Though fans may not find themselves on a crowded dance floor anytime soon, the emergence of socially distant events has been a major success.
In compliance with government-issued protocols, event organizers have worked tirelessly to create safe, in-person experiences that carry the same, if not better, value than those before. Many producers are in fact selling out their events within minutes of opening ticket sales.
Tixr has partnered with a number of producers who are innovating in this space and single-handedly keeping live events safely on the calendar. From comedy nights at Connecticut’s South Farms, to Seadeck - a limited-capacity sunset cruise in the beautiful Sydney Harbour, to drive-in parking lot concerts in Georgia, Tixr is helping event organizers around the world continue to throw safe and successful events during these unprecedented times.
Frequent testing is one way to ensure the health of everyone involved. BangOn!NYC’s Brett Herman, co-founder of the Elements Festival, quickly adapted his three-day event to Tested Contained Retreats.
“We have had great success with our 2-part testing protocol at the past 3 limited capacity retreats we've produced this summer, with zero reported COVID-19 cases after each event,” Herman revealed to us. “All guests, staff, and artists are tested before they leave their home areas, and again upon arrival, to create the safest possible ‘bubble’ for a weekend escape.”
Michael Allenby, the owner of Festy, spoke with us about measures he has taken to ensure that in-person events can be put on with the health and safety guaranteed just as much as a great time. In Virginia, where current laws allow farms and vineyards to host events at 50% capacity, Allenby seized the opportunity to use outdoor space and Tixr’s advanced technologies to create unique, socially distanced experiences for music fans.
“We said, ‘what if we sold tickets directly to fans and sold it in little boxes? We call them bubbles of two, four and six people’,” Allenby described. “It’s essentially a whole show of VIP boxes.”
Tixr set up a grid system to create COVID-friendly venue mapping and included an image gallery on each event page to allow fans to clearly understand the social distancing landscape.
Our mobile-first interface has also enabled organizers to enforce social distancing while still offering traditional venue amenities for fans to enjoy. With the integration of QR codes, on-premise, contactless transactions make attendance and fulfillment easy and convenient for all. “We got rid of a box office and did it like Amtrak. We make sure that everyone has a QR code inside of their box, and if they use that QR code, they can buy merch, food and beverages, and we bring it to them,” Allenby described.
We have also seen an uptick in event organizers employing Tixr features, Custom Forms and Waitlist, to capture customer data and analytics on IP addresses to ensure that attendees are not breaking travel bans. These features have also helped producers monitor interest in events while still finalizing production details, and gain data on modifications to issue for future events.
Additionally, the ticketing process now includes a signature technology comprised of built-in waivers that limit liability for event producers. In essence, Tixr makes it easy for event producers to inform consumers of all guidelines upon purchasing tickets, while also ensuring that all attendees have previously agreed to and/or signed waivers. When designing the ticket buyer’s purchase flow, clients can easily enable this interactive feature that can state guidelines such as temperature screenings upon arrival and refusal to admit a ticket buyer if they have recently experienced COVID-related symptoms.
While the world continues to socially distance, Tixr is proud to be the ticketing partner helping event producers create memorable experiences for fans without jeopardizing health and safety. We will continue to adapt and innovate in order to provide performers and their fans the necessary tools to enjoy in-person events in a conscious way.
Check out our calendar here of upcoming socially distanced events happening around the globe and upcoming virtual live streamed events reaching fans around the globe.
