Mobile Marketing Leaders Since 1998
Press
Cell phones becoming the ticket at concerts
May 24, 2007
Was this the shape of concerts to come?
Fergie’s show Wednesday night at Cleveland’s House of Blues, the third stop on the pop singer’s cross-country Verizon VIP Tour, was a fairly high-tech affair.
For starters, many concertgoers didn’t have old-fashioned paper tickets. Instead, they showed wireless tickets -- essentially, a special bar code sent via picture message to their mobile phones -- for admission.
In the lobby, a large green screen and some computer trickery allowed you to make a video in which you appeared to dance with Fergie, then have the video zapped to your phone.
Fans also could use their phones to participate in tie-in promotions and to receive a post-concert text message from Fergie. The Black Eyed Peas vocalist is on the road to promote ”The Dutchess” her million-selling debut solo album.
“With this tour, I’m making a statement about where we’re heading,” Fergie said, holding court aboard her bus before showtime.
“Kids are more technologically advanced today,” she said. “If you can’t beat it, join it.”
Granted, if you’re going to catch the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall, protocol calls for you to silence your phone. We can’t have it going off in the middle of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, now can we?
But at gigs by pop stars, rock ’n’ roll bands, hip-hop acts and other contemporary artists, whipping out your mobile phone has become the norm.
“In many cases, it’s encouraged by artists,” said Ed Ruth, associate director of music content, programming and sponsorships for Verizon Wireless, Fergie’s tour sponsor.
Performers “see real value in any kind of opportunity for them to interact with their fans digitally,” Ruth said.
When our ancestors went to shows back in the Stone Age -- i.e., the 20th century -- they used to hold primitive devices known as cigarette lighters aloft during key moments. In recent years, those glowing lighters have been replaced by glowing mobile phones.
Instead of flicking their Bics, showgoers these days also use their phones to find out where friends are sitting, to simulcast a song for someone who couldn’t be there and to click snapshots of their favorite musicians onstage, among other tasks.
When the pop-punk quartet Fall Out Boy performed Sunday night at Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, fans could send text messages to screens on either side of the stage. This generated a steady crawl of grammatically loose mash notes, declarations of love for dreamy bass player Pete Wentz and the occasional marriage proposal:
Bree and danielle love pete wentz. . . . I love sasquatch. . . . Pete is HOT love amanda and zoe. . . . I LOVE MR. WENTZ. . . . Will u marry me connor?
U2 employed a similar gimmick for a higher purpose on its last tour. After frontman Bono made a pitch for a campaign to fight poverty, fans who pledged their support with a text message saw their names on video monitors.
The so-called “text-to-screen” technology on Fall Out Boy’s tour is handled by Vibes Media, a mobile-marketing firm whose client list also includes Justin Timberlake and Shakira.
“If you have a captive audience and if you engage people, they’re going to keep the dialogue going,” said Ramie Egan, director of music and entertainment for Vibes Media.
In addition to giving concertgoers a chance to get in on the fun during shows, the technology creates databases of fans, who in turn might receive follow-up offers from musicians, concert promoters, tour sponsors and other parties.
“It’s almost like getting people to sign up for the largest mailing list you could imagine,” Egan said.
The Police, the Smashing Pumpkins, the Beastie Boys and other hip musical acts are set to perform Aug. 4-5 in Baltimore at the Virgin Festival, sponsored by Virgin Mobile USA.
“Our customers are very music-hungry,” said Howard Handler, chief marketing officer for Virgin Mobile USA and a former MTV executive.
When they aren’t sharing text messages or photos (via “picture-to-screen” technology) with the rest of the music-hungry masses at the Virgin Festival, attendees will be able to receive event updates via mobile phone.
“It’s the most important thing somebody is carrying around these days,” Handler said. “It’s your connection to your family, your friends and what’s going on in the world.”
There are 233 million mobile phone users in the United States, according to CTIA -- The Wireless Association, a trade group.
What next?
Wireless tickets will be common within the next five years, said Bruce Eskowitz, mega-promoter Live Nation’s chief executive officer for North American music operations.
Your mobile phone increasingly will come in handy for purchasing everything from souvenir T-shirts to exclusive music or video content from concerts, Eskowitz predicted.
“It’s all coming together,” he said.
Nicky Valenti of Medina downloaded a Fergie ringtone to get a free wireless ticket to the Fergie show here.
Valenti routinely uses her phone to send text messages during concerts, which enhances the communal experience for her.
“It’s like you’re all in this together, instead of everybody just standing around doing nothing,” said Valenti, 21.
“Raise your phones up!” Fergie instructed the near-capacity crowd at House of Blues, where she romped through the chart-topping hits “Fergalicious,” “London Bridge” and “Glamorous” during an hourlong set.
At least one glitch needs to be worked out as the cutting-edge tour proceeds, however.
Fergie said her mother was having a hard time figuring out how to score wireless tickets.
