Matthew Petro

Interesting point about the ticket cost. What's a tougher barrier to entry, high price or amount of work (entering a contest, etc.)?

I can see your point about raising the value by raising the price, but I think the idea of contests around ignite tickets is counter productive. To me, contests cheapen the value of the ticket and make Ignite just another promotional tool on the radio. The hype around the tickets selling out so quickly also concerns me. Are we going for popularity or quality?

Part of the issue with Ignite has been that it has become a show. Entertainment not participation. For proof of this look at the buzz or lack thereof in two weeks after the show. Nothing comes of it – no ideas arise from it that take flight.

That's totally ok of course if that's your expectation (it is mine), but there is a subset of people who praise Ignite as the next big thing in making things happen. Those people are naive at best and delusional at worst.

Stop promoting it as something that will spark change (no pun intended) and start admitting that it is 90% entertainment and all of this will go away.

Does the value of the ticket change if the initial cost is high, but the amount of discount is as well?

Think $100 ticket, given at a 90% discount.

The problem with Ignite tickets selling out so quickly is that it made it hard for people not already involved to stumble into the tickets.

And because Ignite has been marketed through fairly digital-only means, the reach is somewhat limited.

The value is based on the public view. If 600 tickets at $100 apiece sold out, the value is high, so 1 ticket at 90% is a total bargain, because the public view of the value is high. If you sell all 600 tickets at 90%, the initial face value doesn't matter, because the public will view the tickets as cheap.

The ticket hype is a case of Ignite being a victim of its own popularity. People wanted tickets because of the hype, not because everyone who bought one wants to be an engaged member of the audience and community.

I truly think the organizers of Ignite are trying for quality, both in the presenters, presentations and audience. Unfortunately, they don't have very much control over the audience composition.

Do other cities' Ignites trigger big changes or have a lot of buzz during the weeks afterward? I'm wondering if the lack of post-Ignite buzz is a Phoenix-only phenomenon or a general symptom of Ignite events.

This gets to the root of the debate which Tyler started: the Phoenix community isn't passionate about change. Are we in this city unable or unwilling to deal effectively with passion and change, or is this a general phenomenon which is common to all cities?

They do have control over how they market the event though. If you only market through twitter/fb/social media then you'll get the same people who are already following you and their immediate network. Its slow growth at best.

Good point.

Here's a scenario to consider: Ignite Phoenix starts charging a small amount for tickets (say $10, bringing total ticket cost to $15 including service fee). They use the money to promote via traditional media, rather than relying only on social media. Do you think this would a) change the composition of the audience and b) increase the public view of the value of attending Ignite?

I'm glad you're excited to actually attend, and I hope you're able to get in. Have you asked if anyone on Twitter has a spare ticket?

Yes, we do have control over how we market, but the budget limits us in the ability to go beyond digital channels, more traditional media relations and word of mouth.

That being said, we have done several informal surveys of our audiences over the last 2 or so years. Those again have been promoted through various digital channels, but they have yielded some interesting results. More than 50% of those surveyed heard about Ignite offline, through either word of mouth, a newspaper story or at another event. That's encouraging for our team given the limitation that our budget puts on marketing-related activities.

While I agree with you that we do have control over how we market, that doesn't necessarily mean that we have the same social media crowd sitting in seats. I've been closer to ticket sales for 6 than I wanted to be, but have been privy to see the mix of people that know about and attend Ignite. From my perspective, it isn't the “same people” as you mention. Sure, it's about 50/50, but we have moved beyond the social media audience well considering the budget limitations. Can we do more? Yes. And, we intend to.

I agree, but don't think it's beyond saving.

So in your view, Ignite is a success not because it lights a gigantic bonfire in Phoenix, but because it triggers numerous small fires in individuals across the valley.

I agree with this as the truest representation of what Ignite is. That's what it has been for me, anyway. My first Ignite was Ignite Phoenix #2 and I came away thinking, “Wow, that was cool, but what in the world would I ever present on?” It took a while for me to figure it out, but I have. Would I have come to this point without Ignite? Maybe, but probably not this soon and without the focus creating an Ignite presentation requires.

Quality, which is why I've steadfastly resisted a bigger venue, which is the only thing that would prevent ticket pressure at this point. It's also why we balance outreach to new groups and ideas with the knowledge it just increases that pressure.

I'm hoping some smaller Ignites, like Ignite Developer and Ignite @ ASU will help with that, as well as the satellite locations. Small groups of people having fun and talking about the event around town are, to me, much better than having it in a larger theater.

Not exactly what I meant, but I'm not sure if I understand what I was
trying to get at.

So, is the value of the tickets very low of very high right now?

I'm not the kind of person to seek out radio stations, scalpers, and friends' friends' friends for tickets (whether the ticket is for my favorite band or a small social function.) When I hear “sold out” I think “oh well.” If “sold out” really means “sold out for now, but remember to X” then by god say so. If contests and regifting aren't allowed, say so. If ticket non-use is a problem, I suggest either increasing the price, making it easy to refund and reissue a ticket, or both.

Economists would say that if your event is selling out within hours at $5, then you aren't charging the right amount for the market– depletion of the commons, just like driver's ed class. It's cheap and affordable, thus everyone is forced to wait for months or years before they can get in (or, even less fair, choose via lottery so some people may never get in.) If you want to be fair, but can't afford to give every single person who wants a ticket a ticket, then you should charge as much as you can while still ensuring 99% occupancy.

Of course I'm not a big fan of $300 Ignite tickets, but we're talking about this problem of quick snatch-up and lackluster residual sales here. So it's either high prices, returns/reissues, or something else creative like first come first serve the day of.

It sucks that you got totally hosed by the technical difficulties.

I still think that increasing the cost of the ticket beyond the nominal fee would make for more committed ticket purchasers and avoid the “flailing land grab”, as you put it. The concept of giving extra money to charity concerns me, though. Ignite has always been an independent entity, relying only on sponsors and not getting involved in charity or anything which has a particular point of view.

Tying Ignite ticket purchases to charitable donations might discourage people or upset those who may not like or agree with the charity chosen by the Ignite organizers. I think that would do far more damage than the ticket issues we've seen for the past couple of Ignites.