That may not sound like progress to some people, but an alert reader sent in this article on a company called StratBridge, which helps professional sports teams optimize ticket prices. Unlike the massive yield management systems in place at the airlines, however, their StratTix software is more of a data visualization and analysis tool. It allows sales teams to see in real time which seats are sold, or which seats next to season ticket holders’ seats remain unsold, helping sales teams target their efforts. The Boston Celtics, no longer capable of selling out the old Garden every night because fans could see great basketball (editorial slant from someone who grew up in Massachusetts), have been able to effectively target families with discounted packages of four tickets plus concession coupons, sent out by email at the last minute for unsold seats.
So while the headline talks about airline pricing, this is really a way to help understand what’s happening in the business, enabling people to make better pricing decisions. Good stuff, or maybe I’m biased because that’s also what our software helps companies do.