Eventfinder (eventfinda.co.nz) has launched a service enabling promoters and venues to sell tickets online to festivals, gigs and general events.
The service has several unique points of difference, in that it provides complete transparency over the charges and fees normally hidden by the dominant ticketing providers, while providing online tools for conducting promotional campaigns and post event business intelligence reporting.
"We've been working on this for three years specifically to address the concerns that promoters and venues have been telling us they experience with their current providers," says Michael Turner, Eventfinder CEO. "Booking fees and courier charges will be a thing of the past for consumers, as we charge nothing to the purchaser for issuing an e-ticket."
Booking fees and courier charges, known in the industry as "outside charges", are the amount charged by ticketing companies to deliver a ticket to the buyer through either email or by courier.
"With us, the promoter or venue incurs a simple, one-off charge per ticket sold," says Turner. The basic ticket selling package incurs a $1 service fee from Eventfinder.
Eventfinder's ticketing platform caters to simple events that can be easily managed by an automated, user-friendly "door list", through to complex events with multiple entry points where tickets are validated using a sophisticated electronic device.
"After evaluating a great many systems in place around the world for a device that provides the kind of information promoters say they want, we decided to develop our own," says James McGlinn, Eventfinder CTO. "The device we engineered not only checks whether the ticket presented is valid or not, but also manages the pass-out process."
The device also supplies real-time information valuable to promoters and venues, including ticket sales volume and how many tickets have been validated against those that remain outstanding.
"We're co-ordinating the roll-out with several festivals and venue owners, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive," says Turner. "They're sick and tired of being under-serviced by the big multinationals that dominate New Zealand, and now they have a sophisticated alternative with lower cost, increased transparency and greater control."
Eventfinder is inviting promoters, venue owners and members of the media to view a real time demonstration at their offices in Auckland. To schedule a demonstration, please contact Michael Turner (michael.turner at eventfinder dot co dot nz).
Promoters, publicists, bands, councils and venues can list events themselves free of charge on eventfinda.co.nz.
National distribution and coverage is achieved through Eventfinder's network of content syndication partners, including Yahoo!Xtra, MSN, AA Travel, nzherald.co.nz, stuff.co.nz, The Dominion Post, The Press, Waikato Times, and Sunday News.
