Revised messaging, declined interviews and ignored questions.
There is plenty to discuss about the way Ticketmaster has handled its latest PR crisis.
The box-office giant found itself in the media spotlight last week after facing allegations of working with touts (or 'scalpers' as they are referred to in the coverage) to cash in on resale tickets and ‘squeeze more money’ from people wanting to attend popular events.
These came after CBC News and the Toronto Star in Canada sent undercover reporters to a ticketing convention in Las Vegas where they were reportedly told how to hack buying limits by using multiple accounts and fake names – before selling them at a higher price, with Ticketmaster taking a percentage of both the original ticket sale and the resale.
The journalists also report on a Ticketmaster system called TradeDesk which they say enables touts to upload large quantities of tickets and quickly list them again for resale. A representative from TradeDesk - a service not listed on the company's website - is quoted as telling them that its biggest broker has 'grabbed' around five million tickets.
Posing as scalpers and equipped with hidden cameras, journalists were pitched on Ticketmaster's professional reseller program. @cbcdaveseglins @rachelreporting @LauraClementson https://t.co/BvWdeQHGKW
— CBC News (@CBCNews) September 19, 2018
Think Ticketmaster is fighting off scalpers? The Star's @thecribby and CBC went undercover at the Las Vegas Ticket Summit and found out that the company was not only welcoming scalpers, but pitching a software that will make their jobs easier.https://t.co/zuBswPWPLe
— TorontoStar (@TorontoStar) September 19, 2018
The report, which is headlined 'A public relations nightmare', clearly raises some serious issues and Ticketmaster responded with two statements.
The first was pretty poor, suggesting that touting was simply something that was unavoidable. It said that as long as there is an imbalance between supply and demand there ‘will inevitably be a secondary market’.
It added: “As the world's leading ticketing platform, representing thousands of teams, artists and venues, we believe it is our job to offer a marketplace that provides a safe and fair place for fans to shop, buy and sell tickets in both the primary and secondary markets.”
Perhaps realising that that response had fallen some way short of the mark, it later issued a fuller statement. It said: “It is categorically untrue that Ticketmaster has any program in place to enable resellers to acquire large volumes of tickets at the expense of consumers.” It added that it ‘did not condone’ the statements given by its employee to the undercover reporters and added that an internal review was being carried out.
But these statements are not the most interesting part of this particular crisis media management incident.
What caught my eye is the way that CBC has also published a detailed account of its efforts to get Ticketmaster to respond to the story.
The story on its website includes a link to a document which outlines a month-long effort to get the company to comment on the undercover report findings.
#Ticketmaster "statement" to @CBCNews and relevant email/phone records documenting CBC's failed efforts to get @jaredtsmith on the record. https://t.co/j98vfVjmyy pic.twitter.com/qEnbKsVeOE
— Don Shano (@don_shano) September 19, 2018
And it makes for interesting reading with requests for an on-camera interview with CEO Jared Smith being eventually rejected in preference for a ‘backgrounder’ because there ‘continues to be a clear misunderstanding of Ticketmaster’s role in the industry’.
It ultimately agrees to provide an ‘on-the-record statement’ but strangely says that it will only respond to specific questions ‘on background’.
The exchange ends with the publication saying it will report Ticketmaster ‘declined to answer our specific questions’ and Catherine Martin, the company’s senior vice president of communications’ saying ‘I don’t know how you can do that when we are perfectly willing to answer all of them. Just not on camera or on the record’.
The newspaper replies ‘like any news organisation seeking comment or accountability on an issue we seek it on the record for publishing’.
The exchange between CBC and Ticketmaster trying to arrange an on the record interview is pretty bad too.https://t.co/ZoQzpRXo04
— Morgan Murphy (@MrMorganMurphy) September 19, 2018
The exchange makes for some fascinating reading, but it is very hard to work out what Ticketmaster’s strategy is and why it is so reluctant to engage publically on a serious reputational issue.
Ultimately, it is an approach which suggests it is a company trying to dodge the reporter’s questions – there is no response to the 21 specific questions put forward by the reporting team
It creates the impression it has something to hide and is a long way from achieving the transparency organisations should strive for when dealing with a crisis media management incident.
Being honest, open and forthcoming enables organisations to foster goodwill and support. Being seen to withhold information – through ignoring questions - is not a good look and will often result in giving fresh impetus to a damaging story.
Time will tell if CBC and Toronto Star follow-up on this Ticketmaster story.
It will also reveal whether more journalists publish full accounts of their exchanges with comms teams when they feel their questions and requests are being ignored.
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