Case Study #7: Ticketmaster / Live Nation

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Owned Product definition and technical Business Analysis across Ticketmaster's customer-data, CRM, Business Intelligence and Single Customer View initiatives supporting European markets. Worked with Marketing, CRM, Data Science and Engineering to translate fragmented customer information, behavioural analysis and commercial priorities into data requirements, prioritised Product backlogs and integration plans. Contributed to customer insight, lifecycle marketing and data-led personalisation opportunities during the transition towards Agile delivery.

ENGAGEMENT SNAPSHOT

Client / Employer: Ticketmaster (Live Nation)
Engagement Role: Product Manager / Technical Business Analyst
Period: September 2012 – June 2014
Sector: Live Entertainment / Ticketing / Digital Commerce
Regions: European markets
Scope: Customer-data products, CRM, Business Intelligence, Single Customer View, lifecycle marketing and behavioural analytics
Capabilities: Product Management, Data Product Definition, Technical Business Analysis, Customer Analytics, CRM, Vendor Evaluation, Agile Transition
Technology: Salesforce ExactTarget, Adobe SiteCatalyst / Omniture, customer-data and BI systems, behavioural data models

CONTEXT

Ticketmaster operated in a high-intent digital commerce environment, connecting audiences with live music, sport and entertainment events.

Customers interacted through event discovery, booking, purchase and post-event communications, while the business needed to coordinate marketing, customer information and transaction-related insight across different European markets.

These interactions created valuable data, but turning individual signals into a coherent understanding of customer behaviour required alignment between e-commerce, CRM, marketing, analytics and technical systems.

The opportunity was to make customer information more actionable, enabling stronger segmentation, more relevant communications and better-informed digital Product decisions.

CHALLENGE

Customer information and behavioural signals were distributed across multiple business and technical systems.

Connecting marketing activity, digital engagement and customer records introduced challenges involving identity, data quality, market-specific customer behaviour, integration dependencies and reliable reporting.

Business stakeholders needed to translate commercial ambitions into clear, feasible data requirements while Data Science and Engineering teams addressed complex modelling and technical questions.

The programme also involved evaluating emerging personalisation and recommendation capabilities without assuming that every proposed technology justified implementation.

ENGAGEMENT MANDATE

As Product Manager / Technical Business Analyst, owned Product definition and technical analysis across customer-data, CRM, Business Intelligence and Single Customer View initiatives.

Consolidated business, marketing and CRM requirements into prioritised backlogs and delivery-ready specifications, aligning Data Science and Engineering around customer-data priorities.

Contributed to integration discovery, behavioural modelling, data-quality investigations, vendor assessment and delivery governance during Ticketmaster's transition from Waterfall towards Agile working.

APPROACH & DELIVERY

Customer Data & Single Customer View Definition

• Worked with CRM, marketing and business stakeholders to understand how customer information was captured and used across different channels and European markets.

• Owned Product definition for a Single Customer View initiative, translating business questions into data scope, requirements, priorities and delivery-ready stories.

• Connected customer recognition, segmentation, customer lifecycle and commercial analysis needs with the underlying data and technical considerations.

Behavioural Analytics & Data Quality

• Partnered with Data Science and Engineering on market-specific behavioural data models and customer insight requirements.

• Investigated unusual patterns, anomalies and inconsistencies in customer datasets to improve understanding of data quality and analytical reliability.

• Used market research and digital analytics to support Product prioritisation and identify opportunities across acquisition, event discovery, customer engagement and conversion journeys.

CRM & Digital Analytics Integration

• Led discovery of integration requirements between Salesforce ExactTarget and Adobe SiteCatalyst / Omniture.

• Mapped the business and technical dependencies involved in connecting email and lifecycle marketing activity with observed digital behaviour.

• Defined requirements intended to improve visibility of customer engagement and inform more relevant campaign and Product decisions.

Recommendation Technology & Commercial Evaluation

• Evaluated recommendation-engine vendors against technical feasibility, customer-data requirements, integration effort, delivery implications and commercial value.

• Worked with stakeholders to distinguish attractive technology propositions from opportunities supported by business needs and realistic implementation constraints.

Product Governance & Agile Transition

• Managed prioritised backlogs, sprint inputs, release notes, reporting dashboards and stakeholder communication across Product and technical workstreams.

• Supported user and trainer enablement while helping teams move from Waterfall-based processes towards more iterative Agile delivery practices.

OUTCOMES

• Defined the Product scope, data requirements and prioritised backlog for a Single Customer View initiative supporting European markets.

• Aligned CRM, Marketing, Data Science and Engineering on customer-data and behavioural analytics priorities.

• Investigated data anomalies and market-specific behavioural models, improving the evidence available for Product and analytical decisions.

• Defined integration requirements connecting Salesforce ExactTarget with Adobe digital analytics capabilities.

• Completed recommendation-engine vendor assessments covering feasibility, data dependencies, integration and commercial value.

• Strengthened Product delivery governance and stakeholder communication during the transition towards Agile working.

WHY IT MATTERED

This engagement established an early foundation in data-intensive Product Management, connecting customer insight, CRM operations, behavioural analytics and technical delivery.

It demonstrated the ability to work beyond customer-facing features, addressing the underlying data quality, integration, modelling and organisational decisions required to make digital commerce and lifecycle marketing more effective.

CAPABILITIES

Data Product Management · Customer Data Strategy · Single Customer View · CRM · Customer Analytics · Behavioural Modelling · Data Quality · Business Intelligence · Technical Business Analysis · Salesforce ExactTarget · Adobe Analytics · Systems Integration · Vendor Evaluation · Digital Commerce · Agile Transformation