Embracing the Future: The Benefits of Digital Ticketing Solutions
Discover the transformative power of digital ticketing solutions in streamlining event management and enhancing attendee experiences. Explore the convenience, flexibility, and security benefits offered by platforms like HomeTown, revolutionizing traditional ticketing practices. Experience seamless event planning, improved operational efficiencies, and cost savings while ensuring a memorable experience for organizers and attendees alike. Convenience is perhaps the most obvious advantage of online ticketing. No longer do fans have to wait in line at the box office or worry about misplaced, forgotten, or discarded tickets. With digital ticketing, tickets are conveniently stored on smartphones or emailed directly to the purchaser, allowing for easy management and access that can be offered alongside cash payments to offer a wider range of payment options for attendees. This means that fans can: Simply present their digital ticket for scanning at the venue entrance Experience a streamlined end to end process from purchasing to checking in, eliminating the hassle of physical tickets. Allows for digital payments to be made and accepted for both the patrons and providers. Moreover, digital ticketing enhances the overall experience for event goers. Attendees can easily purchase tickets online from the comfort of their own homes, or on their mobile device while on the go, reducing the need to physically visit a ticketing booth resulting in lines at venues and a poor start to an event. Digital ticketing platforms can include interactive capabilities such as: Seat selection Real-time event updates The flexibility to modify their reservation or Peer to peer transfer of tickets And much more giving them a more flexible, engaging, and personalized experience. For schools, digital ticketing offers a wealth of benefits such as simplified daily operations and streamlined marketing and communications – making event management a breeze for administrators. The ability to create and manage events in one platform allows for organizers to host their ideal event within a single source. Platform administrators can customize every parameter, from how many tickets sold, the types of tickets available, real-time attendance tracking, event updates, concession offerings, and much more. At HomeTown, we understand that event management goes beyond gate attendance. Premier ticketing platforms like HomeTown, will offer reporting features that offer insight into event attendance, capacity management, purchase histories, and revenue management. These insights provide visibility into critical factors not possible with traditional ticketing methods, helping organizers make more informed decisions regarding event logistics and marketing strategies. Adopting a digital-first event experience can also put you and your staff at ease by helping to mitigate the risk of fraud and counterfeit tickets. With advanced security features such as barcode scanning and digital encryption, organizers can ensure that only valid tickets are admitted into the venue. Protecting the integrity of the event and providing peace of mind to both organizers and attendees alike. By eliminating the need for physical ticket printing and distribution, organizers can significantly reduce overhead costs associated with traditional ticketing methods. The benefits of embracing a digital ticketing solution like HomeTown are abundant. From enhanced conveniences, simplified customer experiences, to improved operational efficiencies and cost savings – digital ticketing offers a multitude of advantages for both organizers and attendees alike. HomeTown positions itself at the forefront of innovation while providing a seamless and memorable experience for all. Ready to get started? Schedule a call to see how HomeTown is here to help you create and manage events that will bring everyone together! BOOK A MEETING
Unlock the Power of Community Engagement with HomeTown
Wondering how to stay connected with your community? HomeTown can help! The HomeTown platform makes it easy to create and customize all types of events for your local community, and makes it easy for everyone to participate. The possibilities are endless: athletic event admission, community fine arts performances, summer camps, and more! HomeTown clients are utilizing our easy-to-use platform for more types of events than ever before. Spread the Word With HomeTown Social Media powered by BoxOut, you can easily integrate events from your HomeTown Box Office to create captivating graphics and social media posts for your community events. Reach your audience, Increase ticket sales, save time, and excite your community with just a few clicks. Increase community engagement by generating excitement on social media and promoting your event Use the Campaigns feature to effortlessly create social media posts Increase revenue for your programs by advertising ticket sales earlier and more consistently Track Ticket Sales You can easily predict event attendance using HomeTown’s real-time ticket reports. This crucial step in managing your event can help everyone be well prepared for event day. If you know how many guests to expect. From smaller and more intimate events to game day, you and your team can ramp up event staff and supplies to be ready to provide a smooth and memorable experience. Community involvement and keeping engaged with your audiences is so important in maintaining consistent ticket sales and event attendance. Schedule a call to see how HomeTown is here to help you create and manage events that will bring everyone together! BOOK A MEETING
A Day in the Life of an AD: Game Time
