Ticketmaster?s focus shift to ticket management on mobile has paid off, as the brand saw more visitors to its mobile site than desktop in 2014?s fourth quarter, suggesting that mobile tickets have considerable traction behind them.

As part of parent company Live Nation?s earnings statement, Ticketmaster revealed its renewed spotlight on event discovery and purchase. With many consumers turning to mobile devices for both browsing and purchasing services and products, Ticketmaster is hoping to tap into the massive growth opportunities on mobile for traffic and conversion.

?Live events are inherently mobile,? said Daniel Laloggia, digital strategy manager at Walker Sands Communications, Chicago, IL. ?People will be traveling to and from the event and if you need a desktop to access your tickets, or start times, or anything like that you'll create a roadblock to your audience having a good experience.

?It's also likely that people will be learning about events while away from a desktop,? he said. ?They'll be out with friends or passing a sign or poster for the event and if you don't capture them then, you risk them forgetting or never getting around to actually purchasing a ticket.?

Rise of mobile tickets
Ticketmaster?s magnifying glass on mobile likely points to a rise in mobile ticketing in the near future. Sites such as Fandango and MovieTickets.com have already begun rolling out virtual movie tickets that can be displayed on smartphones and visually verified by cinema employees (see story).

Mobile tickets also save theatres and stadiums thousands of dollars in costly scanners. However, the biggest draw is the fact that consumers will no longer need to carry physical print tickets to live events, and will not need to worry about misplacing or losing them.

?Having to print out a physical ticket is going to go away,? Mr. Laloggia said. ?It might always be an option for people, but e-tickets are going to become the standard because people always have their phones with them, but a lot of people don't own a printer (and don't want to have to worry about remembering the tickets and carrying them with them, and all of that).?

Live Nation saw ticket sales on mobile grow by 35 percent in 2014, resulting in 18 percent of total ticket sales.

Ticketmaster also believes that the increased focus on mobile will help link fans with events and drive more mobile app installations.

Apps versus mobile sites
However, event marketers must be cognizant of the size of their audience and their consumers? needs before throwing their support wholeheartedly behind mobile applications.

Mobile sites are typically a better fit for driving impulse buys, and attract a wider audience of consumers. However, if an event marketer has a significant following, offering in-app loyalty rewards can also help retain consumers.

?If you'll be providing a significant amount of content or functionality that your Web site doesn't offer, an app can be a good way to go, but there are a lot of challenges with an app,? Mr. Laloggia said. ?You have to ensure that it runs across operating systems and versions of operating systems.

?The maintenance and updating of apps can quickly become too costly or time consuming for a company,? he said. ?A mobile-optimized Web site that meets all the needs of both the audience and the event marketer only needs to be updated when a change needs to be made.

?It will work across devices, operating systems, and versions and hopefully provide everything the audience needs.?

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York