Bots selling tickets to the Australian Open

Today’s brands are well practiced in making use of social media to speak to their consumer audience and break the barrier of communication that presents itself in other advertising channels. But, of course, as with all things digital, social is always evolving. The latest game-changer rewriting digital marketer’s plans across the globe is Facebook’s AI Messenger bots.

The pre-programmable, personalisable bots are designed to have fluid, helpful and conversion-driven conversations with willing consumers online, directly through Facebook Messenger. While conversations between the brand and consumer are typically hampered by the time lag inherent of emailing or commenting, this new portal offers an immediacy that is aligned with today’s consumers – an impatient, demanding bunch with high expectations.

One brand that has been quick to take advantage is Tennis Australia. By introducing their Australian Open Ticket Finder Bot, they were able to help consumers navigate their ticket purchasing experience via Ticketek. With direct links and all the helpful information around dates, times and prices sent straight to the consumer via Messenger, it’s no surprise that in just one week, the bot has reportedly driven 170% more sales at a drastically lower cost per conversion.

Of course, an immediate response means nothing if it’s off topic. In fact, it could even leave the consumer frustrated and altogether less likely to convert – but Facebook knows that. Which is why the bot’s clever algorithm lends it a distinctly human-like level of intelligence. By providing all the right answers, the bot is essentially leading the consumer straight to the check-out – easy for the consumer, ideal for the brand.

Naturally, we decided to put their bot to the test. After some courteous, emoji-laden greetings, the bot quickly drew out of us that we were interested in buying tickets for a tennis game on the weekend, during the day, in the Rod Laver Arena, and supplied the appropriate link. Undoubtedly, the process was fuss-free, fast and, thanks to the use of multiple choice questions and lots of imagery, actually quite fun. And had we actually been looking to buy tickets to the Australian Open, we would have handed over our credit card details there and then.

So it would appear that if you’re trying to induce an immediate uplift in bookings or sales, it’s as simple as getting yourself a Messenger bot. Having said that, Ticketex have also recently simplified their purchasing experience immensely which, in fact, delivers organic (bot-free) consumers to the right place in all of one click.

Whether the increase in sales can be attributed to the Messenger AI’s persuasive charm or the website’s streamlined UX, one thing’s for sure – Tennis Australia have upped their game in the digital space and are reaping the benefits.