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The first UK trial of SMS Mobile Ticketing for the performing arts has taken place for a performance of Stomp at Sadler?s Wells.
The trial, which was run by Sadler?s Wells in collaboration with advertising agency McCabes and mobile technology supplier Scan Mobile, was aimed primarily at students and involved the distribution of 20,000 flyers to students in colleges in London. Potential attenders were invited to use a dedicated text ticket number both to receive information about the performances and to make ticket purchases. When arriving at the performances, purchasers had to provide a unique booking reference and the last six digits of their mobile phone numbers to identify themselves and collect their tickets. 690 people used the service to send a text message requesting tickets, and 5 tickets were sold by this means. Problems encountered in the trial included the restriction that some students had on their Visa cards, which require them to be present for transactions, and the limited number of dates available at student prices due to the success of the show. Sadler?s Wells is no stranger to pioneering marketing initiatives, having been the first theatre to implement a real-time online ticketing system, offering online customers the best available tickets from the full seating inventory. Last year its online ticketing broke through the £1m mark, and weekly online sales have now reached £40,000, 20% of total sales.