KISS marketing and ticketing talks

UEFA's member associations continue to share invaluable information with each other for the overall benefit of the European game – with the latest exchanges looking at how to improve and further develop marketing and ticketing at international matches.

Representatives of 29 European national associations came together in Bucharest, joining UEFA colleagues for a ticketing and marketing workshop held under the auspices of the European governing body's Knowledge and Information Sharing Scenario (KISS) programme.

The workshop examined a variety of pertinent issues. These included effective communication with target audiences; exploring ways of enhancing the matchday experience for fans; how ticketing and marketing cooperation can be strengthened to motivate fans to come back to the stadium – thereby helping to fill stadiums; and the latest and future developments in ticketing and marketing, including current trends in how to make use of digital platforms and technologies to sell tickets.

Discussions in Bucharest also highlighted the importance of obtaining good data from ticket buyers to gain insights into the behaviour of the national association's football family. In addition, the group deliberations unearthed a series of excellent ideas for promoting ticket sales – underlining the value of national associations interacting and sharing knowledge.

Several delegates gave specific presentations on association and club ticketing processes and promotion, while UEFA explained the challenge that it faced in supporting national associations in the ticketing sector for the UEFA EURO 2016 final tournament in France next summer.

Razvan Burleanu, president of the Romanian Football Federation (FRF), who hosted the workshop, said the event brought together different ideas, projects and experiences. "Fan engagement represents one of the key topics in football these days," he reflected. "It is all about the people who love football. The mission to transform the 90 minutes of a football game into an event that a child would never forget is probably the hardest and most wonderful challenge."

The FRF president said that Romania was also working hard on its ticketing and marketing activities in view of UEFA EURO 2020, when Bucharest will stage three group matches and one round of 16 game. "A special honour such as this one requires special attention," he emphasised.

"We are all from different countries," added UEFA marketing manager Noel Mooney. "But we have a common mission – to grow football in Europe."

"We learned so much from the mix of presentations of our national associations and external experts and interactive group discussions," he said. "This workshop will benefit national associations in the short, medium and long term."