Marquette Uses Social Media to Sell Ticket Plans
Monday, October 19, 2009 at 07:15AM 
Are you looking for new ways to drive interest in partial season ticket plans? Are you looking to create a rewards program for season ticket holders?
Marquette University recently launched an extensive social media ticketing strategy that is cutting edge in the collegiate sports space. The site, www.marquetteminiplans.com, was created to provide fans with extremely affordable mini-plans that offers prize rewards for spreading the word virally with family and friends. The site organizers have developed an impressive scheme to encourage fans to make the site as viral as possible.
How does the site work?
- Fans are asked to create a user name, soak in the excitement of Marquette basketball, and earn prizes for doing so
- The more videos fans watch, the more people they share the site with, and the more tickets they purchase = MORE PRIZES
- Fans receive prize points for a variety of tasks:
- Signing Up (500 points), Watching a Video (100 Points), Finding a Bonus Video (1000 Points), Passing Along the Site to Friends (2500 Points), Posting the Site on Twitter (2750 Points), Connecting with the Page on Facebook (2750 Points), Submitting a Personal Video (4000 Points), Buy a Mini-Plan (3000 Points), Buy Season Tickets (4000 Points)
- Just for participating, fans can win a variety of prizes:
- Commemorative 2003 Final Four Ring (2500 Points), Travis Diener Bobblehead (5000 Points), Fleece Blanket (10,000 Points), Winter Hat (15,000 Points), Mini Backboard and Hoop (20,000 Points), Al McGuire Statue (25,000 Points)
The site offers a ton of information on ticketing plans (in the lower left corner of the screen, in a non-intrusive manner) that enable consumers to explore their options and choose which plans might work best for them (and get rewarded for it).
The site is extremely well done and is a "must-see" for sports business professionals working in all aspects of the industry because it serves as a terrific example of ways to leverage social media to drive your business. Marquette's prize structure (providing fans with points for spreading the site virally and the chance to redeem those points for quality prizes) is a terrific benchmark for brands and sports organizations looking to rewards fans for their call-to-action.
Marquette is leveraging its Twitter page (@MUAthletics) to drive awareness to the page with posts that say, "Watch videos, earn prize points, spread the excitement of #mubb basketball" and "100 reasons to Experience Marquette Basketball. Have fun and let us know what you think".
Reader Comments (1)
Great write up of an awesome program! I expect that more teams will look at ways to "recruit" their fan base to help them sell tickets in the future.