Founder's Corner - Why Eventbrite's Marketplace Strategy is Misguided

We are embracing the opportunity to build the premier marketplace for live events
Eventbrite Q4 2022 Shareholder Letter

Eventbrite’s marketplace strategy is one they have doubled down on: a strategy to be the Marketplace for events. In their quarterly call Julia and Lanny mentioned the word “marketplace” 37 times.

I will get into a bunch of numbers and previous experience, but first, let’s start with a simple question:

When you go to an event, what made you decide to go? Was it going to Eventbrite to search for an event? I’ve never been bored on a Saturday night and said to Marlise (my wife) – “Hey, let’s check out what we can do on Eventbrite”.

What Does “Influence” Mean In Terms of Eventbrite?

Eventbrite cited that“Eventbrite influenced 30% of paid tickets in 2022, which is a record.”

“Influence” is one of the proof points that Eventbrite uses to demonstrate the marketing value of their platform. But what does “influence” mean? It appears to be every purchase that could be connected to Eventbrite; a fairly broad definition.

In comparison, here are some stats from TicketSignup and RunSignup that show ways the platforms “influence” event purchases:

Google Analytics reports that 35% of traffic is direct
Google Analytics reports that 19% of traffic is from organic search
We track that 13% of signups are from our free email platform
We track that 17% of signups come from Affiliates and our “Find An Event” pages
We track that 6% of signups come from our Referral Rewards program

These stats make the 30% number from Eventbrite sound not all that impressive. Certainly not impressive enough to say they are The Marketplace for events.

Costs for That Eventbrite Influence

Eventbrite’s marketplace strategy means that events are paying the price for so-called influence. Eventbrite just raised their prices to $1.79 per ticket plus 6.6%. In contrast, TicketSignup is only $1 per cart (not per ticket) plus 6% with 20% discounts for over 5,000 tickets per year. Now event organizers who are counting on Eventbrite for “influence” will have to pay even more.

That is because Eventbrite keeps adding more “surfaces” to put ads on. This means events who do not pay more for ads will get substandard visibility. And still have to pay for email.

Doubling Down on Eventbrite’s Marketplace Strategy of Promoting (and Paying) Themselves

It is obvious that Eventbrite’s Marketplace Strategy is where they are putting a lot of effort. In their own words, “I’m excited about the opportunity ahead and appreciate the team’s work transforming Eventbrite into the top events marketplace.”

Eventbrite’s motives are driven by self interest, as demonstrated by the following two quotes:

“Accelerating our marketplace model means boosting high margin revenue from ads and monetizing pre-event. This will build value and drive profitable growth toward our long-term targets.”

“We continue to have confidence in the long-term adjusted EBITDA margin targets, up 20% or greater, especially as we pursue our marketplace strategy and increased monetization.”

Ads and Boost paid email marketing revenue is driving this focus:

“As we move forward toward a marketplace model and amplify our demand generation, we believe that the importance of products like Boost and Eventbrite Ads will continue to grow, both for creators and for Eventbrite.”

TicketSignup is different. We only make money when our customers grow. That is why all our promotion tools are free. It is why we provide free content websites and not just a ticket page for your event with ads from your competitors. Because our goals align with the goals of event directors (growth), we provide a welcome home for Eventbrite refugees looking for a lower cost platform that’s focused on innovation.

This blog is a part of the Founder’s Corner blog series sharing the business analyses and musings of RunSignup | TicketSignup Founder & CEO, Bob Bickel.