The Use of Technology within Event Operations

The purpose of this blog is to discuss and evaluate the role of modern-day technology within the events industry and how it has impacted the operational elements of event management. This blog will also provide critical analysis of whether the use of event technology is either beneficial or counterproductive to the industry, considering the perspectives of both the event manager and consumer.

It is no stranger to us that the development of the technology and its immersion in society has had great impact on the way we operate our everyday lives and more importantly, how businesses operate (Beech et al., 2014). The events industry in particular has excelled massively with the implementation of the internet and advanced technology in both the event’s operations and the showcasing of an event (Ferdinand and Kitchin, 2017). Getz and Page (2016:331) defines ‘event operations’ as the “systems that must be in place and the actions that have to be taken” in order for an event to occur; this includes a variety of different stages in the planning process, from organising the event’s logistics prior to its occurrence to simply running an event itself. Depending on an event’s complexity, operational planning can be a lengthy process; with events like The Olympics requiring years of preparation, having access to the relevant event technology could be very beneficial to an event manager (Tum, 2006). Medina (2019) defines ‘event technology’ as “any digital or computer-enabled tool which is designed to help planners, exhibitors, or other stakeholders’ complete tasks pertaining to the event”; this implies that any form of technology used within either the planning or running of an event is essentially classed as ‘event technology’. Some common examples include different types of management software, mobile applications and even some forms of social media e.g. websites (Waida, 2018). As the development of technology has grown massively over the past few years, event managers are able to use technology within virtually all areas of their work (Beech et al., 2014). Depending on the nature of an event, some event managers may also choose to experiment with more advanced technology to enhance the attendee’s experience, this could include the use of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) or other types of interactive tools (Beech et al., 2014). Especially in light of the on-going coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the events industry, interactive event technology is being used much more frequently in an attempt to capture the same effervescence of what an event might be like prior to social-distancing restrictions (Dex, 2020).

As previously discussed, the operational planning of an event can be a very lengthy process as there are so many aspects to consider in regard to both the internal and external operational environment (Tum, 2006). Schwartz (2016) describes these as the event’s micro and macro environment; the microenvironment representing internal factors (e.g. customers and suppliers) versus the macroenvironment representing the wider, external factors (e.g. local governing bodies and their policies). As the macroenvironment generally involves laws and other fixed guidelines, event managers should use this as infrastructure for the management of microenvironment, as these factors must be taken into consideration before making any implementations within the event itself (Oxford College of Marketing, 2020). Similarly, Slack (2016) proposes the theory that when analysing the proficiency of an event, event managers should impose the following five performance objectives for when delivering the event’s operations; i.e. the cost, quality, speed, dependability and flexibility. By using these criteria, event managers can measure the practicality of their operational planning and begin to evaluate the areas in which advanced technology can further improve the event’s operations. A key example of how event technology enhances operational planning would be the use of e-ticketing/e-commerce services (Ferdinand and Kitchin, 2017).

The Use of E-ticketing Within the Events Industry

Prior to the development of the internet and event technology, both running and attending an event was a very manual process (Medina, 2019). Before the development of e-commerce services, e-ticketing in particular, customers were required to physically queue outside box offices solely for tickets to an event; in which tickets weren’t always guaranteed (Hudson, 2015). E-ticketing and e-commerce services in general have revolutionised the way in which businesses operate and are a key example of how operational planning can be improved with the use of advanced technology (Raj et al., 2017). Especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic, accessibility to e-ticketing platforms has benefitted many companies as customers are able to purchase tickets from anywhere at their convenience, required they have access to the internet (Perez, 2020). Since the coronavirus pandemic, e-commerce services have grown by a staggering 18.4%, exceeding £3.17 trillion in sales (Chaffey, 2020); which begs the question, could e-commerce transform how we buy and sell goods and become our main form of retail?

Rouse (2005) defines e-ticketing as a “paperless electronic document used for ticketing passengers, particularly in the commercial airline industry”; however, this applies to any industry in which an electronic ticket is issued to a customer. As it is essentially an e-commerce service, e-ticketing is categorised as a form of customer processing technology; technology that is used to enhance the operational planning of an event (Slack, 2016). Sines and Gregory (2004:1) define ‘customer processing technology’ as “the methods and systems for purchasing on the internet or other global computer information networks”, this definition applies to e-ticketing as the service used relies on online transaction for the buying and selling of tickets.

