By Devon Daniels, Senior International Accounts Manager, TicketSearch
Most of the organizations I work with put a great deal of effort into selling each event on its own: a separate on-sale, a separate email, a separate push in the final week. That approach can work, but it means every performance starts from zero. A patron who enjoyed the first show of the season has to be persuaded all over again to come back for the second.
Packaging is one of the most practical ways to change that, and patrons are often looking for it. 73% of patrons say they would attend more events if packages and VIP experiences were available. Instead of selling Event A, Event B, and Event C separately, you can offer them together as a fixed bundle, a flexible pass, a season subscription, or a premium experience, so that one purchase decision covers several visits.
TicketSearch Subscriptions and Packages is designed to make that possible inside the same platform you already use for ticketing, box office, and customer records. In this article, I’ll walk through the package types available in TicketSearch and how to decide which structure fits your organization.
Four Ways to Package Events in TicketSearch
TicketSearch supports both fixed and flexible package structures, which gives you room to match the offer to how your audience actually buys. In practice, organizations tend to use them in four ways.
Fixed Packages. A Fixed Package bundles predetermined events or performances into a single purchase. It works well when you have a defined lineup and want patrons to commit to all of it, often at a discounted price compared with buying each ticket separately.
Flex Packages. A Flex Package lets patrons choose from a set of eligible events. You decide which events qualify; the patron decides which ones fit their interests and calendar. This is useful when your programming is varied or when a full season is more than many patrons are ready to commit to.
Season or Series Offers. A season subscription or series offer turns a run of performances, matches, or programs into one ongoing commitment. Patrons get a reason to plan around your calendar, and your team gets earlier visibility into who is coming.
Value-Added Packages. Packages can also combine tickets with other products or experiences, such as merchandise, food and beverage, or a premium experience. TicketSearch includes advanced settings that allow mandatory items to be added to a package, so the components that define the offer are always included in the purchase.
Choosing the Right Package for Your Organization
Coming from a Product Support background at TicketSearch, I tend to look at packages from the setup side as well as the sales side. The configuration is rarely the difficult part. The more important decisions are what you’re offering, who it’s for, and what you want it to achieve. That looks different depending on the organization.
- Small theaters and performing arts organizations. A season subscription is often the natural starting point, because the programming is already planned as a season. A Fixed Package can serve your most loyal patrons, while a smaller Flex Package, such as any three productions, gives newer patrons a lower-commitment way in. For a small team, selling the season once can also reduce how much individual promotion each production needs.
- Stadiums and larger venues. With more inventory and a wider range of events, Flex Packages and value-added packages tend to offer the most room. A venue might bundle several dates with parking or merchandise, or create a premium package for patrons who want more than a standard seat. Because package sales sit in the same reporting as single tickets, managers can see how packages are performing against the rest of the schedule.
- Nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations. For an organization selling around 500 tickets a month across a mix of events and fundraisers, a simple series offer can turn occasional attendees into regular supporters and bring revenue in earlier in the year. A value-added package that includes a supporter experience, such as a pre-event reception, can give your most engaged patrons a way to deepen their involvement without adding a separate process for your team to manage.
Wherever you start, a few questions help shape the first offer. Which events do your patrons already attend together? Is the goal to fill quieter dates, bring revenue in earlier, or increase what each patron spends across the season? And what will you review once the package is live: package sales, renewals into the next season, or how package holders’ activity compares with single-ticket buyers?
Let’s Talk About Your Packages
Packaging isn’t about selling patrons more than they want. It’s about giving them a clearer way to commit to the events they’re already interested in and giving your organization a more predictable view of the season ahead. If you’re planning a first package or rethinking one that hasn’t worked the way you hoped, I’d be glad to hear about your programming and talk through which structure might fit.
Schedule a meeting with me directly, and we’ll look at your upcoming events and how TicketSearch Subscriptions and Packages could be set up around them.
About Devon
Devon Daniels is a Senior International Accounts Manager at TicketSearch, where he works directly with venues, theaters, and event organizers around the world to help them get more out of their ticketing platform. He previously held Business Development and Product Support roles at TicketSearch, giving him a close view of how clients actually use the system as their organizations grow. Devon holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Guyana.
