Franz Wyss, CEO of TICKETINO, Switzerland's third-largest ticketing agency, on the possible consequences of the Competition Commission's decision for event organisers and ticket buyers:
Franz Wyss, what do you think of the Competition Commission's decision? In your opinion, what are the consequences of the decision?
We naturally welcome the Competition Commission's decision not to further strengthen Ticketcorner's already dominant market position! However, competition in ticketing remains jeopardised. Various COMCO demands are still pending, such as the decision on the 50% clause for the Hallenstadion. For competition to function properly, all providers must have the right to sell tickets in the Hallenstadion. Ticketcorner's competitors have been demanding a ban on this restrictive clause for more than 7 years. A judgement is more than overdue here, as this is the only way to prevent similar contracts from being concluded with venues such as the Samsung Hall. This is the only way for event organisers to really have a free choice of ticket provider.
How is the decision likely to affect ticket prices?
It can be assumed that the fees will remain at the current high level. Organisers will have to pass these costs on to ticket buyers. Competition between the two companies will hardly lead to a stronger price war. In the medium term, the only option open to event organisers is to find a more cost-effective alternative to the aforementioned ticket retailers so that they are not defenceless against the horrendous fees of up to 15% in future. Fortunately, there are providers such as TICKETINO, which offer a very similar service at an all-inclusive fee of 3.9 to 7.9% of the ticket price.
How do you intend to respond to this new situation with your young company?
Little is changing for TICKETINO at the moment, we are sticking to our lowest price strategy and continuing to focus on personal contact, first-class support and innovation. We have also made further technical upgrades and have already introduced a new ticket shop and a new ScanApp this year.
We are also increasingly focussing on new and fully digital marketing formats such as social media, affiliate marketing and native advertising. This makes it possible to market events with little wastage and at extremely favourable conditions.
What exactly is new about it, or better than conventional print advertising?
In addition to the low costs, what is revolutionary is that organisers can use our system to precisely measure the impact of their advertising. This has never been possible before. This allows organisers to direct their advertising extremely quickly and efficiently to the channels that are most profitable for them.
Digital marketing formats also protect the environment, as they cause hardly any waste of resources or waste. They are also very well received by ticket buyers as they are entertaining and informative and cannot be recognised as advertising at first glance.
As a ticketing expert, what advice would you give event organisers for the future?
It's important to keep a cool head, keep looking at alternatives and don't allow yourself to be ripped off by large corporations.
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