Deciding Between Tickets vs. Wristbands for your Event

When you plan an event there are a lot of decisions to be made. One of the top priorities should be how to best manage the ticketing and admission process. To ensure that the operations run smoothly first you want to decide if your event will require tickets, wristbands, or a combination of both. So you ask yourself; How will tickets and/or wristbands work best for your event?

The use of tickets and wristbands can be different or similar depending on the type of event you are organizing. Let’s start with discovering the options available.

General Admission Event
When it comes to general admission tickets and wristbands, guests are admitted when they present their ticket and then choose any seat at their leisure. General admission wristbands can also be used for non-seated events like a lawn concert or dance performance.

Reserved Seating Event
Some venues have seats with assigned numbers that are also clearly marked on the ticket. When you receive a reserved ticket for admission it is your guide to finding a match of the same section, row and seat as listed on your ticket. Some venues prefer wristbands to signify particular admission or access to a portion of your event. For example, a blue wristband might signify VIP status so that someone can gain access to a special VIP room, backstage, access to a buffet, or a late night party after the show.

How to Choose
In many cases, you might choose to have tickets AND wristbands as they serve different purposes for the same event. Attendees purchase tickets in advance, then upon arrival trade their ticket for a wristband to confirm their entry to parts (or all) of your event.

Consider the type of event that you’re running. Many events for sports (like high school football, soccer games, baseball, etc.) and performances (dance, symphonic band, chorus, theater) concerts, and many conferences are general admission events where first come is first served when it comes to seating. However, there might be a pre-show or post-show event in another area where guests would need to have a wristband for admission.

While deciding on tickets and wristbands, here are five questions to ask yourself to determine whether tickets or wristbands will work best for your situation.

September 18, 2015September 18, 2015 by Jennie Lyon Categories: Fundraising, Holiday, SchoolTags: diy, events, general admission tickets, selling tickets, Tickets, vip, wristbands Leave a comment

Get Festive with Our Holiday Themed Tickets!

Christmas time is just around the corner and with it come tons of fun holiday events and activities—and of course goodies and gifts! Whether it’s the Nutcracker ballet, a holiday symphony, chorale concert, cookie party, parade of lights, tree lighting, or another festive winter event, most families and communities have created a tradition out of regularly attending a holiday event.

If you are hosting a new event this holiday season or continuing an old tradition, we have your ticketing needs covered! Our general admission, DIY Christmas-themed tickets come in five different color backgrounds with sequential numbering that can be personalized with the details of your event. These tickets are horizontal, sized at 1.625” x 5”. For larger events, or events requiring security, check out our Christmas-themed tickets with security features including two gold foil designs on the front and a clear varnish on the back. Security tickets are vertical and are 5.5” x 2” with a 1.25” stub that is numbered to track attendance. Stubs have four lines on the back so that the stub can also be used as a raffle ticket.

We also offer special holiday-themed wristbands to use for entry into concerts, parades, and other events where guest admission needs to be verified by a quick glance at the wrist. Each wristband is 10” long by .5” wide with a 1.5” white tamper proof tab printed on tear resistant material. These bands allow the purchaser to overlay custom text on the festive background, as well as the option to upload your own design.

Finally, our DIY 12” x 18” Christmas posters are perfect for advertising your holiday event. The brightly colored, joyful backgrounds draw the eye and our website offers an instant preview of each poster with your personalized event details. You may add 13 lines of custom text onto the poster and an option to upload additional text or images from Facebook and Instagram.

What are your plans this holiday season? Whatever event you’re hosting, we can meet your ticketing needs.

Take a look at the full range of our Christmas-themed products here.

Happy planning!

November 4, 2014November 4, 2014 by Jennie Lyon Categories: FundraisingTags: christmas, community, diy tickets, generous, hanukkah, holiday posters, holiday products, holiday tickets, holiday tradition, holiday wristbands, holidays, posters, Tickets, wristbands Leave a comment

Football and Homecoming – America’s Favorite Fall Events!

Fall is here — the leaves are turning, there’s a brisk chill in the air, and… forget all that, it’s FOOTBALL SEASON! It’s time for that annual tradition, heading out to your kid’s high school stadium to watch America’s true pastime under the Friday night lights. And one of the best parts of football season is the pageantry: the homemade signs, the marching band, the color guard and, of course, the homecoming game and dance.

There’s just nothing quite like homecoming. As alumni head back to their old stomping grounds to see how today’s kids are representing their alma mater, students are getting dressed up and exchanging bouquets and corsages. The football team has spent weeks preparing to show their mettle in front of the whole town. And of course, the parents (watching their son or daughter have a first real date or make the starting lineup) are just as excited and nervous as the kids themselves!

