The pandemic severely affected various industries worldwide – one being events. After being disastrously impacted by COVID-19, although events are back, it has forever changed the production of events . ‘Touchless’ and ‘contactless’ interactions are becoming a top priority for event planners; not just for the health of participants, but to avoid another shutdown for events.
Parallelling events, Purplepass, a digital ticketing platform, has seen the need for touchless ticketing increase in demand more than ever before. Purplepass offers not just ticketing support, but an entire event management software for running events. From equipment rentals and box office gear, to extensive reporting, guest list management and payment processing options, Purplepass has everything you need plus support for running a contactless gate.
Director of Client Relations at Purplepass
SourceForge sat down with Brandon Foy, Director of Client Relations at Purplepass, to discuss the future of running a contactless gate and the benefits of using an event management platform.
To start, could you tell us more about Purplepass and how it began? What are the company’s goals?
We like to say “we don’t give you what we have; we give you what you need,” essentially and Purplepass has been a firm believer in this since 2008. Since its start, the company has grown to power innumerable assigned seating ticketing venues, free events, concerts, fairs, festivals, educational programs, sporting events, and even comprehensive season pass ticketing. Since the shift in the importance of contactless ticketing, we’ve been working with a lot of schools as well to power their student registrations or to safely administer exams.
Despite our rapid growth and technological advances, customer service remains our number one concern. Our team is very successful in helping clients put on memorable events because of our years of experience in the industry. It all starts with a seamless admissions process at the entrance. For this reason, clients come to us either directly or through word-of-mouth recommendations.
Our vision or goal is to become the best event marketing hub in the market, bringing together all the resources needed to put on a successful event, all in one place.
What are the different event management tools Purplepass provides for event promoters that reinforce a contactless experience?
We offer a comprehensive event management solution with all the tools required to run a successful event. Some of our most sought-after tools and resources include our marketing integrations, assigned seating maps, our partner access feature for multiple users and reports. Our system automatically analyzes your event’s data and generates analytics, which it presents as intuitive graphics. This enables you to understand how your event is performing and pinpoint areas that need adjustments.
Regarding our digital ticketing and registration support, promoters can rent equipment or use their smart devices to scan in guests at the gate. They can look up orders, send receipts, refund or void tickets, and process payments, all while keeping it a contactless experience.
Whether you need a mobile box office, will-call and box office, ticket scanners, or printers, you can hire them from us at a reasonable price. Or use your smartphones! Our platform also supports group tickets, seasonal passes, buddy passes, and other custom packages. We also process payments via credit cards, our merchant account, PayPal, or your personal merchant account.
What industries do you serve?
We specialize in sports, education, conferences, conventions, concerts, food, festivals, fairs, and performing arts. However, we are always open to any other event type. We believe our platform can work for almost any event out there.
According to a survey conducted by Meeting Professional International (MPI), roughly 96% of event organizers experienced cancellations because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now there is a new standard for event safety. How can promoters use Purplepass to create a safe, touchless ticketing experience in compliance with the new standard of events?
At Purplepass, we are at the forefront of championing safe and touchless events. While masks may not be mandatory forever, we have detailed protocols on how to hold safe events post the COVID-19 pandemic. The first step is secure ticket scanning that comprises using ticket scanners, encouraging customers to present the tickets themselves instead of your staff grabbing them and proper safety signage. The second way is to accept all types of payments to hasten the payment processes, especially for at-the-gate purchases, eliminating the need for cash. Finally, we encourage our clients to prioritize advance ticket sales and support digital or print-at-home tickets. This helps prevent clogging at the gate on the day of the event.
As more events turn to hybrid and streaming experiences, does Purplepass support streamed events and ticket types?
Yes, we do. We were among the few event management platforms that support integration with virtual and hybrid events. With the introduction of our livestream ticket types and widget, planners can sell and host events directly on their websites. This eliminates the need to purchase an add-on service from the streaming platform. The livestream ticket feature is quite simple to use and will be a no-brainer if you’ve worked with us before. The best part is that it has state-of-the-art security and verification protocols to lock out any “gatecrashers.” For instance, if they use an access code more than once, the system will automatically disconnect the previous accesses.
Tell us more about your event management features beyond ticketing? How do these features compare to other event management software?
Although we are popularly known for digital ticketing, we also offer quality event management solutions. Ours is an end-to-end system that covers every aspect of event planning while giving you full control.
Creating an account is free and takes not more than a few minutes to complete. Once you’ve entered all the info into the event creator, the event immediately goes live on our website. This enables you to take advantage of our broad reach. You can also add personalized header banners, background images, and other event icons to customize the page. Or embed it on your own website.
We offer round-the-clock support to your customers at no additional charges. For assigned seating venues, we design the maps for free per request with an extremely fast turnaround time.
As I said earlier, our software collects all the valuable event statistics and analyzes them to generate intuitive analytics. So, besides real-time alerts on ticket sales and check-ins, you also get easy-to-interpret graphics on all the other aspects of your event. We sell most of our clients on how effectively this feature helps them understand their events wholesomely and prepare for next year. All this information is stored centrally, and you can easily retrieve them for future referencing and comparison or generate hard copy reports.
We are also known for offering a lot more unique tools and features. Specifically, tools that make management a lot easier, especially for teams with multiple account users. The best part is that most of our management services come as add-ons to ticketing, unlike other software, which may ask you to pay extra fees.
As a Client Relations Director, in what ways does Purplepass support its users, beyond event management?
When you contact us, we conduct free event management training and onboarding for your staff. This helps you tap into our extensive experience in event planning. Next, we’ll assign you a dedicated direct support representative to study and understand your needs to the core. In case of any glitches, you can always reach out to us via calls, texts, or emails for immediate assistance.
The same applies to your customers. We understand that you already have a lot to handle. Therefore, we will attend to clients’ support requests via email and phone 24/7 at no extra fees. This frees you to focus on other crucial aspects like lineups, licenses, and user experience that directly affect the event’s performance.
About Purplepass
Purplepass is a leading ticketing and event management software provider in the U.S. They work with all business sizes across various industries. Purplepass specializes in event management, customized ticketing and packages, advanced sales support, small to large scaled event ticketing, acting as a centralized hub for all your event needs.
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