'You don't make the timeline, the virus makes the timeline'
Dr Anthony Fauci, March 25, 2020.
It’s been 14 weeks since Dr. Fauci quipped that oft repeated statement. And even as student-athletes return to campus, his words seem even more prescient today than in the initial response to the pandemic.
“The virus makes the timeline” certainly rings true for college football ticket sales teams. At our clients’ ticketing offices (correction: Zoom-powered home offices!), athletics leaders are grappling with questions and realities unlike any prior July:
- Will we be playing a full schedule? Or only conference games? How will we adjust with state-by-state travel restrictions or different regional testing protocols?
- At what capacity can we plan for our sales? And how does our capacity planning impact various fan segments and seating configurations?
- How will we handle refunds for fans concerned about social distancing? Or facilitate communication of critical insights.
Uncertainty reigns. Ambiguity is widespread. And ultimately, resilience is required.
At Fanalytical, our mission is to provide data insights that support revenue lift – whether from ticketing, development or merchandise. We connect your fan data to ticket sales campaigns resulting in fuller stadiums and increased revenue. But what about this period when a full stadium could be risky?
Two years ago, we produced the video below to connect the role of data analytics to one of our primary customers: the collegiate ticketing manager. Our message was upbeat and optimistic. And re-watching two years later seems a bit out-of-touch with current realities (or perhaps speaks to the realities we hope to return to soon).
Yet even in this difficult moment, our clients are finding that fan-based analytics can be applied to the tough calls:
- Seating and attendance optimization to balance safety, compliance, revenue and fan experience;
- Game day logistics to anticipate concession, restroom and amenity utilization and safety; and,
- Traffic flow, parking and ingress / egress optimization and planning.
In fact, there's an argument to be made that objective, fact-based decisions at this moment is the only path forward to ensure fair, equitable outcomes.
Lean into your current data-warehousing partner (SSB, Kore, Paciolan, etc.) for support or turn to an analytics-first partner like Fanalytical to navigate these tough calls.
We're in this together... Keep Calm and Carry On.
By next summer, we will again be dealing with question from this video: "how do I fill our stadium?"