Mobile : That’s the E-ticket

Transpromo enters the digital arena with mobile devices

Many businesses have seen e-ticketing as a way to reduce costs by delivering tickets electronically; whether to email or mobile.

In reality, the e-ticket itself can be a direct marketing platform that delivers the ticket, as well as a number of banner ads targeted to the individual customer, based on the information that is held on that customer. Some e-ticketing engines also have the ability to "manage" the banners inserted into those communications.

Companies collecting information about their customer demographics and specific purchase preferences can enhance the customer experience by making individualized and relevant offers to people via their mobile devices.

Mobile phones are becoming more sophisticated with an increasing number of improvements and features, such as:

• Access to email, including attachments such as PDFs;
• Access to the Internet;
• Cameras with higher resolution—and therefore, better scanning capabilities;
• Faster processing power;
• Larger screen sizes; and
• Access to apps, such as QR Code scanners.

Hence, companies are also moving toward providing customer communications, such as confirmations and/or e-ticketing, via PDF and on smartphones.

The engines that deliver e-tickets also are becoming more sophisticated, with the ability to deliver via email or SMS: PDFs with individualized banner offerings, Aztec codes (a 2D barcode) as boarding passes, QR Codes that hold information and more.

E-ticketing Today
Although much of the focus has been on airline confirmations and e-ticketing, the concept of delivering targeted banner advertising is possible wherever a communication is sent out to a customer who you have individual data on. Examples of markets where this can be used include airlines (of course), railways, electricity and other monthly utility bills, events such as concerts and games, online purchases such as electronics and books, and loyalty communications.

The banners can be used for a number of reasons. For instance, marketers can cross-sell products. If the customer buys a new television, cross-sell a home entertainment system with a discount.

Service announcements are also possible transpromo vehicles. If customers have purchased tickets to a game, inform them of venue entry options for their seats, parking or public transport options, and discounts for food and beverages at nearby vendors.

A New Revenue Channel
Marketers also can leverage the whitespace on e-tickets to generate ancillary revenue by selling advertising banners to associated companies. For instance, an airline can sell banner ads to car rental companies, tourist attractions and restaurants in the destination city.

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