Tap to Book: How securing seats for sporting and social events just got easier

You might be familiar with the scenario. You're on the commute home when you walk past a billboard or poster advertising an upcoming must-see sports event, or a summer festival featuring some of your favourite bands, or a theatre showing a new play. 'Perfect for a night out with the lads/ladies', you might think, or maybe there is a loved one who would be excited to attend. The problem is, by the time you've got home, stuck the kettle on and switched on the TV, hundreds of thoughts have passed through your brain, meaning your intention to get online and check out ticket availability is not realised. When you eventually get round to it, it's not uncommon to find that the only seats left, if there are any, are 'up in the gods', or priced beyond all reason.

Ticket dilemmas such as the one described above could soon become a thing of the past for many, thanks to the 'intelligence' that Near Field Communication (NFC) is offering to advertising displays. We are one of the first providers of NFC Smart Posters and NFC Marketing Products, which allow advertisers to engage on a whole new level with their audiences, giving opportunities for instant competition entries or social media activation. The ticketing industry is expected to be the next sector to catch on to the power of NFC, using smart posters to allow instant ticket booking.

All it takes is a 'tap here to book now' notification on a poster, directing passers-by to a site where they can book their ticket there and then. It gives online booking a new level of immediacy, which is perfect for those big events where demand is huge and the capacity of the venue is limited.

For events which are expected to be oversubscribed, ticket ballots are often used, allowing punters to register their interest and put themselves in with a chance of securing a ticket through a lottery system. NFC tags fit the bill with this system, too, and inviting audiences to 'touch your smartphone here to enter the ticket ballot' helps sports, music and theatre fans avoid missing out when it comes to big occasions.