Ballet Austin & True Tickets: Building on Success for The Nutcracker 2024
In 2023, Ballet Austin took a significant step toward protecting its patrons and revenue by partnering with True Tickets to combat ticket fraud and elevate their patron experience. The results were absolutely transformative. This year, in their second season working with True Tickets, Ballet Austin doubled down on those successes, navigating a uniquely challenging sales cycle while continuing to uphold their commitment to patron experience and ticket integrity.
A Tougher Year, But an Even Greater Victory
The 2024 season presented new and more difficult challenges. The distractions of a high-profile election year made selling out shows harder than in previous seasons. By Thanksgiving week, 2024 sales lagged 2023 and 2022. However, they remained committed to doing right by their patrons, and their strategic use of True Tickets’ capabilities ensured they not only met their goal but surpassed it.
The Results Speak for Themselves:
· Tickets Sold: 32,579 — selling out ALL performances, for the third consecutive year
· Revenue: +5% over Goal
· Chargebacks: ZERO (down from ONE in 2023)
· Total Voided Broker Orders Refunded: $135,000 (Over 1,800 tickets reclaimed and resold to real patrons, nearly 2x the $80,000 refunded in 2023)
Enhanced Fraud Prevention & Ticketing Efficiency
This season, Ballet Austin is taking fraud prevention a step further. As unauthorized ticket resellers and bad actors got more sophisticated and aggressive, so did Ballet Austin — by leveraging True Tickets’ advanced security features, identifying fraudulent purchase patterns, and proactively voiding suspected reseller orders.
Additionally, they fine-tuned their ticket release process, delaying QR code generation and ticket sharing until closer to showtime. This further deterred bad actors from exploiting their patrons while still ensuring a seamless experience for them.
The impact of True Tickets extended beyond fraud prevention. Box office efficiency saw further improvements in 2024:
· Shorter Lines & Faster Resolutions: Issues were quickly handled because True Tickets provides real-time visibility into ticket ownership.
· Minimal Panic Seat Inventory: Ballet Austin kept emergency seat reserves at just 1% of total capacity, allowing them to maximize revenue without needing large buffers for ticketing issues.
· Seamless Digital Ticketing Adoption: Despite 51% of The Nutcracker audience being first-time attendees, there were virtually no widespread adoption issues.
Building the Future Audience: The Gift That Keeps on Giving
51% of Ballet Austin’s Nutcracker audience being first-time attendees also represents a significant opportunity to reveal and engage with their shadow audience (people who accompany ticket buyers to shows, but the venue typically doesn’t know who they are, as they don’t have their data in their database).
In 2023, True Tickets ticket sharing revealed 2,432 shadow audience members to Ballet Austin. 117 of those revealed shadow audience members purchased 320 tickets for $24,131.90.
In 2024, True Tickets ticket sharing revealed another 2,726 shadow audience members to Ballet Austin. 401 of those revealed shadow audience members in 2023 and 2024 went on to purchase 1,110 tickets for $ $85,064.68.
Ballet Austin is trending similarly to other True Tickets partners, and if that trend continues, we’d expect the incremental revenue from shadow audience purchases to nearly double again in 2025 to over $150,000.
Stories of Patron Gratitude
Beyond the numbers, Ballet Austin’s commitment to patron-first service was once again a highlight of the season. The ballet continued to personally assist ticket holders impacted by third-party resellers, ensuring that as many people as possible could enjoy the magic of The Nutcracker.
Fernando’s Story (posted on Google reviews):
“We had a magical experience last night at The Nutcracker. . . The thing is that we made a mistake and bought our tickets from a third party. . . To make a long story short, the tickets that we purchased had been canceled by Ballet Austin long ago because the seller violated their no-resell policy. Of course, we were never told and were facing the possibility of missing the performance. But the staff at the ticket office were incredibly gracious. They explained what happened, asked us to report this to our credit card company, provided written evidence, and gave us two excellent complimentary tickets.
It is refreshing to deal with organizations that empower their employees to the point of making decisions like this. We are incredibly grateful for the way they handled it. That’s how you build a loyal customer base.”
Denise’s Story:
“First, I want to say thank you so much for helping me with The Nutcracker tickets on Saturday the 21st. You were so kind and helpful at a time that I was very upset. Even though it was not your problem, you did everything you could to help, and the tickets I did get from the ballet were wonderful. We certainly enjoyed our day!
I want to let you know that [the unauthorized third-party reseller] actually did refund our money for our tickets. So, at least I did not have to go through the bank and trying to get our money returned because of fraud.”
Madi’s Story:
“I wanted to let you know Vivid refunded my tickets from the letter you sent me!
Thank you again for reaching out and for the assistance in getting new tickets. It is a memory with my dad that I will cherish forever.”
Melinda’s Story:
“I hope this email gets to you. You were so wonderful to me and my friends last Saturday and I want to thank you again. We had such a wonderful time! It was a first ballet for my friend and her daughter. They were enchanted. The performance was my first Nutcracker at the Long Center. The changes since I saw the ballet at the Performing Arts Center were stunning. It couldn’t have been a better night. I will certainly be back!
Also, I wanted to share that I did get my money back. I didn’t even have to enlist UFCU to help me. When I saw the money back in my account, I was incredulous. Happy endings are so sweet.”
Looking Ahead: Raising the Bar for 2025
Ballet Austin’s second season with True Tickets reinforced the notion that secure, digital ticketing is the future of live entertainment. The ability to mitigate fraud, improve patron relationships, and drive higher revenues proves that this partnership is more than just a solution — it’s a strategic advantage.
As cultural institutions worldwide look for ways to navigate modern ticketing challenges, Ballet Austin continues to stand as a testament to how technology and patron-first strategies can work together to create an exceptional experience for both the organization and its audience.
