Ingrams Events

Buying from an agent

2007-11-12T18:44:00.001Z

There are a number of ways to buy hospitality.
The most popular are:
1. Contact the venue direct
2. Google it
3. Appoint an agent

Number 1
Sounds the most sensible and often is, but remember you will be one of many companies they have to deal with, but you know you getting the right price.
Number 2
You are putting you head in the Lions mouth.
Number 3
You are putting your head in the Lions mouth.

Or are you:
Number 3
The agent will get a commission, you will not, this gives you the benefit of having someone looking after you, either in the build up to the event or most often on the day itself for free.
Going direct does not mean that it will be good, if the agent turns up and your not paying them then its better to have someone there on your side checking and checking again that you "their "client are being looked after.
Often an agent will solve problems you don't even know existed and will make sure that you get your Champagne before anyone else!

Don't dismiss the option of an agent just make sure they give you the facts, price check them and ask them if they are marking up to cover costs, a good one will tell you....

We are looking for.....

2007-11-12T18:33:00.000Z

Time and time again I get asked for hospitality options for clients.
Normally the brief is "we are looking for something for 10 guests" and that is about as good as the brief gets. This brief tends to get a corporate company such as Ingram's going, we look for ideas, we hold space we talk to suppliers then we put the proposal only to find out that its for couples is in June and the budget is £250.00 per person.

"Ok" you say "well you should have asked the questions at the time" whilst this is true the reality is that the client does not know as "The Boss " was very vague.

In fact you get growing confusion and frustration which is only compounded by the fact that of course you will have asked two maybe three or even more companies to look for you.

I do not know the answer to this problem but all I do know is that you are better spending a few minutes talking to "The Boss" setting out some clear questions and getting as many facts as possible, it will save you time, money and also get a better result and clear pricing breakdown.

Ticket pricing and can you trust the market

2007-09-21T08:07:00.000+01:00

There are hundreds of people offering tickets to events, this year Glastonbury effectively stopped ticket touts by tightening up the sale and checking of the tickets, it was reasonably successful however the pictures on the ID ticket could in fact of been anyone!

Wembley and the FA have chosen not to go down this route so there are tickets on sale for most games through individuals, in addition season ticket prices at most football grounds ensure a healthy market, as your poor loyal fan can get most of his / her season ticket money back just by selling one game.

The o2 struggle to control hospitality sales as the same applies , if a company has bought a box and can not fill it for a particular show then who can really stop them selling it, the small print tries to but with Led Zeppelin for example doing a one off show then who could deny a company clawing back 15-20k for just not using the box one night!

All of this forms a ticket market outside of official channels, the problem comes when companies sell tickets they do not have, this pushes the price up and also leads to unhappy buyers, Led Zepplin at the o2 will prove this in November as it does with most finals, unique one-off events etc etc.

Then you have the mis-selling:
Cat 1 tickets / facilities offered then when you get them your face drops as your VIP's are heading for Cat2 and a bar down the road... you complain and they offer you your money back or worst still don't answer the phone.

What is the solution to all of this:
The answer is always buy official and if this is not possible buy from someone you have built trust with, do not google, do not ebay and as a last resort just don't buy, if your job is on the line then tell the boss it can not be done.

Ticket sales outside of official sources will cause you a problem one day but at least you will have your eyes wide open, as well as your wallet...