Hacking the Experience with Ticketmaster Sport

We were fortunate enough to joined by Ticketmaster Sport who designed the brief for our students which focused on a business problem to solve: how to keep existing sports fan engaged despite stadium closures during the coronavirus pandemic whilst also maximising reach to new sports fans.

The event was run both online and in person with 10 teams of students researching and hacking all day to develop their solutions and ideas to answer the brief. We concluded the day with all 10 teams presenting a 3-minute pitch of their idea to our three judges from Ticketmaster Sport.

Chris Gratton, COO of Ticketmaster Sport and a Loughborough University alumnus, said:

“It was great for Ticketmaster Sport to be part of the Hack with Loughborough University London. Our business thrives on innovative ideas so it was hugely useful to have the teams working on this challenge over the course of the day. All of the teams worked well together and had something to offer us when it came to the pitches. It was a really hard decision to pick the winners but the extra research they had done and the way they positioned their solution was the thing that really set them apart.”

Students presented a range of high-quality solutions including the use of apps, reward schemes and partnerships within communities; our students’ efforts were clear, leaving the judges with a difficult decision to choose one winner.

The winning pitch was chosen as their solution took the different approach to target women’s sports rather than just focusing on the male games. Our judges were impressed by this team’s innovation to utilise this new, growing market and encouraged more inclusive marketing campaigns.

Lauren Heria, a MSc Sport Business and Innovation student and member of the winning team, said of the event:

“Taking part in the hack with Ticketmaster Sport was a great start to my time at Loughborough University London. Our team had to quickly form, make a plan to tackle the problem and come up with a solution all in one day. It was a great opportunity to connect with other students from courses across the campus, build my skills and test myself in a team. Winning the pitch off at the end was a surreal experience. We felt pretty confident that we had a solution that we were passionate about but to get the feedback we did was immense. I can’t wait for more experiences like this.”

The event was hosted by the Future Space team to give our students the opportunity to test their teamwork skills to develop solutions to real-life problems experienced by a business, putting their previous knowledge and experience into practice.

Hayley Jones, Student Enterprise Adviser at Loughborough University London, said:

“With our Future Space and Loughborough Enterprise Network activities, we really like to build our students experience through real world challenges. Our hacks are a great way for our students to throw themselves into what it is to study with us in London. For the teams to have achieved what they have achieved in one day is really amazing.”

The event was enjoyed by all staff and students and thank you to Ticketmaster Sport for their contribution. We would like to say well done to all our students who took part and we look forward to welcoming you to our next hack soon.