Yasmin Arrigo, former editor-in-chief of Event magazine and editorial consultant for brand experience agencies, delves into the world of ticketed experiences

It’s Friday morning at King’s House. London and a bustling crowd is forming at the door, making its way through exhibitor stands and venturing up to the main stage. Once in the room, the noise levels escalate, as clusters of groups form and others work the room networking.

Looking around, it’s hard to believe that just 14 months ago, Dawn Farrow was delivering her first iteration of On Sale Live. Today, as the only industry confex for sales, marketing and communications professions working across the worlds of events, live entertainment, arts, culture and experiences, it has drawn in a vibrant community of 200+, all of whom are part of the experience economy - valued at whopping £134 billion annually according to research by Barclays. And while their businesses may differ, from theatres, to immersive entertainment, to visitor attractions and gigs and everything in between, they are bonded by the common challenge of how to sell tickets at scale in the ongoing battle for attention.

The consideration window

As On Sale Group’s founder takes to the stage to open the day, she kicks off with a moment of audience participation. Hands up if you’re trying to find an audience that is increasingly hard to find? A sea of hands forms in response, perhaps the only exception being those on limited capacity experiences. She continues, and asks, perhaps with less time, perhaps with a smaller budget? It’s a scene setter of a moment, with the community nodding in quiet agreement as she says, “to be candid - it’s really tough out there.”

And indeed, it is, as against a backdrop of global turmoil and consumer distrust, the event professionals in the room are also grappling with more pressure, smaller budgets and bigger expectations. Sana Ali Aamir, general manager and managing director for Northern, Central and Eastern Europe at Fever warned the room not to underestimate how difficult it is to break even in the industry, saying: “it’s high stakes and really passionate people so getting it right can be really hard, harder than it seems”.

Yet while people may be spending less frequently, they are spending more when they do, adds Jonathon Warren, commercial director for experience gifts at Moonpig, including Red Letter Days and Buyagift. “The consideration window is longer but there’s an opportunity there. For example, if people are spending £150 at the start of the year on a booking for the summer, it’s then more palatable to spend an additional £50 by the time the event comes round in June.” It’s a comment that has the audience talking, about both the opportunity of netting that higher spend through add-ons, and yet the challenge of the longer consideration window. Many are in agreement that while an upcoming generation is more attuned to seeking out experiences regularly, the desire to try everything once, from opera one night to an immersive experience the next, makes repeat business all the more elusive.

Cross-sector learnings

A packed main stage and expert zone ensured that across the day, the audience heard from organisations and businesses focused on the experience economy, with the exception of one session dedicated to the outside looking in and invited to share insights. Universally, the panellists noted the vibrancy and growth of live experiences, sharing that other industries themselves are currently seeking to be more experiential. “It’s not so much about what you can learn from us,” said Katie Ingram, Advertising Week Europe’s director, “it’s what we can learn from you as everyone is trying to create experiences.”

The day concluded with the actor Tom Burke lending a touch of stardust to close an inspiring conference and speaking poignantly on his desire to take a community-first approach to live entertainment locally and create a sense of pride with his theatre company Wheelwrights. As Dawn Farrow stepped up to close the event, she remarked that “we’re such a broad church when it comes to the type of events we work on but there’s such shared concerns.”

And indeed those shared lessons, both from those within the industry, those associated with, and from those focusing on transitioning their businesses to a more experience-led model, were front of mind as the end of day drinks were poured, and the noise levels escalated once more, with the crowd discussing and distilling their learnings.

Five top takeouts

1. AI LESSONS TO DATE

Stay savvy, embrace and experiment with tools, remember that they can make the marketing smarter and consider how they will accelerate what shows up first to your potential consumers. Remember that reviews will surface first for consumers due to AI so consider how to embed that within your marketing plans.

2. THE FEELING IS THE THING

Don’t forget - that is the real product. Across the day, the audience were reminded that ultimately, they are selling the invisible, and that the feeling is the thing, which is the hardest to show. Consider your design assets and copy - are you leaning too heavily on a hero moment?

3. USER GENERATED CONTENT

As AI continues to churn out more content, consumers will reach a saturation point and are already veering more towards engaging with user generated content. Several companies stated that already, the UGC has become the ad for them, and this coupled with content created by tastemakers is set to become ever more important.

4. OLD IS THE NEW NEW

The resurgence in earned media and the value of good old-fashioned PR was repeated across the day with businesses urged to not ignore that vital part of the marketing mix. And the value of direct mail was also highlighted, with scarcity making it thrilling once more and resulting in stronger response rates. Don’t be afraid to step out of the screen and embrace the traditional approaches

5. AND FINALLY… LOOK FOR THE MICROTRENDS

Fever shared that when it’s a rainy day in London, it’s a good day for ticket sales as people want to book something to look forward to, but when it’s a sunny day in London, there’s more Champagne upgrades, as people are in a good mood already. Fingers crossed for a sunny few months ahead.

Reviewed by Yasmin Arrigo, ON SALE LIVE’26 journalist