This year, TicketPlan is celebrating its 25th anniversary. A quarter-century at anything is quite an accomplishment, whether it be a company in operation, an executive in charge, a couple blissfully wed. For this British company, though, the secret of its success has come in its adaptability.
Ben Bray
Ben Bray, TicketPlan’s Relationship & Development Director, has been with the firm since January 2011. He has marveled at what a forward-thinking and progressive operation it has been during that time span. He says, “I think that the fact that we tailor our solutions to our clients’ needs and the markets and regions they operate in — with teams in the U.K., Europe and the U.S. — means we understand regulatory and cultural nuances globally. As a result, we can deliver first-class customer service and sustainable long-term partnerships that really makes us stand out from our competitors.”
TicketPlan specializes in providing protection to advanced bookers against their inability to attend pre-booked events and attractions due to such specified unforeseen circumstances as accidents, sickness, bereavements and so forth. At the same time, TicketPlan works with many of the U.K.'s leading ticket sellers, venues, booking vendors and events operating within the performing arts, leisure, travel and sports sectors to provide a significant incremental revenue stream.
So, what has been the key to TicketPlan’s longevity? Bray listed a number of reasons: “The fact that we have very low levels of staff turnover in our teams — for instance, I’ve been with the company for 13 years — reflects how great a place TicketPlan is to work at and means that our partners get to know us well. Therefore, they feel they are getting truly dedicated account management, and their ticket buyers are getting the very best service from our Refunds Team. I also think that we’ve always done things right in terms of the product. There’s no one-size-fits-all global solution when it comes to ticket insurance and protection, as each country — or, in the U.S., each state — has its own rules, regulations and tax rates. They will all view the product differently, and we ensure that our partners or their ticket buyers … are getting a policy of insurance.”
Bray couldn’t comment on how the business has changed since the company’s founding. But he was eager to speak about the changes and evolution he has witnessed since coming aboard. “The main change is how the product itself is perceived,” he says. “When I started, ticket refund protection and insurance was still a relatively niche concept with only a few early adopters offering it. In the past 13 years, increased awareness of the product and its benefits, advances in technology and the shift to online/mobile sales, and the change in ticket buyers’ attitudes to risk following the COVID-19 pandemic have all led to ticket protection and insurance now being a customer expectation when booking tickets.”
He continues, “The developments in ticketing technology over the time I’ve been with TicketPlan have been vast, and we’ve made sure that we have moved with these to ensure that we have both API integrated and non-integrated solutions available for our partners. Having been members of the ticketing community for a considerable time, we understand that ticketing comes first and that our product is complimentary to the ticket-buying process. There is a risk of overcomplicating what is a relatively simple product. With this in mind, we have made sure our technical solutions are simple, effective and do not disrupt the booking flow in any way, enabling our partners to do what they do best and deliver tickets to incredible experiences.”
As TicketPlan’s Relationship & Development Director, Bray heads up the company’s Business Development and Partner Management teams globally. “Without question, the favorite part of my job is being a member of the ticketing community,” he says. “I love being part of such a diverse, progressive, talented and friendly industry and really enjoy events such as the recent INTIX conference where you get to catch up with friends, colleagues and partners from all over the world. I really thrive on the engagement. And as a massive music and sports fan who is often found in either a mosh pit or a stadium on the weekends, I enjoy learning about the latest developments in fan experience and engagement within our sector.”
Moving forward into 2024, he sees TicketPlan’s biggest challenge as being able to “ensure that we continue to innovate in all aspects of our solutions, making sure the cover offered to fans is as wide as possible, while still keeping the ticket insurance product at a ‘no-brainer,’ affordable price point. In my experience, one of the most important aspects of implementing TicketPlan is to balance additional revenue to our partners per sale with affordability to ticket buyers. With the current economic pressures we are all experiencing, it’s more important than ever that we work with our partners to ensure that TicketPlan remains affordable across all ticket values.”
Overall, though, Bray feels very optimistic about the rest of the year ahead and beyond. He concludes, “The ticketing world never stands still, and in spite of the economic pressures I mentioned earlier, there still seems to be a desire following the pandemic years to sample as many amazing events and experiences as possible. On a personal level, I feel there needs to be continued support for grassroots sports and music venues. They are so important to local communities and imperative to the development of cultural identity. We all need something to look forward to. Hopefully, TicketPlan provides ticket buyers the comfort they need to book tickets to that event they really want to go to, safe in the knowledge that should the worst happen and they can’t attend, we’ve got them covered!”
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