More ticketing and live event professionals are giving thanks to . . . well . . . Thanks, a native ad network that seeks to curate meaningful connections between brands and audiences. The website for this New York-based organization states that Thanks is a “customer-first” monetization platform built to deliver rewards to customers “in moments they deserve to be Thanked.”
Steven Tesoriero
The organization is headquartered in New York City and headed by co-founder and CEO Steven Tesoriero. He says, “Instead of interrupting the path to purchase, we help ticketing and live event partners turn post-purchase experiences into incremental revenue and added value through curated offers, rewards and more, all embedded natively so it feels seamless, not separate. Where we really stand out is in how we approach both the experience and the product. We care deeply about design.”
Indeed, the in-house Thanks Studio handles everything from creative to execution. “It’s not just functional,” Tesoriero notes, “it’s crafted to actually enhance the moment. Our product suite is broader than most people expect. Yes, we drive performance through offers. But we can also layer in things like real-time surveys directly into the experience, so partners can hear from actual customers in the moment, not weeks later through panels.”
Why Ticket Sellers Should Give Thanks First
For teams looking to scale revenue while keeping the customer experience intact, that’s where Thanks excels. Tesoriero states, “Thanks is uniquely valuable to ticketing and live event professionals because we show up right after someone’s bought a ticket when excitement is high, intent is proven and you actually have their attention. Instead of interrupting the experience, we turn that moment into incremental revenue in a rewarding way, while naturally extending the experience beyond the ticket through things like dining, travel or upgrades.”
He continues, “We’ve seen this work time and time again with partners looking for stronger engagement and real performance, with zero compromise on the customer experience. Thanks technology can also be utilized by ticketing partners to achieve first-party goals like research, specific venue/partner offers and even pre-event transactions.”
The Exec Who Is the Reason for Thanks
Tesoriero knows his stuff. With two decades of experience in brand strategy, marketing and design, he has played a key role in shaping and reshaping global perceptions for some of the world’s biggest brands. At Uber, he spearheaded the company’s strategic rebrand during a time of crisis, redefining its mission, identity and brand architecture. He has also driven cultural shifts, from transforming Gillette’s positioning with younger consumers to leading brand innovation at Zip Co as Head of Global Brand.
Prior to founding Thanks, Tesoriero held leadership roles at top advertising agencies throughout Australia and the United States. From this vantage point of experience and knowledgeable foresight, he states, “Advertising deserves its bad reputation. Intrusive, disruptive and often irrelevant are all traits that have created an entire industry we’ve learned to ignore and avoid. At Thanks, we believe that value needs to be exchanged for attention and with AI and the future of retail media, the ability to match an exact, high-value customer with a deserved, high-value reward is finally possible.”
The Challenge Ahead: Overcoming Ad Fatigue
Tesoriero further acknowledges that there have definitely been complaints of “ad fatigue” in various parts of society, including ticketing and live events circle. So, how does Thanks’ services and offerings overcome that? He replies, “We’ve all been overexposed to the same ads, and the problem stems from traditional ad networks placing value on reach and impressions over value. Ad fatigue isn’t just annoying for customers, it’s also incredibly inefficient and expensive for advertisers.”
Tesoriero concludes. “At Thanks, we don’t operate in the same traditional ad bidding model, but rather, we value engagement – i.e., who is resonating with customers the most? The fun fact of engagement is that it holds a direct correlation to performance. Thanks is also much more than an ad network. We work with brands to help them achieve unique goals from growing their nurture funnels, acquiring new customers and even undertaking research studies. At our core, we are an engagement driven monetization platform that connects the right customer with a reward they deserve.”
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