B GLAD Produkcija: Own Sales Platform

B GLAD Produkcija's marketing and sales platform runs on Mojekarte technology

B GLAD Produkcija was established in 2010 with the goal of promoting the theatrical form of musical, educating young talent, and bringing especially younger audiences back to the theater. After 10 years, B GLAD Produkcija is a regionally established production house that has created numerous successful and award-winning projects such as Footloose, Crna kuca, children's shows Loptice, Mi o vuku, and adult shows Politicar, Who the fuk is Biba, and many others. B GLAD Produkcija brings the spirit of Broadway to the region and constantly strives to raise the production bar while offering audiences, performers, and partners an unforgettable experience.

By introducing its own multi-purpose and multi-channel integrated digital sales platform, B GLAD Produkcija expands its activities into modern marketing and ticket sales. In addition to the local back office solution and mobile box office for ticket sales, the platform also includes customized online sales that are fully integrated into the client's home page. This is the first and so far only example on the Croatian market of a production house or renowned group of performers choosing its own marketing and sales platform.

A few years ago, the Mojekarte team carried out a comparable pioneering project in Slovenia -- the customized sales platform of Vid Valic, which was set up to sell tickets for the original comedy Your Future Ex-Husband, proved to be a visionary project that exceeded its goals.

Before implementing its own marketing and sales platform, B GLAD Produkcija sold tickets for its shows, just like all other producers, promoters, and organizers, through Croatian ticket distributors. It was only a matter of time before they fully realized that this sales model was not a good solution. The logical question arises: why was this inevitable?

If we look deeper into the specifics of show production, we find that the requirements and needs for ticket sales for repetitive events are very similar to those of in-house solutions in theater houses with permanent productions, sharing many common characteristics. The larger the number of repeating shows, the greater this similarity. Due to the mismatch between the services and business model of distributors on one side and the actual needs of producers, promoters, and organizers on the other, it is natural and inevitable that the former will sooner or later reveal its weaknesses, shortcomings, and even harmful effects. This realization opens space for less stereotypical thinking and the search for an information support model for marketing and sales activities that better fits actual needs.

Ticket sales for B GLAD Produkcija through the mojekarte.hr distribution for shows in Rijeka, Opatija, Pula, and several other Croatian cities prompted the formulation and proposal for collaboration on a more modern basis. Discussions on this proposal lasted several months and concluded successfully in April 2021 with the signing of a cooperation agreement. The implementation and branding project of the Mojekarte digital platform was routine, and at a press conference organized in Split to announce a new festival project by Kazaliste Moruzgva, B GLAD Produkcija, and production house Amadeus Events Teatar uz more, the launch of online ticket sales through their own website was also announced, starting on Monday, May 3.

Having its own marketing and sales platform brings many direct advantages and benefits, such as:

- centralized, fast, simple, and efficient management of the show schedule, ticket pricing, system discounts, seating layouts at event venues, and all other sales parameters;

- active management of ticket sales with full real-time control, including constant access to structural and dynamic sales data analytics;

- rationalization and optimization of marketing and advertising costs for shows, based on 100% sales transparency and full control;

- lower sales costs on one side and significant added value on the other create an excellent cost-benefit ratio.

Having its own marketing and sales platform also brings many less obvious but equally important advantages, such as:

- building and managing its own marketing database (CRM),

- the ability to use modern marketing tools to boost ticket sales, such as interactive newsletters, coupon marketing, and others,

- strengthening the marketing potential of its own brand,

- the ability to establish and manage its own brand loyalty program,

- the ability to set up and manage affiliate marketing based on strong brand recognition and positioning,

- consolidation and positioning of its own brand.

The results of this innovative and currently unique project on the Croatian market are inspiring for all involved, and it is very likely that someone will soon want to replicate this idea. Branded digital sales channels are becoming an imperative for successful producers, promoters, organizers, and managers in the world of advanced event management, and this trend will reach our region as well. There is no doubt about it, since one of the conclusions from over a year of living during the Covid-19 pandemic is clear: people have definitively and permanently accepted the online way of buying, which very much applies to tickets as well. The typical ratio between tickets sold at physical box offices and online tickets before the pandemic was 60% to 40% in favor of physical box offices. After a good year, this ratio shifted strongly and is now 75% to 25% in favor of online sales. It is evident that customer attitudes toward online sales have changed, and even those who previously had a dismissive attitude toward this way of buying have recognized its advantages during the pandemic. From this we can conclude that there is no going back. Online ticket purchasing has taken and will maintain its lead over traditional sales.

This example of good practice is yet another in a series of innovative projects directed and signed by Mojekarte, all sharing a recognizable common denominator and goal: the complete digitalization of promotion, marketing, event management, and ticket sales.

Zoran Bistrički, e-commerce consultant