Description: We’re one of the few ecommerce companies that gets to connect with each of ourcustomers in person. They tell us where they will be at a given date and time, down to the exact seat location. So enhancing the event with geosocial is a cool part of the evolution of the experience and part of our roadmap ahead.
Source: Forbes .com.
Date: Sept 15, 2011
Are there certain venues or types of concerts for which you’re seeing heavier useof the interactive seating maps?
Nathan: So far, we’re seeing the most tagging activity in concerts and sports games, but theater and family shows are definitely getting their share of tags as well. Some of the most tagged events have been the US Open games, NASCAR, and college football. But the most tagged event to date is actually Bone Bash XII with Judas Priest at Sleep Train Pavilion in Concord, CA. Read rest of story
Questions for discussion:
- Does this interactive technology give Ticketmaster a long term competitive advantage?
- Which of Porters generic strategies does Ticketmaster employ?
Jason
I think this is a great innovation on part of ticketmaster. This really ties their company and product together with the booming social media scene. This will definitely help them to get a long term competitive advantage.
Being so far ahead of their competition in this facet will mean they can expand in to newer and more interesting areas that were previously unknown. The only problem with being the first mover in to this is the threat of unpredicted problems. If there are any privacy issues or problems that arise from this, then ticketmaster will take all of the blame and their business will suffer.
Jake Thorogood
Ticketmaster is making excellent use of emerging technologies by incorporating their seat-selection system into their purchasing model. By integrating this with social networking sites like Facebook, they are maximizing the potential benefit and use of this system. Unfortunately, it is easy for other companies to reproduce such an idea, and as such Ticketmaster must effectively utilize their competitive advantage in this respect while it exists. This specific idea will not maintain a long-term competitive advantage for this company; however, a continued commitment to emerging technologies should allow Ticketmaster to produce new advantages as they become available.
Currently, ticket-master is employing a differentiation strategy, attempting to offer additional services and benefits to customers that could purchase that same ticket at many other locations, typically for the same price. Integrating Facebook tagging into their seat-selection system allows for greater interaction among participants at events, providing an addition level of service not typically offered by other ticket offices. Again, while this gives Ticket Master a distinct advantage now, this model will likely be reproduced by competitors and as such, Ticket Master must continue to innovate and discover new ways to differentiate themselves in an extremely competitive market.
Ellen Hondl
While Ticketmaster is currently making great use of technology and has a good business model, I do not believe that theirs is a long term competitive advantage. It is too easy for their competitors to reproduce some form of their idea. In fact due to to rising demand that Ticketmaster has created, I believe that consumers will force companies to provide this service or be rendered obsolete. It is possible for Ticketmaster to maintain a competitive advantage however by evolving their current business model. The integration of the geosocial element is one such way that they can achieve this. They face some significant challenges being the first business of it’s kind but it also gives them some unique advantages as well. While other companies are just starting and trying to navigate through unknown territory, Ticketmaster is already evolving and changing to meet consumer demand. Issues such as privacy will have to be addressed and as a pioneer in this area, it is likely that Ticketmaster will be the first and largest target of any fallout. In conclusion, the convenience of their service and the rise of people using it, suggest that their business model is very sustainable, however they will have to act quickly and decisively to maintain a competitive advantage.
Jason Hamlyn
This is a massive leap forward in the interconnectivity of products, although it is only a short term competitive advantage. Firstly I will discuss why with regards to a competitive advantage to Facebook, and then secondly I will discuss why it is only a short term competitive advantage for Ticketmaster.
With the current competitive nature with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, and now the new Google + they all these companies are constantly competing to collect as much personal information as possible from their users, and with the way that the social network market is, one company adds a new feature shortly after all companies add that same feature. One example of this is the like this on Facebook button that was added to websites, there now is Tweet this, +1 this from Google. This competitive industry requires all participating companies to keep up with the competition and get ahead with new advancements, or face the death of your company.
Secondly the Advantage for Ticketmaster is not unlike the social network industry, although there are considerably fewer competitors in the industry, but one can bet that Live Nation, and the others that are in the industry will quickly try to soften that competitive advantage as fast as possible. If there is a exclusivity deal they will just partner with other sites, such as Google+, Foursquare, etc.
With competitive advantage aside, it is a remarkable way of bringing people together through the use of Information Systems, and I for one am excited to see what the future will bring as sites become more interconnected.