Diageo maximises usage of 15,000 hospitality tickets

Green Fern

Diageo maximises usage of 15,000 hospitality tickets

Diageo is a global leader in alcoholic beverages, with over 200 outstanding spirits and beer brands in its portfolio. Sold in more than 180 countries, Diageo’s high-profile brands include Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, Baileys, Tanqueray and Guinness Diageo has long been associated with rugby sponsorships, first for Premiership Rugby and since 2018 with Guinness Six Nations. It also has a number of other corporate hospitality contracts with venues across the UK, providing staff with a wide range of customer entertainment opportunities.

OUR IMPACT IN NUMBERS

15,000

tickets managed annually through Sponsorworks platform

97%

ticket utilisation rate, up from <70% previously

70%

reduction in pre-event email queries due to informative platform content

95%

feedback response rate

The Challenge

Optimising ticket usage and ensuring staff members could access tickets fairly had proved difficult. Without an adequate system to manage the tickets and handle requests to use them, the rugby ticket usage was much lower than Diageo targeted.

Specific obstacles and challenges included:

  • Poor access to tickets – there was no easy way for staff to request tickets

  • An inadequate approval process

  • Inefficiencies capturing guest details and passing these on to venues and right holders

  • Poor evaluation and post-event feedback mechanism - only achieving a 20% post-event response rate

  • Difficulty evaluating events and assessing value to the business

  • Financial and tax reporting was time-consuming and laborious

Solution and results

Diageo selected the Sponsorworks platform to manage its tickets and hospitality assets. The new platform, launched within two weeks to hundreds of users across Diageo, provided all the features required off-the-shelf. It is still in place years later, demonstrating the essential nature of the system.

Diageo now manages up to 15,000 tickets a year through the Sponsorworks platform.

Since Sponsorworks was introduced:

  • Ticket utilisation rate has risen to over 97% from less than 70%

  • Increased headcount for managing ticketing & hospitality is no longer required due to the level of automation

  • Guinness Six Nations is the business’s busiest time of year for corporate hospitality.

  • Diageo can now handle these events with minimal staffing levels.

  • Tax reports, which used to take two weeks to produce, are now produced at the click of a button

The benefits:

  • Huge time savings across the business, especially through email automation

  • Timely content served via the platform helped eliminate over 70% of pre-event email queries

  • The post-event feedback capture rate has accelerated to over 95% from <20%

  • Business users rate the ease of use of the platform as 9.6 out of 10

  • Better measurement of commercial impact of ticketing and hospitality

  • Improved data-driven decisions about the future direction of its portfolio.

See how Sponsorworks can transform your event planning and execution. Experience unmatched efficiency and enhanced engagement.