If you're conducting talent auditions for an upcoming haunted house, now is the time to review your choice in haunted house ticketing software! Here's why...
Talent auditions for haunted houses and other dark tourism events are unlike any other in the entertainment industry. Blood curdling screams, cries of terror and all manner of faux chaos reigns - and all in good fun. With Halloween just around the corner, many haunted houses and ghost tours are conducting their annual talent auditions.
In San Antonio, Texas the 13th Floor Haunted House is currently auditioning actors and make-up artists too. Recently featured on the Travel Channel, the 13th Floor haunted house will likely see record attendance levels. As to staffing for this year's event, general manager Greg Salyers says:
"We have a lot of big plans for this upcoming season and we want the best actors and actresses that San Antonio has to offer."
Auditions are also being held in Kansas City Missouri, home of the the wildly popular 'The Beast' haunted house. CBS affiliate KCTV was in attendance during the auditions and reports in the video above that it isn't "exactly an American Idol competition."
KCTV also notes, staffing for haunted houses goes far beyond the acting talent. 'The Beast' is not only looking for actors, but they are also looking for other help, like to man the parking lot and concessions. Given how large some of the more popular haunted houses are, staff headcount can exceed one hundred people, a genuine challenge to manage during the short haunted house season. Unlike other events and venues that operate year round, haunted houses must condense all the business tasks into a very brief timeline including ticket pre-sales and construction of special ticket packages.
For example, many haunted houses sell products, such as souvenir t-shirts, at the event location. Not knowing the demand for total amount and sizes of the t-shirts can lead to either a shortage or worse an unsold surplus. The best ticketing software can make products part of the advanced ticket sales. As soon as tickets go on sale, the scare seeker can buy their t-shirt, right along with admittance, stating the quantity and size desired. The payment can be made at the time tickets are paid for, or the haunted house ticketing software can simply present a questionnaire that tallies demand. Either way, the haunted house owner has a very good idea of how many t-shirts to print, as well as the sizes needed. Such insight can save thousands of dollars by closely matching supply with demand.
Also, in the category of killing two birds with one ticketing software stone is the omnipresent need for marketing and advertising. There is no such thing as too much event awareness, so even the biggest most popular haunted houses can benefit from the ticket sales reporting and social sharing features the best ticket software technology has to offer.
The effectiveness of any TV, radio or print advertising that a haunted house event is utilizing during the lead up to opening night can be measured using ticket sales reports. Advanced ticket purchases, both online and in-person, can be set to ask for a zip code. By running ticket sales reports, the haunted house owner can poll the sales data and view the totals by zip code - thus gauging advertising effectiveness. Lackluster ticket sales in a given zip code could may indicate there isn't enough advertising, while big numbers in another zip code can be a indication that one has gotten the most bang for one's advertising buck.
In addition to traditional channels like TV, radio and print, a haunted house must make the best possible use of social media. Given that haunted houses are most popular with the 18-35 demographic, social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter are critical marketing tools. The 18-35 demographic dominates the online world and it is well documented that they prefer their information from social media first, traditional media second. A careful choice in haunted house ticketing software will allow the operator to not only add the Twitter and Facebook share buttons to the ticket purchase process, but enable sales directly inside of Facebook. Making the haunted house ticket purchase a native experience that never takes the customer out of the familiar Facebook look and feel can result in additional sales. And now that Facebook supports hashtags, the potential audience a haunted house can reach is vastly larger than before.
With so much to do, in such a short time, your choice in haunted house ticketing software is an important one.
ThunderTix haunted house ticketing software can help save time and money by combining tasks and reducing production costs. Selling products with tickets is a newly expanded feature that makes those souvenir t-shirts more profitable as well as being more money up-front to fund other event costs. And we have robust reporting that you can use to gauge advertising effectiveness with, like sorting sales by zip code. Want to sell tickets right on your Facebook Page? We have got that covered too.
If you have questions, or are in a hurry to sell tickets online, you are welcome to sign up for a free trial and we’ll have you up and selling tickets in time for the Halloween season rush!
