Ticket Distribution Firms - Assignment Example

 Ticket Distribution Firms As Lewis and Slack (2003) point out, the issue of ticket distribution is every important in the entertainment industry. Due to the important of this, whole organizations such as the Ticketmaster have blossomed. Ticketmaster has been in business since1976 and has offered it services to entertainers in the area of ticket distribution. The firm offers these services to individual entertainers, music bands, organizations etc. Ticketmaster charges some fees for its services which include the following; service charge, facility charge, processing charge, and shipping charge. The issue of ticket distribution is an interesting one due to the fact that new technology is bringing in a paradigm shift in the way things are done. With the availability of internet technology, most entertainment providers such as musicians, bands, comedians and even whole organizations are able to sell their tickets directly to the consumers thus avoiding the above costs. By selling the tickets to the customers in a direct manner, the entertainers are able to avoid the charges and thus sell the tickets at a cheaper cost and therefore benefit the buyers (Pycraft, 2012). They are also able to benefit more because they do not have to pay anything to the ticket distribution companies such as Ticketmaster. Part II: Literature review Leenders et al (2012) looked at the issues arising from the fact that increasing competition in the entertainment industry is making success for festivals more constrained. They identified some very important factors such as ticket price, ticket distribution and star lineup and capacity constraint and diversity. However, the study indicated that entertainment, and especially music festivals are more likely to continually get worse and have less success in terms of attendance. On the other hand, Smith (2007) looked at the issue of distribution from a holistic view in a way that focuses not only on the distribution of tickets but in the promotion of events. Her study found that most events face the issue of distribution, especially with such constraints as the relationships between the organizers (distribution managers) and the entertainers. Ticketed events, as she found out, face more challenges due the fact that there is the issue of ticket distributions. The researcher found that the channels used for distribution of a service affects the way the consumers evaluates the events in terms of quality, the experience expected and customer service expected from the event. Cheung and Lam (2009) looked at the ways in which new technologies such as internet technology is affecting third-party service providers such as event organizers and ticket distributers. The researchers did this by looking at the travel agents and how they have been affected by new technologies such as the internet. They considered the challenges that these businesses face in the struggle for success and survival in an industry where the customer can easily access the service providers. They pointed that in light of the challenges of the new technologies; such businesses are restructuring and remodeling their business in order to be able to face the challenges. Rao, Goldsby and Iyengar (2009) also confirmed that the utilization of internet technology as a marketing channel affects the way businesses are able to communicate with customers. On the other hand Gunasekarana et al (2002) found that ecommerce has restructured the supply chains. The same views were given by Linton and Klassen (2012). Finkel (2006) looked at the declining role of sponsors and middlemen in the entertainment industry, especially in ticket distribution of festival tickets. He argued that the various music and mixed-genre festivals in UK prove that sponsors and marketers of these events are facing an increasing pressure to prove their relevance in the industry. Shuib, Edman and Sabran (2013) sought to look at some issues affecting the role of consumer profiling in the operations management. The research was done it the realization that distribution management is not just ticket distribution but also marketing the services. The researchers argued that profiling the end consumers in terms of their age, interest and tastes could increase the success of entertainment events. They also argued that profiling, when well done, could provide for better strategies on how to not only market an event but also on how to distribute tickets. Avlonitis and Karayanni (2000) discussed the impact of the internet in the marketing operations. The authors argue that there have not been enough studies to provide realizable empirical data on how the internet affects operations in marketing. They found that the increased use of internet has affected the marketing processes especially in business-to-business environment. Dvorski, Dobrinić and Kovšca (2007) looked at how businesses are being transformed as the internet removes the traditional barriers of business size. They argue that as the internet enables and empower smaller businesses, these businesses are able to now easily compete with the