With the local arts calendar never quite having been so packed, professional events management is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. Enter evently.com.mt, combining the practicality of an efficient platform with personality. Johnathan Cilia finds out more from project co-founder Ben Vincenti.
When it comes to organising events, whether it’s a show or a conference, there are a lot of important aspects to take care of. One has to ensure the artist/performer is well-attended to; the venue is secure and ready to rock; the bar is fully stocked; and a million other things that will inevitably pop up while you’re trying to organise a great event. Of course, it would be just great if you could trust someone to help you with these aspects.
Enter evently.com.mt, a secure ticket and promotion platform made by event organisers for event organisers. The website facilitates the easy and secure selling of online tickets, allowing users to promote their events using a tried and tested system. The process is so simple that it gets an event literally up and running within minutes, a key aspect to the platform. More than that, it flows smoothly, seamlessly and efficiently, giving more time and space for users to focus on the actual event.
Co-founder Ben Vincenti, also one of the brains behind Trackage Scheme, the online music hub that brings together Malta’s alternative genres, explains:
“Although Evently is a fresh brand, the whole team – from the developers upwards – have all worked in this industry. In fact, it was through our previous involvement in the industry that we all separately recognised a market opportunity; namely, the need for a ticketing platform that could use a personal touch. In fact, Evently goes beyond being a platform and the idea is to offer unparalleled support to both client and end customer, promoting the event and selling tickets faster,” he explains.
Although described as a ticketing platform, Ben and the Evently team envision the site to offer much more in terms of support and promotion than a normal ticketing site might offer.
“The underlying technology has been tried, tested and proven to work beautifully. This is because the team is made up of a group of seasoned software engineers, digital marketeers and designers who have already successfully developed other ecommerce platforms. But it’s more than that. Instead of the process just being transactional, Evently will add a personal touch to every step. We are not happy ourselves unless the event is a resounding success. In chasing this, we will go out of our way to build engagement between the event and the wider audience. If there’s a consumer base that may be interested in the event, we will endeavour to reach them,” he explains.
We will go out of our way to build engagement between the event and the wider audience
“Of course, it’s not just about our customer base,” he continues. “Users also get access to all of our contacts throughout the events scene, as well as to our marketing campaigns and strategies. With us, you’re not just another number in our database. We look at clients like business partners, in the sense that their successes are also our successes.”
The Evently team has cut its teeth organising and promoting events through Trackage Scheme, which this year is organising the Bay Stage at the Sliema Arts Festival. While staging events and supporting other groups in their events, it quickly became clear to them that there was a need for a secure ticketing system that was approachable, relatable, and could offer more than the standard ticketing platform.
“We’ve seen organisers have all sorts of problems with other ticketing platforms. We’re even talking small things, such as allowing the seating plan to show while they’re actually buying the tickets. Others try to contact the ticketing platform for support; some want to set up a meeting with a representative in order to learn how they can best promote their event… only to be met with no response, or else, by being told that it’s a hassle to meet. For us, the hassle is only when a client is unhappy,” says Ben
Whereas the Trackage Scheme ticketing platform dealt purely with music events, usually of the alternative kind, Evently caters for all types of events that need tickets. And there are a lot of nice little additions that only people who organise events regularly will recognise are so important.
“Our system allows the end customer to add as many tickets as they wish to a given event. Each event has its own ticket price, stock, and specified timeframe for when ticket sales open and close, so it’s very customisable. Through the organiser portal, our client is able to access live ticket sales and attendee information and to generate statistical reports.
“When the event begins, the user can check-in manually, or by scanning the QR code using our barcode scanners. There’s also some new features, such as fully interactive seating plans, marketing tools like e-mail and social sharing features, and we are planning to launch others too,” says Ben.
Apart from useful logistical tools, Evently is focused on efficiency and security. “The platform is super user-friendly and extremely reliable, having been used successfully in a number of events for both local and foreign artists. Ticket purchasers can purchase tickets using any local debit card and all major credit cards.”
The moral of the story? Next time you are setting up an event and you think you’ve got enough on your plate, don’t freak out. Instead, consider letting Evently handle your to-do list.
www.evently.com.mt