Case Study: Harlem Globetrotters achieves 25% increase in full-price ticket sales and 25% reduction in local marketing spend with Ticketmaster's distributed partner offers

Reaching Local Target Markets with Distributed Partner Offers

The Harlem Globetrotters faced a recurring challenge of moving excess inventory across more than 450 live events per year: traditional advertising and deep discounts increased sales but lowered yield. To find a more strategic, higher-yield approach, the Harlem Globetrotters engaged Ticketmaster’s distributed commerce team and Distribution Partners to target local markets more effectively.

Ticketmaster worked with partners Groupon, Goldstar, and TicketsatWork to test targeted, market-specific offers (varying discount, package type and timing) and launched the Magic Pass pre-game VIP package. The Ticketmaster-driven program reduced local marketing spend by 25%, increased full-price ticket sales by 25% per game on average, and sold more than 86,000 Magic Passes in its first season.

Harlem Globetrotters

Michael Kenney

SVP of Live Event Marketing