The Advantages of E-ticketing

When conferring the five performance objectives stated previously, implementing e-ticketing within a business can boost the operational planning through its enhancement of cost, quality, flexibility, dependability and speed of service. In terms of cost and the expenditure of offering e-ticketing as a service, e-ticketing is much more cost-efficient for an event manager as they’ll no longer require to lease a box office, employ workers to manually sell tickets or pay for material and delivery costs (Sines and Gregory, 2004). Furthermore, this is also more cost efficient for the customer as they’re no longer required to travel to a box office in order purchase tickets but are able to do so at their convenience instead, providing they have access to the internet (Goldblatt, 2014). This attribute further enhances the speed and flexibility of the service, as customers are able to purchase tickets when suitable to them and often receive confirmation and access to their tickets almost simultaneously, depending on the ticket type chosen (Beech et al., 2014). Most e-ticketing websites will also offer customers a choice between a physical ticket or an e-ticket, further enhancing the flexibility of the service; however, research suggests that e-ticketing is the modern preference and physical tickets are a thing of the past (Lee, 2020). Many people prefer e-tickets to physical copies as they’re easy to attain, hard to misplace and easily accessible through a smart-phone with no need for printing or other preparation; and much more dependable than physical copies (Haneberg, 2008). Since its establishment, e-ticketing has become increasingly popular resulting in the development of more reputable ticket selling agencies like Skiddle and Eventbrite (Waida, 2018). Due to their positive reputation and large selection of events to choose from, customers choose to purchase their tickets through these websites as they’re seen as dependable and offer good quality customer service (Excaliur Team, 2020). Most reputable e-ticketing sites like Skiddle also provide further relevant information on the venue’s facilities, transport/directions to the event and even local hotels/Airbnb's (Skiddle, 2020); improving the quality and efficiency of their service. Not only is this beneficial for the consumer but for event managers also, as from a marketing perspective they are able to potentially work with local businesses to advertise their services alongside the tickets (Crosby, 2007); increasing revenue and enabling multiple streams of income for the business.

The Disadvantages of E-ticketing

Although the development of event technology has definitely enhanced the efficiency and accessibly of the event operations process, with great success comes greater complications and higher expectations, especially within such a heavily competitive environment (Raj et al., 2017). As the events industry is such a broad yet dense sector, companies may find themselves competing with one another much more frequently as the immersion of technology within events continues to expand (Bladen et al., 2012). As the use of e-ticketing encourages open and transparent pricing, customers are able to compare event’s prices and facilities and further decide which event they’ll choose to invest in (Raj et al., 2017). While beneficial for customers, this increases the competition between businesses and for smaller events companies which can be discouraging as larger events companies may have an innate advantage due to the facilities they have to offer, cheaper prices, reputation, etc. Not only is this detrimental to businesses but similarly the switch to technology-based services and its improved efficiency could result in unemployment for employees who work within box offices and similar ticket distribution roles; increasing unemployment rates (Crosby, 2007). As for the fundamental disadvantages of e-ticketing; the enhanced quality, dependability and flexibility of the service are disregarded automatically if a customer does not have access to the internet or a mobile device (Ferdinand and Kitchen, 2017). Although we live in a heavily tech-orientated society where over 5 billion estimated people have mobile devices (Silvers, 2019); there’s still a considerable amount of people who do not have smart phones and therefore do not correspond to this statistic. For businesses that have predominantly elderly audiences, e-ticketing pays little contribution in enhancing the operational processing of these events i.e. theatres which mainly accommodate to those 65yrs and over (Lee, 2020).

Conclusion

From this study, we can conclude that the use of e-ticketing as an enhancement to operational processing can be very beneficial to both the event manager and the consumer in all aspects. As the development of technology is expanding, it is imperative that businesses within the events industry follow suit in adapting to the new way of trading. However, as the events industry is so varied and caters to people from all areas of life, the use of e-ticketing will fail to achieve the desired result with certain audiences that lack tech-savvy individuals, or those who simply prefer the traditional method. Nonetheless, it is clear that the advantages of e-ticketing overcompensate for the disadvantages and as the development of event technology continues to expand with time, the immersion of e-ticketing should continue to overcome physical ticketing over the next few years. As a result of the above findings, It could be argued that the growth of e-ticketing could herald the end of the box office.

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