Buyer Aware: Five Top Takeaways from the 2019 Premium Buyers Group Conference

The second annual gathering for buyers of premium experiences in sports, music, and major events unveiled common challenges and opportunities for sports teams, entertainment venues, and their most valued customers.

On September 18 and 19, the 2nd Annual Premium Buyers Group Conference again delivered valuable insights and programming at Red Bull Arena, home of the New York Red Bulls. 2019 attendees included Capital One, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, AT&T, Duke Energy, JP Morgan Chase, and several other major purchasers of sports and entertainment premium seating.

This stellar class of buyers heard from hospitality providers, ticket management software companies, experience suppliers, and from one another just talking, listening, and trading best practices. Collectively, the group and the event represent an important milestone in the industry.

“Much like the sponsorship side of the industry has a robust infrastructure to represent all stakeholders, there is a real need for buyers, agencies, teams, and vendors of premium seating to have a forum where best practices, challenges, and opportunities are shared,” said Todd Lindenbaum, Founder and CEO of SuiteHop. “This conference is an opportunity for new ideas to be incubated that will help all stakeholders in the premium ecosystem thrive.”

A panel comprised of (left to right) Mike Myers of Birdiebox, Rob Florian of Winspire Experience Agency, Doug Boles of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Alfred White of College Football Playoff discuss leveraging major events.

 

Each educational session, networking event, and peer group discussion revealed a wealth of opportunities. Key takeaways included:

  • Buyers aren’t necessarily cutting their budgets. They just want to buy differently. They don’t need more inventory. In fact, they need less. And they want better experiences to go alongside the ticket.
  • Speaking of budgets, yes, things are getting expensive. It’s getting difficult to justify the cost of long-term suites and all that goes along with the investment.
  • Speaking of less inventory and improved experiences, buyers want flexibility. The way packages are offered today typically doesn’t allow buyers the flexibility they need for various events, as well as the clients and executives they entertain.
  • And speaking of flexibility, it’s key for teams and venues to provide it because corporations want to do things their own way and want different things. For example, some corporate buyers want separate invoices after each event, while others want them monthly. Some buyers want fancy food and beverage similar to offerings at a five-star restaurant, while others want traditional ballpark fare. To be client-focused, teams must provide flexibility on everything from the lease through the operations.
  • Mobile ticketing continues to challenge corporate buyers for multiple reasons. They don’t want clients to have to download multiple apps or be marketed to before even going to a game. And what happens when the Ticketmaster website is down when the client is at the gate? I know from experience…you wait. Not a great experience for executive clients.

Premium Buyers Group attendees enjoy networking opportunities and peer group discussions aiming to exchange best practices for common pain points.

 

The results of the 2019 Premium Buyers Group Conference were unanimous. With the buying power in the room and their collective concerns – catering challenges, mobile tickets, ticket management, excess inventory, finding unique experiences, etc. – this forum reveals and addresses issues in a meaningful way to impact innovation for the buyers and the sellers. The corporate buyers hope more teams, their suite holders, and food and beverage providers will join us in 2020 for our third annual event. With an open forum and more transparency, all boats will rise.

Are you interested in joining us for the 2020 Premium Buyers Group Conference?
Visit www.premiumbuyersgroup.com and click the “Want More Info?” button to be put on our list to receive the latest 2020 updates.

 

About the Premium Buyers Group Conference:
The Premium Buyers Group Conference is a two-day event for corporate hospitality and marketing leaders who purchase or utilize premium seating and sponsorship in sports, music, and premier events, such as the Kentucky Derby, Masters, Super Bowl, U.S. Open Tennis Championships, and more. Attendees exchange challenges, best practices, and ideas with one another, as well as hear from industry experts about groundbreaking experiences and innovations. It’s an intimate gathering of corporate buyers, teams, and providers who are focused on customer and employee premium entertainment. Come solve your biggest challenges, uncover new opportunities, and meet new friends. Whether you are new to premium seat ticketing and event management or a seasoned professional, there are topics to help optimize your experiences, streamline your operations, and maximize ROI.

Listen to SuiteHop’s Venue Talk podcast to learn more.