FanFueled Attracts Major Music Clients To Their Social Ticketing And Fan Engagement Platform

FanFueled, the social ticketing and fan engagement platform, has developed quite a bit since we last covered them at Hypebot back in November. Between returning clients and new clients as well as the further development of their social engagement technology, FanFueled is taking a strong position in the crowded field of contenders for ticketing service supremacy.

In fact, the current edition of their Engage Platform reveals that their strength in fan engagement technology is what truly distinguishes them from more mundane ticketing services.

When I first spoke with Founder and CEO Anderson Bell about FanFueled in November, they had a strong but limited history of ticketing and related services and a fresh million in funding. Yet, given the history of failure of well-funded entrants into crowded markets, I thought the idea of a "Fair-Ticketing Revolution" was admirable but could not comfortably speculate about future success.

Since then early clients have returned, they've cut major deals with new clients and even been awarded a patent for their social engagement platform. In a competitive field of entrants vying for leadership in the world of ticketing, FanFueled is becoming a frontrunner.

After a successful run with the North Coast Music Festival, FanFueled announced that the organizers were also working with them on the Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival in January. Last week they announced additional agreements with The Roxy and Miami's Ultra Music Festival, among other new clients, and a return engagement with Camp Bisco.

Note that not all of these deals are for ticketing services. Some of them feature use of FanFueled's Engage Platform that is an expanded version of their system for rewarding fans for spreading the word about shows via social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. In the early version, fans were rewarded with such special experiences as VIP upgrades and meet-and-greets for shows that they were already attending as well as commissions for ticket sales related to their social activity.

The new platform offers branded versions, such as the Roxy Theatre Engage, with the option to use one's points on the larger Engage platform for other events.  So fans are rewarded for their activity across events and events benefit from crossmarketing while maintaining their branded identity.  FanFueled also received a patent for the technology behind the social sharing and rewards platform that will enable them to license it to other companies as well.

When asked about what was hooking new clients, such as the socially savvy Roxy Theatre, and inducing early clients to return, Anderson Bell said that it was simply due to "mindblowing results." For example, their early work with the North Coast Music Festival resulted in millions of social media impressions and shares for related content.

In addition, the creation of a branded version of Engage means that music events maintain an ongoing relationship with ticket buyers between the purchase and the show.  That opens up greater revenue potential for sponsorships given that the sponsors can be integrated into the social setting for stronger exposure and can expand their sponsorships via such options as leaderboards and special offers.

The success of the Engage Platform shows that FanFueled is much more than a ticketing company. Though they do provide ticketing services, their development of a fan engagement platform is allowing them to work with companies that have other ticketing solutions and to build a powerful business that does not rely on ticketing services alone. However, in the long term the success of the Engage Platform seems likely to encourage clients to use the ticketing services as well to maximize fan response.

Hypebot Features Writer Clyde Smith maintains his freelance writing hub at Flux Research and music industry resources at Music Biz Blogs. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.