Of course, if you’re volunteering for the booster club, PTA, or working for school administration or alumni association, homecoming season requires a lot of thought and planning. You’ve got to make sure your game, dance or other event goes off without a hitch while still being memorable. We are here to help! We have not only tickets for individual games or events — all of which you can customize, uploading your own logos and photos — but also season ticket books that let you include the year’s game schedule, information about the team, and a picture of your stadium or star player! For alumni events, we offer a variety of quality, durable thermal or Tyvek wristbands.

Whether you’re on the field, in the stands, or behind the scenes, it’s important to get into the spirit of the season and make sure it’s a special one.

October 21, 2014October 29, 2014 by Jennie Lyon Categories: Fundraising, SchoolTags: events, fall events, football, Fundraising, high school, homecoming, school, school events, season tickets, Tickets, wristbands Leave a comment

Students, Music is Good for Your Soul and Grades!

Learning music facilitates learning other subjects and enhances skills that children inevitably use in other areas. It’s important for high school students to develop interest and involvement in the marching band, symphony, orchestra or other concerts because music learning supports all learning. Making music involves more than the voice or fingers playing an instrument – a child learning about music must tap into multiple skill sets simultaneously.

Teachers and educators can help prepare their students to be future artists, audiences and patrons of the arts by putting on their very own concert. We offer tickets you can design yourself, tickets for reserved seating, and even tickets with security foil. If you plan to incorporate your concert performance into a fun fall or holiday carnival, you can use our concert wristbands. You can announce your concert to the entire school and community by using our beautiful design it yourself posters too.

It’s been proven that children who study music tend to have larger vocabularies and more advanced reading skills than their peers who do not participate in some form of musical activity. Furthermore, research shows that music is to the brain as physical exercise is to the body. Music tones the brain for auditory fitness!

Participating in the high school symphony, band or orchestra could increase your child’s chance of graduating, as well as increase their scores in English and Math. Learning and mastering a musical instrument improves the way the brain breaks down and understands human language, making music students more apt to pick up a second language.

However, it’s important not to oversell how smart participating in music can make your child. The real goal should be to help your child become more musical, which will in turn make them more interesting, happy and the smarts will follow. By learning to appreciate all aspects of music, and to respect the process of learning new things such as how to sing or to play an instrument, your child will without a doubt become a better student.

October 15, 2014October 21, 2014 by Jennie Lyon Categories: Fundraising, SchoolTags: band, children, Fundraising, highschool, kids, music programs, posters, school, school music, students, Tickets, wristbands Leave a comment

Make a Slam Dunk with Our New Basketball Products!

All across the country, high school gymnasiums are filling up with the sounds of squeaking sneakers, pounding dribbles, and nets swishing as student-athletes gear up for a new basketball season! With its free-flowing offenses, fluid ball movement, and improvisational highlights, the game is often compared to jazz music – and it’s usually just as exciting and unpredictable. There’s just nothing like watching a shooter come off a screen set by his teammate, catch a pass in stride, and lift up for a perfectly arcing jump shot that falls through the net just as time expires.

But even if you wouldn’t know where to begin to help your budding all-star with his cross-over dribble or post-up moves, there are still tons of ways you can get involved and show your support. Help make your kid’s next game, tournament, or skills clinic memorable with professional-grade products from our new basketball section. While there, you can create great looking, personalized ticketing products for the upcoming rivalry game.

Our high quality foil game tickets incorporate security features and are sequentially numbered to let you track attendance. Our foil tickets are even designed to let you use them as raffle tickets, so you could have a half-court shot contest at halftime. Choose from multiple designs of vividly-colored posters that will let you get the word out about the next game.

But don’t forget that selling game tickets isn’t the only way to raise money for your favorite basketball team. Set up a weekend clinic for younger children in the area, with your kid’s high school team teaching them the fundamentals and importance of teamwork. At our website, you can design badges and lanyards for the clinic (or tournament) that will make the event feel even more special for everyone involved — you can even upload your team’s logo onto the badges! Or if you want something a little more simply, especially for small children, opt for our fun, basketball themed wristbands!

Basketball season is right around the corner, and it’s the best time of year for hoops junkies all over the world. How can we help make this season more memorable for your team?

October 8, 2014October 8, 2014 by Jennie Lyon Categories: Fundraising, SchoolTags: badges, basketball, basketball fundraiser, basketball team, Fundraising, posters, school, school basketball, school sport, sport, sports, Tickets, wristbands Leave a comment

Colorful, Durable Wristbands are Perfect for Back to School and Autumn Events!