A Day in the Life of an AD: Game Time! As we continue our “A Day in the Life of an AD” blog series, we finally make it to the evening, when an AD’s job really gets going. GAME TIME! 3:00 PM: Coaches Sprint Many coaches will want to see the athletic director at this time. Coaches who also teach during the day just finished school and now must run off to practice or a game. There is a short window in between when school ends and the campus must be cleared from students for a coach to meet quickly with the AD. Sometimes, it is just a quick handing in of some paperwork or a heads up on a recently discussed issue. However, it could be much larger, like a situation that occurred throughout the day or a transportation issue. With whatever it is, this is an important part of the day for an AD to be available for their coach. This is a common face to face time for coaches and ADs. 4:00PM: Wrap Up This is when it will start to get quieter in the office of a high school. A perfect time for the athletic director to wrap tasks that need to be completed that day, follow up on their emails, or call parents back. This is usually a very busy time, because the AD is trying to cram a lot of work into this time period- which is going to be one of their longest uninterrupted time throughout the day. 5:00PM: Decisions, Decisions This time of the day is really dictated by a couple of variables. Are there games that night? Which sports? Which levels? What are the game times? What’s the location of the game? Based on start times and locations, maybe you can use this time to run somewhere and get dinner. Maybe you choose to stay in your office and get some more work done. Maybe you have to head out to a field. 5:30PM: GAME TIME! If the start time is 5:30 for a JV game, gates need to be open 30 minutes prior to the start, so the above was already decided for you. During this time, the AD interacts with parents, students, boosters, and community members. But it doesn’t stop there. It is important to meet and greet the officials when they arrive, as well as the visiting team. From this time on, it’s the AD’s responsibility to make sure there is sufficient support, ensure smooth operations, monitor the crowd, and address any issues that may arise. It is essential to be on extra alert in between games. There are more moving parts and people during these times, and gates may become busier. 7:30PM: Latest Start Time This is one of the latest start times for games. At this point, all of the games for the evening should have been started, and the first game crowd should have exited and this games’ fans should be settled. During this time, it is a great idea to keep track of what your attendance looks like. It is also a best practice to take notes during the game. You are likely going to need to remember specifics or have reminders of items that need to be addressed the next day, so recording important points this evening will make it easier tomorrow for the AD. 10:00PM: Closing Time If the game tonight wasn’t football, then the event is most likely over and the AD has either cleared the area or is currently working on that. All students must be picked up prior to the athletic director leaving to make sure everyone left safely and there are no issues. Unfortunately, this means the AD cannot necessarily leave after the event clean up has been completed. If a student has not been picked up yet, the AD cannot leave. 10:30PM: Home On a good night, the AD is hopefully home by now. But showering and unwinding are still necessary, and that alarm goes off early. Check out the first blog in this series: Good Morning as a reminder of just how early. In this series, we have briefly gone through an athletic director’s day, and it took three blog posts to do it. HomeTown appreciates all of the work ADs do in their long days, and we are happy to be a part of making some of their tasks easier. If you are interested in how HomeTown can do that for you, please reach out to us for more information, we’d love to help! BOOK A MEETING
HomeTown Spotlight | April: Minneapolis Public Schools
HOMETOWN SPOTLIGHT I APRIL 2024 School: Minneapolis Public Schools District Athletic Director: Antony Fisher HomeTown is excited to announce April’s spotlight, Antony Fisher and Minneapolis Public Schools. ABOUT ANTONY Antony Fisher has been an athletic administrator for 17 years in 3 different states. He’s been the District Athletic Director at Minneapolis Public Schools for the past 6 years. Antony’s goal to have the greatest impact on the largest number of students motivated him throughout his career and led him to where he is today. In addition, Antony has had the honor of serving on the NIAAA Board of Directors and co-founding the National Organization of Minority Athletic Directors (NOMAD), as well as state committee and panels. HOW MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS USES HOMETOWN The district was in need of a digital ticketing solution to eliminate handling of cash, while creating a proactive solution for fans who wanted to purchase tickets in advance. This led Minneapolis Public Schools to start using HomeTown in 2020. “We use the platform to provide equitable options for all our MPS families. In some instances, our families have a preference to pay by using cash, and we are certainly okay with that. In other instances, our families would prefer to pay ahead of time by using their credit card, and HomeTown Ticketing allows us to provide our families with a payment option that works best for that particular family.” – Antony Fisher, District Athletic Director WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT HOMETOWN? “What I like most is the fact that utilization of the HomeTown Ticketing platform allows us to have a pulse on who’s attending our athletic contests and who is in our athletic venues at a particular point in time.” – Antony Fisher, District Athletic Director Also, the customer service! “Above all the wonderful bells and whistles that the HomeTown Ticketing platform offers, the customer service is top notch. HomeTown goes above and beyond to ensure that your experience with the HomeTown Ticketing product matches and/or exceeds your expectations. I can truly say that HomeTown Ticketing has met our needs here in Minneapolis and I would highly encourage anyone who is not currently utilizing HomeTown Ticketing to at minimum look into their product offering immediately.” – Antony Fisher, District Athletic Director BIGGEST TIME SAVER Minneapolis Public Schools loves HomeTown’s reporting! The reports are so efficient and a way for school based athletic directors to rectify their expense reports immediately. A time saver for not only athletic directors, but bookkeepers as well! About Minneapolis Public Schools Minneapolis Public Schools has 10 high schools and 10 middle schools. The school district serves approximately 29,000 students in Minnesota. GET STARTED WITH HOMETOWN
