Should More Theatres Use Facebook To Sell Tickets?

NEW YORK, March 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Stratford Festival's recent success using JCA's new Facebook ticketing app, TN Social Ticketing™, suggests the answer is a resounding 'yes'. The Festival recently allowed its Facebook fans to jump the line and order tickets before the general public in a Facebook-only pre-sale. "Attending theatre is inherently a social experience," said Lisa Middleton, the Festival's director of marketing and audience development, "so why wouldn't we allow people an opportunity to plan their trip in a social way?" Stratford was realistic in their expectations of the new tool. They hoped to at least match the previous year's pre-sale numbers, but were pleased to find that JCA's tool helped increase their revenue by more than $92,000 YTD.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130325/NY82177 )

The initial response to TN Social Ticketing™ has been strong. Stratford alone has had more than 3,600 downloads of the app. Stratford Festival's version, Stratford Social Ticketing, allows users to create a Festival Facebook 'event,' where they can coordinate their visit, plan dates and times, see where their Facebook friends are sitting, and select their own seats accordingly. Middleton said the app gives patrons an easy way to hold conversations in a medium they're already using -- Facebook. TN Social Ticketing has also provided Stratford Festival with unprecedented insight into their customer behavior and sales dynamics.

Collaborating with JCA to build Stratford Social Ticketing was another extension of the Festival's focus on engaging customers through social media. "We knew that JCA was the one company that could pull it off. Their work from consensus building to project management to technical delivery has been just what we needed to get this revolutionary new product launched," said Middleton. JCA is pleased with Stratford's success and excited about helping other organizations do the same. According to John Jakovich, JCA's Chief Information Officer, they are "looking forward to partnering with more venues who, like Stratford, are always thinking of what's next."

About JCA: More than 1,000 nonprofit organizations have turned to JCA as a strategic consulting partner to make websites, ticketing, membership, and related technologies work for people. JCA has experience with all major nonprofit software and web systems.  JCA's team works hard to deliver websites that generate revenue, function better and integrate with the systems that leading nonprofits depend on.

The Stratford Festival, in picturesque Stratford, Ontario, Canada, is North America's leading classical theatre, drawing half a million visitors a year. It presents a seven-month season of a dozen plays in four venues, along with a Forum of events to enrich the play-going experience. With the works of Shakespeare at its core, the Festival features classics, contemporary dramas, musical theatre and new plays. It presented its first season in 1953, using an innovative thrust stage that revolutionized Shakespearean performance in our time and inspired the design of several other major venues worldwide.

For more information, contact:
Susan Hornung
JCA, Inc.
[email protected]

SOURCE Jacobson Consulting Applications, Inc.