Between back to school and autumn – there are plenty of opportunities for fun activities for the entire family! If there is one thing that all of these events usually have in common (besides being super fun!) is that many of them require the attendee to be actively moving about. And the last thing that anyone wants to keep track of while having a good time is their event ticket. This is especially true if you have little ones in tow or will be getting wet (bobbing for apples, anyone?)

We offer a great alternative for the active event goer, our affordable, colorful and durable wristbands can be used in lieu of traditional tickets. Each wristband comes with a tamper proof tab printed on tear resistant and waterproof material, which means the risk of lost tickets is virtually impossible. Custom text can be added to our pre-made designs, or you can create a completely original look by uploading your own. If security is also a priority, sequential numbering is offered at no additional cost – making your event security a breeze.

Here is a list of some family activities, all of which would be perfect candidates for wristband tickets – if you are hosting any of these events, you should definitely consider them:

• pumpkin patches
• haunted houses
• fall carnivals
• holiday boat parades
• breast cancer 5k
• hayrides
• school dances
• school field trips
• holiday home tours
• corn-mazes
• ghost tours

Aside from offering verification at admission, our convenient, colorful wristbands are a great way to determine age appropriate activities, such as adult vs. child rides and alcohol consumption at the beer garden – our bright colors make them easily visible from a distance too, even in the dark!

YOUR TURN: What fall families activities do you have on your calendar?

August 26, 2014December 9, 2015 by Jennie Lyon Categories: Fundraising, SchoolTags: activities, autumn activities, customized tickets, event tickets, event wristbands, events, school events, wristbands Leave a comment

Will New Admissions Technology Make Paper Tickets a Thing of the Past?

With all of the new technology available to event organizers and venues for ticketing and admissions—mobile check-in systems, QR code scanning on smart phones—will paper tickets become a thing of the past?

Companies like Peatix are developing technology that eliminates the need for both tearing paper tickets and QR code scanning. Their new platform, ColorSync, is a mobile check-in system for events that does not require manually scanning each individual ticket. The pros for venues and event organizers are that with group ticket scanning comes less liability and a smaller door staff roster. Fans may even benefit, too, from the effortless check-in system. The big downside of ColorSync is that its capabilities vary with light and different devices make operation difficult. Because using it is an “acquired skill” and more work needs to be done before ColorSync is a reliable platform, paper tickets aren’t out yet!

One of the main pros of using paper tickets is, of course, that it’s a tried-and-true system wherein a physical object, the ticket, is required for show admittance. There’s less room for sales and tracking errors because physical ticket stubs can serve as a safety net or backup if a computer system housing ticket numbers and attendee information that crashes. While systems like ColorSync have the potential to be utilized as a time saver, where fans check in by pulling up an app on their mobile devices to show doormen, human nature allows for delays when a guest comes unprepared: for example if someone forgets to load the app onto the device they’re carrying, isn’t ready with the open ticket when they arrive at the door, or any number of other delays or issues that already exist when fans check in with paper tickets. As with any technology, we can also assume that mobile check-in systems have the potential to be hacked, replicated, or otherwise compromised by those wishing to attend a show without paying or go backstage without permission. Concert tickets also serve a sentimental purpose, especially for fans who have made attending festivals and concerts into a lifestyle and take pride in the paper mementos they’ve amassed.

What do you think? Would the elimination of paper tickets make for a more enjoyable event experience or are you, similar to a true book-lover who forgoes e-readers, happy with the way things have been going all along with paper tickets?

 

 

July 28, 2014July 29, 2014 by Jennie Lyon Categories: FundraisingTags: concert venues, events, fan access, festivals, mobile ticket system, music artists, music events, music festivals, music venues, raffle tickets, rodeos, security features, summer advertising, summer events, technology, Tickets, vip access, wristbands Leave a comment

3 Great Tips When Organizing Your Next Raffle

Selling raffle tickets or giving away door prizes are great ways to draw guests to your event—whether it’s a fundraiser, auction, or social event. (Word to the wise: if you will be giving away prizes in exchange for raffle ticket purchases, make sure to check on your state’s legal guidelines regarding the matter!) Here are three tips to keep in mind when planning your next raffle.

