StubDog

[smerlin]

I got a call today from a guy from StubDog.com, an online half price ticket vendor that is moving to Austin. They specialize in getting butts in seats, which I know is something we are interested in.

Maybe we should talk about this at the next meeting. Here's the info:

Shana,

Thank you for speaking with me about StubDog Events. StubDog is a free event listing website, a sort of Expedia for local events, geared at generating revenue during your slower times as well as creating new fans by giving them the opportunity to try something at a promotional price that they might not normally try at full price. Our goal is to "help fill the house" or as you said "get butts in seats!" on nights when you might not be able to sell out. Our site is becoming a one stop shop which answers the question "What do you wanna do tonight?"

We are very similar to TKTS in NYC who has been helping bring audience members to theatre shows for years. The difference is that we not only list theatre but sports, comedy, improv, music and have a "family fun" section in which all events are kid friendly. We have been in Houston for almost a year with great success and are in the process of launching in Austin and Dallas. This is a great way to advertisie your shows at no cost, and to reach an audience you might not be advertising to.

There is NO COST and NO HIDDEN FEE'S to use StubDog Events and we do all the work to drive new customers to your shows. Most of the tickets on our site are 50% off the full fare. Please remember that these are seats that you think will remain empty anyway. You would maintain complete control of the amount of tickets, shows available and seating location.

Following is a little more information about StubDog Events. I look forward to speaking with you and answering any questions you might have. My partner and I both grew up in Houston and as an actor I know how difficult it can be to sell out every night. I now spend my time between Los Angeles and Texas as I own a theatre in LA. We use a similar site, 3 actually, who offer a similar service for all of the shows who rent out our theatre. It has proven very beneficial to everyone involved. StubDog is the only site in Texas with our unique business plan.



What is StubDog Events?
StubDog Events is about getting people out of the house to share memorable entertainment with friends and family. We do this by utilizing tickets that would normally remain unsold during venues slower times/events. Stubdog Events is a website dedicated to reaching out to the community and introducing them to sports, the arts, music, spa and all of the other wonderful events that are happening in your city. Trying something new always carries a certain degree of risk so we ask each venue to offer a few tickets at a "promotional price" as a means of negating that risk. If you're looking for something new to do, we provide a database of various entertainments for you to choose from at prices up to 50% off regular admission prices. We believe you should watch TV when there's nothing to do, and search our database when you are looking for something new to do.

How it works:
• Search our database for great events.
• Purchase event tickets and save up to 50% off regular admission prices through pricing exclusive to StubDog.
• An email confirmation will be sent to you via email.
• Pick up your tickets at the venues will call booth (you must bring your email confirmation as well as your id to get tickets).
• Enjoy the event. If you want please let us know how it went.

Why would a venue offer up discounted fares?
Across the wide spectrum of live entertainment rarely do all games/shows sell out. Each venue knows with some degree of certainty which event and how many tickets from this event will not be sold. These are the tickets that we want to sell for you. They then take some portion of these tickets and offer them at promotional prices in hopes of attracting a new audience. Our hope is that this will be the incentive to get people out of the house and into the community to enjoy love entertainment. Why leave seats unsold?

What is the catch?
There is none. We're actors, sports enthusiasts, musicians and wanna be CEO's that think its important for people to get out and experience the arts/entertainment while at the same time creating fond memories of great nights out with friends.

How does StubDog exist as a business?
It's simple. We are constantly searching every city for great live entertainment at "introductory prices" from which we tack on a small service fee that usually ranges from 2-6 dollars. There are no hidden costs and each venue gets 100% of the discounted fare.


Thanks again,

Sam

[Jules]

Well.....that sounds cool and all, but do they take a percentage of the tickets through their venue? HOw does that work? Otherwise, cool.

