For the final this pack was worth 950 euros

If you are fan of tennis, imagine did not attend next Roland Garros tournament, which will take place from May 23 to June 6 next door d'Auteuil, Paris. The sale of tickets is indeed close since the... 28 February. "It's the first time that this has been done as early," says Frédéric Longuépée, delegate of the French tennis Federation (FFT) Director, in charge of ticketing, public relations and entertainment operations.

Marketing first opened to licensees of the FFT, which receive a priority, on 15 December, and February 2 only to the general public. Consequence of this success, due to the fact that demand exceeds supply (the ratio is 3 to 1), for the first time in the history of the French stage of the Grand Slam, no place will be sold at the wickets, as was traditionally the case a few days before each tournament. For enthusiasts, the only modest remedy will be to get some tickets to access the annexes short (15 hours or 17 hours) recovered from the spectators who leave early stage compound, or an invitation by one of the partners of the event.

In total, over two and a half months, are some 180.000 tickets that have been passed on a total of more than 200,000 divided between licensees, the public and businesses (sponsors and companies purchasing tickets for their clients or their prospects). Or 26 million euros of revenue, or about 20 of the total turnover of Roland Garros. Thanks to the efficiency of sale on the Internet, which was the only network of distribution. "In 2007, the online sale was 6,000 tickets, roughly 38,000 in 2008 and abattoirs in 2009", said Frédéric Longuépée. For the latter, the success of this policy of "ticketing" rests on two pillars: the proper use of the database client of the Federation and the new segmentation of the offer.

The bulk of advertising around the sale of tickets, indeed, was formed by messages sent to the past customers registered in the CRM database ("consumers relationship management", customer relationship management). "Our message, it is the rarity, details the Director." This allows us to sell, while preparing the future by educating customers on the fact that the seats are difficult to obtain.

950 Euros 10 place

But the marketing of scarcity was accompanied by an evolution of the offer. "Previously, could that buy tickets to the unit." "We have built packages", summarizes Frédéric Longuépée. Thus, for a place in the final of Sunday, it was proposed to another place on Saturday. Another novelty: the pack player. " It is to buy not only a place for a specific day, to see this or that player, but also gain the opportunity to attend training, visit the scenes of the stage, back in the box reserved for France television, etc. All with a home personalized by a hostess and access to one of the restaurants usually reserved for the business customer. For the final, this pack was worth 950 euros. A compare with 10 euros of annexes tickets for end of day. "It was a test." It has operated since we sold our 650 packs in 15 days. "More importantly, the fact that, for the first time, the public has been reserve a quota of seats for the semi-finals and finals, on one of the licensees.

This segmentation and the strategy of "packages" has an advantage: the packs are sold more expensive than the addition of the tickets for the affected days. Overall, in crisis, the price of Roland-Garros tickets increased from... 15 (with an average price of 55 euros for the general public). The digitization of the sale allows it to drain the black market, because tickets sold on the Internet are registered (can be forwarded to a third party, but only online and indicating the name of the new ticket holders). It also goes hand in hand with the generalization of the electronic ticket. Terminals will be installed at the entrance of the stadium that edit a contre-marque similar to a boarding pass paper. A more security.