#1 Decide on Prizes
After you’ve done the dirty work by checking on the laws surrounding raffles and auctions in your state, check a fun item off of your raffle to-do list by determining how many prizes to give away and what they’ll be. It’s typical to offer a great third prize like a restaurant gift card to several winners, a bigger prize like a weekend getaway for two to the second place winner, and a high-ticket item like a car for the grand prize. Whatever your budget, this model can be scaled up or down as needed. Consider your audience when choosing the prizes; if you’re running a primary school charity auction, some families with little ones and newborns may not be able to enjoy a weekend away for two because they can’t get away if they’re in charge of little ones, but might enjoy an afternoon at the spa instead.

#2 Keep the Odds in the Ticket-Holder’s Favor
This one is important if you really want to sell a lot of tickets! If you’re expecting a crowd of 1000 people, for example, you’ll want to make at least 15-20 prizes available to make sure the odds of winning aren’t so daunting that no one will play! Remember that not all prizes will equal the grand prize; ten $50 gift cards can make up part of that 15-20.

#3 Create a Pricing Model that Matches Your Audience
Just as you’ll consider your audience when choosing prizes, your raffle ticket pricing should also reflect where your audience is coming from. If the event is higher-end—something like a philharmonic fundraiser—you can safely assume that guests will plan on spending a little cash and can price tickets accordingly. Your raffle prices should also, of course, cover the expense far above and beyond the prizes you have to purchase (tip: try to get prizes donated!). If you’ll be selling raffle tickets at the door at a carnival or outdoor festival, keep the pricing scale lower- to mid-range to cater to a mixed audience.

We offer admission tickets with detachable stubs made especially for raffles as well as Chinese raffle tickets. Our eight themed, customizable raffle tickets give customers the option to customize up to ten lines of text on the main ticket to provide guests with all the information they need about the event including an announcement that there’s a chance for them to win a door prize. The 1.5” raffle stub—the portion attendees will hand in for the raffle—is pre-printed with three lines instructing guests to fill out their name, phone number, and email address. These designs are perfect for events that centered around an auction or prizes, though with customizable themes they are a great choice for auctions and fundraisers, as well!

Chinese raffle tickets, also known as Penny Social tickets, come in solid colors and are sold in packs of 500 sheets with 20 tickets per sheet. Event hosts can choose from eight solid colors and tickets are sequentially numbered. Prices for Chinese raffle tickets are as low as $28 for 500 tickets and ship within one to two business days, or same day if tickets are ordered by noon EST.

Check out the dynamic products at Worldwide Ticketcraft before planning your next raffle!

July 22, 2014January 19, 2016 by Jennie Lyon Categories: FundraisingTags: concert venues, events, fan access, festivals, music artists, music events, music festivals, music venues, raffle tickets, rodeos, security features, summer advertising, summer events, Tickets, vip access, wristbands Leave a comment

How to Use Wristbands and Chinese Raffle Tickets at Your Next Event

Wristbands are a great alternative to tickets if you’re hosting an event that doesn’t require a full ticket for admission.

A few examples of events where you may not need guests to carry around a ticket stub include shows or acoustic music in smaller, intimate venues, outdoor carnivals and festivals where guests may be coming and going throughout the evening, or for events with separated admittance areas like beer gardens or VIP lounges. These wristbands are perfect for one-day events and can also be used in conjunction with tickets for events, as noted, with backstage admittance or separate entry.

Our Tyvek wristbands are our most popular and least expensive wristband option. Choose from a rainbow of seven bright colors or purchase a variety pack. Wristbands are ¾” wide with a non-removable, tamper-resistant adhesive to fit even the littlest wrist. Bands are waterproof, lightweight, and durable. Customizable wristbands are sequentially numbered to help with sales and admission tracking and include one line of customizable text.

We also sell Chinese raffle tickets, also known as a Penny Social ticket. The solid color tickets are sold in packs of 500 sheets with 20 tickets per sheet. These tickets are also great for events where guests will enter and exit once (no coming and going during the show), carnivals and markets, and community social events. Event hosts can choose from eight solid colors and tickets are sequentially numbered. Prices for Chinese raffle tickets are as low as $28 for 500 tickets and ship within one to two business days, or same day if tickets are ordered by noon EST.

Check out our website to order wristbands or Chinese raffle tickets for your next event. If they’re not, we have plenty of other options to cover your admission needs including colorful, themed tickets and customizable raffle tickets.

YOUR TURN: What do you look for when choosing admission and raffle options for your events?

July 15, 2014November 25, 2015 by jennielyon Categories: FundraisingTags: concert venues, events, fan access, festivals, music artists, music events, music festivals, music venues, raffle tickets, rodeos, security features, summer advertising, summer events, Tickets, vip access, wristbands Leave a comment