Member Article

Lincoln Box Office Takes Centre Stage

New Online Ticketing Platform Launches - Promoting Lincoln as an Eventful City

A new, fully integrated, online ticketing platform has launched in Lincoln, bringing an efficient and user-friendly experience to those wanting to find and buy tickets to events, attractions and experiences in Lincolnshire.

Lincoln Box Office, which is the brainchild of New Theatre Royal Lincoln and in partnership with Visit Lincoln, will change the face of ticketing in the area forever and aims to bring a more holistic, coordinated and sustainable future for Lincolnshire’s event and leisure venues.

The new platform was officially launched at an evening of entertainment at New Theatre Royal Lincoln last night, which was attended by members of the public, local businesses and senior community figures.

The region’s go to ticketing platform; Lincoln Box Office enables users to buy individual or multi tickets in one transaction, from over 100 Lincolnshire venues. With over 15 event categories to choose from, including music, dance, theatre, film, sport, comedy, talks and business, users can search for desired events with ease by category, venue, time, date or keyword, and make a swift online purchase.

Lincoln Box office is supported by The University of Lincoln’s Innovation Programme for Lincolnshire, which aims to help Lincolnshire businesses innovate through the programme’s research and innovation-based activities, interventions and funding opportunities.

Emma Olivier-Townrow, business development manager at New Theatre Royal Lincoln was a founding member of the programme and through her own research in the events sector, she identified the need to raise the profile of arts and culture in the area, and to streamline the customer journey around the ease of ticket sale purchase, and knowing what’s on.

Emma said: “Working in events and hospitality, customers regularly tell me that they miss out on events as they didn’t know or hadn’t heard what’s on in their area. Also, they are unaware that there is so much to do in Lincoln and Lincolnshire and often need inspiration. Those conversations were the beginnings of Lincoln Box Office.

“We wanted to create a digital platform that’s quick and easy to use in terms of buying tickets and would also inspire and champion events in our county. Whether people are looking for a midweek or weekend treat, Lincoln Box Office is the place to go.

“We are engaging with a vast range of event venues in the county such as theatres, exhibition spaces, conference halls, nightclubs, and cinemas, as well as restaurants and bars to join Lincoln Box Office, working collaboratively towards the same goal of giving customers access to events and offers in one place. It really is win-win for all involved; customers can view and make bookings and Lincolnshire’s event venues are able to sell more tickets – good for the customer, the venue and in turn our local economy.

“Lincoln Box office is galvanising the arts and culture landscape for the greater good of ticket sellers, customers and not for profit projects, and being fully digital and paperless, we are reducing waste. The team and I are hugely excited for what Lincoln Box Office can achieve and we will continue to research how events can positively impact and support our communities in Lincolnshire.”

Lincoln Box Office will enhance and promote Lincolnshire’s art, culture and tourism and will enable venues to cross promote bespoke offers - such as a great deal on parking, dinner in a restaurant followed by a comedy night, for example. Lincoln Box Office will also run exclusive early bird-ticket discounts and enable buyers to pay in instalments - helping to make art and culture accessible to everyone.

With a busy calendar of over 400 diverse events in Lincoln and Lincolnshire each month, Lincoln Box Office solves the problem of not knowing what’s on, where or when. The design of the site helps to inspire users, showcasing a range of options and enables them to find and easily book tickets.

Jessica Chambers, project manager at Lincoln Box Office, said: “Lincoln Box Office is a clever, secure and super-easy to use ticketing website that can be accessed on any device, but it’s so much more than that; it’s about creating sustainable futures and building a legacy for our beautiful city and county.

“By creating this holistic marketing tool alongside Visit Lincoln and Bailgate Independent’s Hello Lincoln Magazine, which promotes our areas creative and cultural landscape, we are working towards making Lincolnshire a great place to live, work and play. The term ‘putting Lincolnshire on the map’ is used a lot but this really has national and even international reach.

“By bringing ticketing across Lincolnshire into one place, it will increase ticket sales, help businesses thrive, enhance the cultural activities and enjoyment of local people and visitors, and provide a whole host of other benefits to the communities in our region. In addition, creativity, culture and the arts are said to promote positive mental health.

“We are inviting all local venues and businesses to join Lincoln Box Office, to list events, sell tickets, as well as provide special offers and joint initiatives. The more we all work together – with the shared goal of promoting Lincolnshire’s diverse event portfolio - the more Lincoln Box Office can thrive and reach its full potential.”

Mike Timson, chief executive at Visit Lincoln said: “This new digital ticketing system is win-win for Lincoln and the wider county. It’s been built and developed locally by people who really care and want to see Lincolnshire’s arts and cultural offer grow for everyone.

“We all want quick and easy solutions when it comes to booking tickets, and that’s exactly what Lincoln Box Office can deliver”.

Following the launch of Lincoln Box Office, its creators expect ticket sales in our region to rise and the team already has a track record of high ticket sales conversion rates - in excess of 5%, which sits above the national average of 2.35%.

Any profits made will be used to fund New Theatre Royal Lincoln’s much-needed restoration project and form a new charity that will work to make the theatre accessible to all and help to remove financial barriers.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tamara Samuel .