Secure digital tickets protect patrons and increases audience data

Case Study: Freeman Arts Pavilion and VisitOne

Protecting patrons, improving entry and making digital ticketing easier. Plus 12% increase in audience data.

The Challenge

Freeman Arts Pavilion is a seasonal outdoor venue presenting a wide range of live performances, from family shows to nationally and internationally recognised artists. As demand has grown especially for high-profile artists, the team began to see a rise in third-party ticket vendor ticket activity and inflated resale prices. The venue wanted to protect its patrons, safeguard its brand and make ticket delivery more secure, while still keeping the experience simple for an audience that includes older patrons and occasional visitors.

By implementing VisitOne through its Spektrix integration, Freeman Arts Pavilion introduced delayed secure mobile ticket delivery, easy ticket sharing and show-specific communications via SMS and email.

As Alyson Cunningham, Marketing Manager, Freeman Arts Pavilion, explained:

“We were trying to protect our brand and keep the tickets in the hands of fans.”

The venue wanted to address several connected issues:

• Reduce the risk of PDFs being forwarded, uploaded or resold outside official channels
• Protect patrons from inflated or fraudulent third-party ticket listings
• Move audiences towards a more secure digital ticketing experience
• Make entry at the main gate more efficient
• Give patrons a simple way to access tickets without searching through emails months after purchase
• Support ticket sharing when members of a party arrive separately

The challenge was not just a technical one. Freeman Arts Pavilion needed the system to work for patrons who may be less confident with mobile-first ticketing.

Why VisitOne

Freeman Arts Pavilion selected VisitOne because of its direct integration with Spektrix and its ability to remove unnecessary steps from the patron journey. With a previous ticketing set-up, the venue had tried to move towards mobile ticketing, but the process required patrons to create shortcuts, use a separate web page and manage additional login steps. This created friction and required significant audience education.

VisitOne offered a simplified guest experience. Patrons did not need to create a new account, learn a separate system or take extra steps after purchase. Once they had opted in to email or text, their tickets could be delivered securely at the right time, either by SMS or email.

“The fully integrated approach with Spektrix was key. Patrons don’t have to think about how they’re going to get their tickets until they’re delivered to them.”

Implementation and Audience Adoption

One of the strongest outcomes was how little audience education was required. Rather than launching a major communications campaign to explain a new ticketing process, the venue allowed the improved experience to speak for itself. 

The main education point was around ticket sharing, particularly when tickets had already been added to Apple Wallet, so the venue added guidance to its website to explain how sharing works and when best to share tickets.

“Overall, it was very seamless for our patrons. We didn’t have to do much major education outside of letting people know tickets would be delivered two days before.”

The delayed delivery model also helped manage long lead times between purchase and attendance. Some Freeman Arts Pavilion shows go on sale in January for performances taking place in September. A timed ticket delivery close to the event acts as a useful reminder, reducing the risk of patrons misplacing or forgetting about their tickets.

Ticket Sharing and Shadow Booker Data

Ticket sharing has also helped the venue better understand who is attending performances. Traditionally, as with most venues, the known attender is the booker, even though that person may have bought tickets for friends, family or a wider group. Through VisitOne’s sharing functionality, Freeman Arts Pavilion has started to capture more information about guests attending as part of a party.

Early VisitOne back-end figures showed:

• Tickets issued                                   46,000
• Tickets clicked                                  33,000
• Shadow bookers identified           3,841

This creates a valuable opportunity for future engagement as the venue plans to use post-show communications to encourage guests who attended as part of a group to join its mailing list and stay connected with future events.

“We have seen an increase in the customer information that we have, thanks to that sharing process.” 

Ticket sharing has also improved the event-day experience. Patrons no longer need to arrive together, pass phones around or wait at the gate for the rest of their party.

“It has made it easy for people to enjoy the night with their party if they can’t arrive at the same time.”

Secure Ticket Delivery and Patron Confidence

While a full data analysis of the impact on ticket resale activity has not yet been completed, the venue has seen clear benefits in terms of patron confidence and education. The team has consistently reinforced that the only official place to buy tickets is freemanarts.org and that tickets will be delivered securely through the official process. This has helped create audience advocates who now respond to suspicious listings or inflated prices by telling others what the legitimate process should look like.

Delayed secure delivery has also made unusual ticket requests easier to identify. For example, if someone asks for tickets to be sent to a different email address in a way that feels suspicious, the box office can offer a safer alternative such as will call collection. The result is a clearer, more controlled ticketing journey that supports both the venue and its customer.

SMS and Event-Day Communications

Freeman Arts Pavilion also uses VisitOne’s SMS feature for show-based information. This is particularly valuable for an outdoor venue where weather, parking and arrival information can affect the customer experience. The venue has limited on-site parking and operates a free off-site shuttle which needs promoting, especially when the on-site parking reaches capacity. One of the ways of promoting this shuttle service being explored is to use VisitOne to communicate practical information such as:

• On-site parking being full
• Directions to off-site parking
• Shuttle information
• Weather-related updates
• Show-specific reminders
• Family show information

Alyson noted that some patrons are initially reluctant to opt in to SMS, particularly older customers who may worry about receiving marketing messages or scams. However, once staff explain that the texts are used for ticket and show-specific information, many patrons see the benefit.

“When we explain it’s strictly for show-based information, they realise it’s so much easier than digging through their email.”

Ease of Use for Staff

VisitOne has also supported Freeman Arts Pavilion operationally. The back-end is straightforward enough for box office staff to learn quickly, which is particularly valuable for a venue operating with seasonal teams. If a ticket needs to be resent or a patron needs help, staff do not need lengthy training to resolve the issue.

“It’s pretty straightforward and very easy to learn. I don’t have to spend more than five minutes telling somebody what they need to do.”

This was important for the venue, which had previously experienced more complex systems and it was also important to get the right level of support from VisitOne during implementation and running. “Any daily question we had related to a ticket issue or a message, we heard back instantly.”

The venue has also identified areas where it would like to do more in future, including clearer access to SMS delivery history and greater flexibility around ticket delivery timing for different types of performances. This feedback is helping shape how VisitOne can continue to support different venue models, especially those with varied performance types and operational needs.

Results

VisitOne has helped Freeman Arts Pavilion create a more secure, user-friendly and flexible digital ticketing experience.

Key outcomes include:

• Secure delayed ticket delivery introduced for the first time
• Reduced reliance on PDF tickets that can be forwarded or uploaded
• Clearer audience education around official ticket purchasing
• Easier ticket access for patrons booking months in advance
• Improved ticket sharing for groups arriving separately
• Increased guest data through shadow booker capture
• 46,000 tickets issued through VisitOne
• 33,000 tickets clicked
• 3,841 shadow bookers identified 
• Simple back-end use for seasonal box office staff

Looking Ahead

Freeman Arts Pavilion is currently focused on ticketing, sales and the opening of a new permanent stage and seating area. While the team is not yet expanding into additional VisitOne features, the platform gives them the flexibility to do so when the time is right. For now, the priority is to continue building on secure ticket delivery, improve use of SMS communications and make the digital ticketing experience as smooth as possible for patrons.

As the venue continues to grow, VisitOne will continue to provide a flexible platform that can support practical event-day communication, better audience insight and a secure route from post-purchase to attendance.

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