Free of charge! And what's the catch?

Eventfrog recorded strong growth in 2021, despite unfortunate circumstances due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has made life difficult for the event industry for the past two years. In this interview, Jonas, Head of Marketing & Sales, talks about initial mistrust of free event ticketing, how Eventfrog differs from other ticketing providers and his own experiences as an event organiser. As a passionate event organiser, Jonas can identify with event organisers. He knows how important low expenses and simple ticketing handling are for the success of events. He also provides a brief insight into the new functions planned for 2022.

Jonas, how do organisers react when they hear for the first time that Eventfrog offers free ticketing?

Most people find it hard to believe that we really are free and that we don't pass on any costs to ticket buyers. They often ask questions like "How is that possible?" or make statements like "There must be a catch!".

I am then happy to explain to them that there is no catch and that we actually offer a completely free service. And that we finance our free ticketing through the sale of advertising and voucher spaces that are displayed on the tickets.

How do event organisers react to the advertising? Are they bothered by the advertising and voucher spaces?

The majority of our event organisers use our free model with third-party advertising. So they don't mind at all. For those who don't want advertising, I recommend our ad-free ticketing in the Pro event model. Even in the Pro model, ticket sales are still cheaper than with most other ticketing providers. Most people will be convinced by then at the latest.

What are the biggest challenges in marketing Eventfrog?

One of the biggest challenges is to become more well-known. I am convinced that we have the right product for many people, regardless of whether they want free ticketing or ad-free ticketing. But that's no use to us if people don't know Eventfrog yet. In recent years, however, we have established ourselves in German-speaking Switzerland and most people have at least heard of us.

The second big challenge is to gain the trust of potential event organisers. Five years ago, it was still difficult for us to convince larger event organisers because, as a start-up, we only had a few references. Today, things are different: we prove that both smaller and larger events can be organised through us. In contrast to German-speaking Switzerland, we are of course still in the early stages in Germany, but there we can at least share the success stories of Swiss event organisers.

From the marketing manager's point of view: What makes Eventfrog different from other ticketing providers?

I don't like to compare Eventfrog with other ticketing providers. We are so much more than just a ticketing platform. We are also the largest event calendar in Switzerland and a marketing platform for event organisers.

However, there are two major differences in terms of the ticketing offer: firstly, no other provider offers completely free ticketing. And secondly, with us, event organisers can make all the settings themselves in an intuitive and easy-to-use cockpit. With other providers, it is sometimes not even possible to set up the events yourself and those that do allow it are not really visually appealing or technologically outdated.

What features do you particularly appreciate and did you miss as an organiser before Eventfrog came along?

As a small organiser - our events usually have 100 to 500 guests - I was most upset about the fees involved, as we couldn't charge high ticket prices and didn't want to pass on any fees to our ticket buyers. When I used to work with other ticketing providers, I was also often frustrated because I couldn't make all the changes myself. Later, there was an improvement in this area, but the usability still left a lot to be desired. Regarding Eventfrog, our cultural association appreciates that there is a free ticketing service and that the platform is very easy to use.

You've been with Eventfrog since the beginning. What motivates you to give it your all every day?

As I've also organised numerous events myself and know the organiser's perspective well, it's just fun to do my bit and make life easier for organisers. Because we have such a cool team and an open company culture, it's of course even more fun. We've already achieved a lot in recent years, but we still have a lot of ideas to revolutionise the world of events. That spurs me on.

What has been your favourite moment with Eventfrog so far?

For me, winning the Master of Swiss Web Award 2017 was one of the biggest highlights. The fact that we won what is probably the most important IT award in Switzerland, even though we were still at the very beginning, is still a huge sensation for me today and at the same time a recognition of what we had already achieved up to that point.

What can event organisers look forward to this year? What new features are you most looking forward to this year?

We have some great features planned. For example, I'm really looking forward to being able to make cancellations with an immediate refund to the payment method used directly in the cockpit. That will make the administrative work involved in cancellations a lot easier. However, I don't want to reveal too much about the new functions planned for 2022 at this point.

What else would you like to share with interested parties and new organisers?

There really is no catch with us! Try out our free ticketing offer without obligation and get in touch if you have any questions or ideas on how we can further improve our platform.

Thanks for the interview, Jonas. We are all excited to see where Eventfrog is heading and which new features will be introduced this year.