Recognizing that the richest moments in life are becoming less about the things people own and more about the experiences they share, StubHub today unveiled a new vision and brand identity.
From sharing in the anticipation before an event to posting photos online after an encore, experiences have become the new social currency. This phenomenon is creating a new ‘experience economy*,’ where the inspiration and energy from an event, along with shared experiences, have an enormous impact on how people choose to spend their time.
For StubHub, the experience economy represents an opportunity to evolve the company’s strategic direction and double down on four key pillars: mobile, social, personal, and global. StubHub understands** that today’s consumers are increasingly turning to mobile devices to research events, make purchases and enter venues; they are tapping into social media to share their emotions and connect with each other during the event itself; and they expect a personalized experience that is tailored to their interests, with relevant content surfaced to them. These changes are occurring on an unprecedented global scale.
“The live events industry continues to evolve alongside a new experience economy, which places a premium on connecting to one-of-a-kind experiences and sharing memories with each other,” said Scott Cutler, president of StubHub. “StubHub’s new vision reflects our approach to these preferences and behaviors, and how StubHub is charting a path to be more mobile, social, personal and global.”
In alignment with this strategy, StubHub today announced a holistic update to its brand identity, along with plans to execute a strategic, multi-channel brand campaign. The rebranding includes impactful aesthetic changes to convey the feeling and anticipation that only comes with live experiences, including a more contemporary and globally relevant logo; updated design elements that convey more emotion and energy; and a bolder, more flexible and dynamic color palette. The StubHub word bubble is now used to express the range of audience emotions and desires, and is symbolic of the stories that fans will share around an event.
The design elements within StubHub’s new identity were also created to connect the brand to a wider variety of audiences across more genres than StubHub has traditionally been known for, and to be more partner-friendly within the industry.
“StubHub’s new look illustrates our role in the experience economy for consumers, partners and performers, and better represents the needs of a global audience with diverse interests around meaningful, memorable live experiences,” said Jennifer Betka, CMO at StubHub. “We are moving from a static world where the majority of the event experience was done offline - to a dynamic space in which nearly everything about an experience is shared. Our new identity reflects StubHub’s vision to help connect people to the events that inspire rich, shareable memories.”
StubHub’s global marketing campaign, which launches today, highlights how StubHub can connect consumers with the inspiration and unique experiences that come from breaking out of the everyday. The campaign includes radio and digital tactics in the U.S., Canada, the UK and Germany, as well as cinema and out-of-home in the U.S., the U.K. and Germany. StubHub will also run a new TV advertising campaign in the U.S which will launch May 9.
StubHub’s new global identity arrives on the heels of a series of initiatives that centered around driving stronger connections with consumers, and appealing to diverse audiences. In early 2016, StubHub announced new partnerships, including Jennifer Lopez’s “All I Have” residency in Las Vegas and the first blended ticket marketplace with the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers; in February, StubHub rolled out a new ticket recommendation and best value sorting feature; and in late March, StubHub launched “virtual view” for several event venues, a virtual-reality, 360-degree, panoramic view from the sections where fans are thinking of buying tickets. These moves pave the way for future features that will include social planning and a shopping cart that allows consumers to bundle different types of purchases.
*Wikipedia, The Experience Economy
**StubHub: Year in Live Events, 2015