next year\u2019s festival.<\/p>\n

But it goes to this holistic approach to the festival \u2013 it\u2019s not just about selling them the ticket and [focusing] on the artists, it\u2019s everything that goes into that experience. And that\u2019s making all the difference. Maybe it can\u2019t be done quite as deeply and customizably, but you can still have that same attitude towards club, theatre and arena shows as you do towards a festival.<\/p>\n

It goes back to people are looking for experiences. I want the experience of a lifetime. And the more the promoter is focusing on that from the moment they purchase the ticket to the blow off at the end, and now they\u2019re wishing them goodbye and we hope we\u2019ll see you next time, those things matter.<\/p>\n

When you say communicating clearly and directly, is that about everything from logistics to opportunities for money-can\u2019t-buy experiences?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Or when there\u2019s problems. Ticketing is difficult, and sometimes people have a challenge navigating through it, and in many instances it\u2019s not always a ticketing system problem.<\/p>\n

But speaking to the consumers on a one-to-one basis \u2013 if people are having a problem, DM us and we will take care of you. That\u2019s a commitment to the fan because that\u2019s not easy to do. That takes personnel, that takes trust that you know that you\u2019re going to be able to have this one-on-one conversation with them and that\u2019s not going to blow up in your face. [It\u2019s] a commitment to solving problems.<\/p>\n

The fan is willing to give you an extraordinary amount of feedback right now. And they have the channels to do so. The promoters that are silent to those channels are not the successful ones. The ones that are the most deeply engaged in those channels, and willing to kind of take it offline, so to speak, and give that personal touch where necessary, that\u2019s who\u2019s moving the needle.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe promoters that are silent to those channels are not the successful ones.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What do you think the touring circuit will look like in the next 12 to 24 months?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s going to be increasingly global and international. Just the rise of the international artists and the speed with which they develop fanbases \u2013 I mean, you can look at Coachella\u2019s lineup this year as a perfect example of that.<\/p>\n

So the internationalization of not only touring, but the fanbase, and their willingness to travel for these experiences, that\u2019s going to continue.<\/p>\n

I think tactically you\u2019ll see \u201923 is still gonna be a pretty packed calendar. And there\u2019s going to be a lot of challenges, just in terms of how much we\u2019re asking from the consumer, with all of the backlog that we have to work through. I think \u201924 it frees up.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a lot of great content on the road right now. And you just hope that that\u2019s not forcing the consumer to make choices between which artists to see, that they have the ability to see all of their favourite artists.<\/p>\n

And then on the ticketing side, one profound change from the pandemic was we really completed the move to digital ticketing. And that was a foundational thing that we needed. You can\u2019t get to personalization if you have anonymous ticketing, and that\u2019s what paper tickets and even print-at-home was.<\/p>\n

The shift to digital ticketing also has helped eliminate fraudulent tickets, and [taken] some of the fear out of purchasing a ticket from the marketplace. The fact that that foundation is firmly established [is going to] open up all of these new marketing and personalization opportunities over the next 24 months.<\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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