[beardedlamb]

i got a call from that guy, too. maybe we're on some kind of list...
anyway, he said the way they get there's is they add a little service fee to each ticket sold. the customer gets a slightly cheaper seat and we get more audience.
it's good because it helps to spread awareness and fill in houses but it's bad because that may not be worth the cuts in revenue. of course, if we're reaching new people and we keep the dates limited as to when we offer up tickets, it could work as cheap advertising.

[ChrisTrew.Com]

We got the call too. We're looking into it.

[StubDog]

I am the guy who spoke with Shana today. She thought that I should post our information in the forums but since she beat me to it i would like to add a few things about our website, StubDog Events.

Jules, to answer your question we do not take a percentage of your ticket cost. We do ask that you offer half-price tickets. So if your tickets were selling on our site for $10 dollars and you sold 10, we would send you a check for $100. We add on a small service charge which the customer incurs.

Also, we have been researching Austin for about a month and compiled a list of potential clients for some time and have just started calling people yesterday. My business partner and I both grew up in Texas and he lived in Austin, so we had an idea where to start.

Since Shana posted the information I sent her on how our site works, I would just like to re-iterate a few things.

First, we do not charge venues/companies to advertise your shows on our site. It's Free. If you list a show and we do not sell any tickets for the show, we hope you look at it as free advertising and the hopes of reaching an audience you might not be advertising to.

Second, our goal is to help you fill the house on nights you think/know you are not going to sell out. If you normally have a full house on Friday/Saturday we DO NOT want to take away from the biz you already have, we want to get new people out on the slower nights.

Also, there is no maximum/minimum amount of tickets that you need to list for any show. You can list 2 or 200, its completely up to you. Also, if you have listed 10 tickets on our site and as the date gets closer you realize that you might sell out, all you have to do is call us and we will release all of the tickets back to you. We only ask that you honor the tickets that have already been sold.

I would be more than happy to answer any questions anyone might have about our site so feel free to contact Sam (me) or my partner Mingo @ 512-782-2373. We started this company about 10 months ago in Houston and are very excited about launching in Austin and Dallas.

As an actor I know how hard it is to get new people in the seats. Your friends are only going to come so many times until they start bugging you for comps. We started this site with the intention of getting people out of the house and into the city to enjoy whats going on. So many people have never seen improv, theatre or a certain type of music and have no idea what they are missing. Our goal was to offer enough of a carrot to consumers, so that they give something a try at a promotional price that they might not try at full price. How many times have you sat around and asked your friends "what do you wanna do tonight?". We want to be the answer for that! Its being in front of thier face. It's convenience. We want people to come to our site and realize "i didn't even know that place existed, lets give it a try." All with the hopes that they leave there having had a great time and go and tell 10 people how cool it was!

Airlines have been doing this for years with sites like Expedia, Orbitz etc. We just wanted to do it with events! We do all the work to get people to the site which will in turn put your show in front of them. Its also a great way for you to advertise your show to people in Houston and Dallas in the hopes that they decide to see you when they come into town.

We look forward to working with the arts commmunity in Austin.

Again, feel free to contact me with any questions and thanks for your time!


Sam Levassar
sam@stubdog.com
"Why Leave Seats Unsold?"
www.StubDog.com

[DollarBill]

Sweet.

[Roy Janik]

It'd certainly be useful for TNA, The Blank Show, and The Cagematch.

[kaci_beeler]

It'd certainly be useful for TNA, The Blank Show, and The Cagematch.

agreed

[acrouch]

Let's talk about this at the January meeting.

[deroosisonfire]

i will not remember this. post it on the agenda thread next month.

[arthursimone]

Let's talk about this at the January meeting.

Chicago had a similar "HotTix" program, but it was directly related to the League of Chicago Theaters. How will StubDog be working with the Austin Circle of Theaters?

[valetoile]

whoah, why did this get moved to the Hall of jackasses?

[arclight]

My bad. I was moderating the forums and whack spammers from DC between conference sessions and I must've misfiled this thread. Sorry,,,