bigger businesses are able to enter the same supply chains. Part 3: Analysis of the application A close look at the issue identified a number of crucial issues which must be considered in order to ensure that the firms succeed in the market. Literature on operations management, and especially with regard to ticket distribution, indicate that the increased use of internet is bringing in new challenges for the businesses in this field (Lewis, 2003). In this regard, these businesses stand to gain both advantages and disadvantages as the internet increases to be the centre of commerce. Ticket distribution agencies such as Ticketmaster stand to lose the most as more and more service producers such as entertainers get a direct way to sell their tickets to the consumers. Most of these firms are trying ways to remain relevant in an industry that is proving to them every day that they are no longer needed. One way for these firms to remain relevant is by creating more strength on their other areas of service. These firms don’t just offer ticket distribution but actually offer other services that are important in the entertainment industry. Firms such as Ticketmaster can remain relevant in the field by enhancing their other areas of service such as facility management, where they manage venues and theaters and conference halls where these entertainment events happen. It is very obvious, however, that there are more factors which may make these businesses relevant in the modern internet world. The literature review also shows that direct marketing by artistes may lead to the end consumers feeling that the quality and experience of the event will not be of high quality. Events that are marketed by these firms (such as Ticketmaster) may create a quality perception to the end consumers. This is a very good chance for these firs to establish their power and relevance in the industry. Part 4: Evaluation of how Operations Research affects Operations Management As Cheng et al (2000) argue, research in the operations management is helpful to the organizations in making important decisions on how they operate. Research studies act as guideline to help these firms understand what is important and what is not important in their strategy formations. The studies act as the pointers to how the future will be and how the firms should act (Brown, 2013). However, the problem is that firms do not always take heed and use the findings of these studies. There is definitely a gap between the theoretical foundations established by these studies and the actual application of studies by these organizations. This can be evidenced in the light of Ticketmaster which has not changed its business. The nature of the target market defines and determines what the best distribution channel to use is with regard to promotion and also ticket distribution. By doing research to establish what kind of market the firm is dealing with, they are able to design their distribution strategies based on this. References Avlonitis, G. J. & Karayanni, D.A. (2000). The Impact of Internet Use on Business-to- Business Marketing: Examples from American and European Companies. Industrial Marketing Management, 29 (9), 441–459. Brown, B. (2013). Strategic Operations Management. New York, NY: Routledge. Cheng, T. (2000). Postponement Strategies in Supply Chain Management. New York, NY: Springer. Cheung, R. & Lam, P. (2009). How Travel Agency Survive in e-Business World? Communications of the IBIMA, 10 (1), 85-93. Dvorski, S., Dobrinić, D., & Kovšca, V. (2007). On-Line Channels And Direct Marketing Media. International Journal of Management Cases, 9 (3/4), 249-254. Finkel, R. (2006). Tensions Between Ambition And Reality In Uk Combined Arts Festival Programming: Case Study Of The Lichfield Festival. International Journal of Event Management Research, 2 (1), 25-35. Gunasekarana, A. et al. (2002). E-commerce and its impact on operations management. International Journal of Production Economics, 75 (8), 185–197. Leenders, M. et al. (2012). Success in the Dutch Music Festival Market: The Role of Format and Content. The International Journal on Media Management, 7 (3&4), 148–157. Lewis, M. & Slack, N. (2003). Operations Management: Critical Perspectives on Business and Management, Volume 4. London, UK: Taylor & Francis,. Lewis, M. (2003). Operations Management: Critical Perspectives on Business and Management, Volume 4. New York, NY: Taylor & Francis. Linton, J.D. & Klassen, R. (2012). Sustainable supply chains: An introduction . Journal of Operations Management, 30, 89-101. Pycraft, M. (2012). Operations Management. Johanessberg: Pearson South Africa. Rao, S., Goldsby, J. & Iyengar, T.D. (2009). The marketing and logistics efficacy of online sales channels. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 39 (2), 106-130. Shuib, A., Edman, S. and Sabran, N. (2013). Profiling Participants Of The Rainforest World Music Festival. Journal of Applied Economics and Business, 1 (3), 5-16. Smith, K. (2007). Distribution channels for events: Supply and demand-side perspectives. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 13, 321-338. Read More