TicketMob Rebrands as CrowdTorch with Complete Audience Management Solutions

By Brian Parker

A while back, we covered TicketMob‘s triply segmented ticketing and event management platform for live music, electronic music, and comedy events. TicketMob allowed artists, labels, brands, and festivals to manage their interactions with fans independently of large middleman ticketing companies like Ticketmaster and LiveNation. As of today, under the acquisition of cloud-based event management platform Cvent and subsequent merger with mobile Seed Labs, TicketMob will be known as CrowdTorch, a highly specialized and improved event and audience management solution.

Scot Richardson, CrowdTorch General Manager and founder of TicketMob, explained that CrowdTorch is focused on brands’ individual intentions for event management, with “white labelling being front and center.” ”We want to give clients an entire toolset to engage with fans’ lifestyles,” says Richardson, regarding CrowdTorch’s goal to keep ticketing internal whilst maintaining a level of trust, transparency, and reliability between event organizers and their fans. A huge focus of CrowdTorch’s efforts will go into developing mobile apps for events that consolidate complete fan experience, from sharing functionality on social networks, to adding VIP packages upon entering an event, and quite feasibly reselling unused tickets for customers who are unable to attend.

With analytics that can track the correlations between promotions and ticket sales, event creators can keep tabs on what marketing methods are efficient to their particular fan bases. One such application of the social media toolset proved to be instantly successful–an artist offered a $1 discount to anyone who bought tickets through their event app, and gained a 380% ROI. Though Richardson says CrowdTorch is “still scratching the surface of the mobile app developments,” a dedicated platform that offers both solutions and analysis for events seems to be ushering in a new, independent method of interacting with fans.

CrowdTorch is certainly competing with major ticketing hubs on the level of direct ticket sales, but the company isn’t interested in a direct challenge against the current industry standard. Rather, by creating a new method of audience and event management, the new model may emerge naturally over time as a more lucrative option for artists and events. “We’re trying to be a replacement for multiple providers of ticketing, branding, and event management…we’re trying to do all of that for you and to integrate all of the relevant touch points,” Richardson explains of CrowdTorch’s 360-degree approach. And by maintaing the former structure that TicketMob called “verticals,” artists and organizers can customize a total fan experience without worrying about scalpers, disorganization, or a lack of information about programming, lineups, and the like.

With TicketMob’s former LaughStub (comedy), TuneStub (live music), and ElectroStub (electronic music/nightlife) still in place, events can be customized based on category, marketplace, and audience demographics. For example, creating an event with the ElectroStub platform can offer options for table service at a nightclub, with a group of friends splitting the costs via an app. In the same vein, promoters for these events are given a unique set of tools that cater to their job functions. Furthermore, having distinct channels allows event organizers to cater to communities of fans that respond to different types of marketing and promotions, a feat that is much more difficult under an umbrella platform with unlimited options.

Finally, Richardson made clear that CrowdTorch is a highly viable option for working with individual, independent artists. The same solutions are offered at this level with pre-sales, VIP packages, and special opportunities for superfans willing pay for an additional, meaningful experience. By integrating ticketing and audience management tools, points of purchase need not be disparately associated, and artists and fans can expect a more personal relationship without the hassle of hopping around various websites and social media networks to redeem special offers and features.

You can keep up with @CrowdTorch on Twitter, and learn more about the company’s outlook and functionality in the video below: