Dec
30
Best Ski Resort Website
At least we think so. And it appears we are getting a little support for our design of Alpine Meadows.
Posted in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Reno-Tahoe, Salt Lake City, Travel & Tourism, Web & SEO
Archive for December, 2008
Dec
29
Attorneys at Law and Online
A while back we launched a new legal website for Kummer Kaempfer, and they were kind enough to submit it as part of the PRSA Las Vegas Valley Chapter’s annual Pinnacle Awards. They snagged a few awards in the categories of Internet Sites, Electronic Newsletter, and News Release. Nice work ladies and gents!
How many people do you think search for and make a judgment about a law firm based on the integrity of their website?
Dec
23
Happy Holidays
To all of you out there in the blogosphere and beyond, we at Twelve Horses would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays!
In addition, we have a little confession to make. This year we didn’t do a catchy holiday marketing campaign, an interactive card, or donate a lot of money to charities. Why you may ask?
We’ve been working our butts off on client projects, as well as improving our offerings and building new products.
While all you may get for Christmas is a pink bunny suit, we got a stylish new Blog Design and Events site. Also under our tree is plenty of continuous process improvement to our core products, namely the Twelve Horses Ticketing platform, which was recently topped off with a big, bright red bow. I think Mike’s partial to the new wide-angle head cam and 5 feet of fresh powder in the Sierras, but now we are just rubbing it in.
But the other thing to mention is that we don’t believe giving back is reserved for just one part of the year. Our management team and staff are actively engaged in many different community organizations with purpose of improving education, environment, and the economy. As examples, check out our Philanthropy page, or read about our COO recently receiving the “Spirit Award” from the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Of course, if you did choose to give back over the holidays then Thank You! You surely made the world a better place for all of us. And if you could just do one more thing it would most appreciated.
Pray for Snow!
Posted in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Reno-Tahoe, Salt Lake City
Dec
15
Tick’d Off Too Many Times
I had twins not too long ago, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still like to get out for the occasional concert, sports game, or event. In fact, I probably need time out now more than ever.
And even though I have to shell out a pretty penny when you take into account the babysitter, food, tickets, etc, there is one thing that inevitably irks me to no end – excessive ticket fees. Why do I have to pay another 25-30% on top of what the ticket costs? And “convenience fee”? For what? Great master of tickets didn’t find me a babysitter or convince my wife that we should go!
That’s why I was completely behind Twelve Horses’ initiative to develop their own ticketing system.
The ticketing industry is in need of a major overhaul.
75-90% of the market is run by 2 entities. You know who they are. Not only that, these entities have been known to command upwards of 25-35% of a venue’s total ticketing revenue. Their convenience fee model (and the model many copy cats have duplicated) often takes a minimum fee plus a percentage. I just can’t understand why these guys get a larger fee for selling a $250 as they do for a $20 ticket. Plus, the whole “convenience fee” is only convenient for the ticketing system provider collecting it, and definitely does not endear the purchaser to them or the venue they are servicing.
The openness of these systems is a huge pain point as well. They all need to take a lesson from the SaaS and web development revolution. Open standards and plenty of interoperability is just what the doctor ordered. Think about all the travel portals and concierges that need to sell tickets from different venues and providers. It’s just better for the consumer to allow these exchanges. I think you will see the industry go through a standardization to accommodate this in the future.
And for all you venue and event management people out there, ask yourself why these big ticketing providers should get their branding material all over your event? Why can’t you control the branding and even throw in a few sponsors’ branding as well?
For these reasons, and many others, Twelve Horses has launched its own ticketing platform. We are embracing the ideals of fairness, openness and control. Give me a shout, I’d be happy to show it to you…
