Havas Sports & Entertainment (Havas SE), the global brand engagement network of Havas, and Seaters, the online platform to fill empty seats at sports and music events, have announced a strategic partnership today on the occasion of the Leaders Sport Business Summit in New York.
Even at sold-out music and sports events, between 1% and 10% of seats remain empty. Seaters’ proprietary technology simplifies the management of corporate hospitality for brands by maximizing the occupation rate of seats for the events they sponsor and helping brand sponsors avoid the setbacks of last minute cancellations by tapping into a community of fans online. This can, in turn transform negative perceptions into a positive and meaningful proposition, supporting both sponsors and right holders in connecting with fans and rewarding them.
This strategic partnership will boost Havas SE’s brand engagement and live experience offering for its clients by ensuring that the experience they offer fans is maximized for the greatest number of participants.
Further, Havas SE will benefit from Seaters’ focus on technological innovation, as their website and mobile app offers a bespoke, real-time solution for clients looking to evolve their hospitality activities, which in turn will help to upweight Havas SE’s hospitality services in the run-up to UEFA Euro 2016, the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games and other upcoming major events.
The partnership follows a successful round of recent funding for Seaters, raising $4 million from investors in Europe and the US.
Jérôme de Chaunac, Global COO of Havas SE, commented:
“What a great environment from which to announce our new partnership with Seaters – the Leaders Sport Business Summit in New York. This young startup already has a proven track record of success, for example with their recent breakthrough work with BNP Paribas in Belgium. At Havas Sports & Entertainment, we are committed to helping our clients create long term relationships with their fans through meaningful experiences around their passions. A great experience at a live event is one of best ways to do that. Full stadiums ensure a lively atmosphere and the best return for sponsors. By filling empty seats with fans, Seaters will help our clients make the most of their investments. Having just completed a new round of funding, Seaters inspired the confidence of investors and of the Havas SE network.”
Lucien Boyer, Global CEO of Havas SE, added:
“Our alignment with Seaters is in keeping with our positioning and its contribution to the mission of the Havas Group: ensuring meaningful communication, pursuing a technology-driven approach and encouraging promising start-up solutions for the benefit of our clients.
We look forward to working with Seaters and achieving great things together.”
Jean-Sebastien Gosuin, Co- Founder and CEO of Seaters, said:
“Seaters is extremely proud to form this partnership with Havas Sports & Entertainment. To get the support of a group such as Havas highlights the real potential of our innovative tool to maximize the fan experience and eliminate empty seats at events worldwide. We look forward to supporting the hospitality needs of Havas SE clients to ensure that they leverage the events they sponsor to the fullest. Thanks to HAvas SE’s network of 35 offices in over 24 countries, this partnership marks a great next step in our development and growth internationally.”
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Contacts:
Havas SE Global: Julia Feldman
julia.feldman@havas-se.com
T: +33(0) 6 83 26 83 74
Seaters: Jean-Sebastien Gosuin
js@seaters.com
T: + 917 353 1522
About Havas Sports & Entertainment
Havas Sports & Entertainment (Havas SE) is the global brand engagement network of HAVAS.
Part of HAVAS MEDIA GROUP, our 35 offices in 24 markets include Havas Sports & Entertainment and ignition agencies.
Our ambition is to be the best at creating meaningful connections between brands and people via their passions using creativity, media and innovation to deliver experiences, content and social engagement.
Together we are 500+ colleagues with a diverse set of skills and backgrounds, delivering the best in strategy, research, brand communication, activation and social and live experiences globally. This enables us to provide our clients with customized solutions based on a deep understanding of what binds people together into communities: shared passions.
Our deep knowledge of fans also derives from our global study, FANS.PASSION.BRANDS, the largest piece of research ever conducted that aims to understand fans’ engagement with their passions, based on what we term “the Logics of Engagement”.
Havas Sports & Entertainment agencies strategically assess how brands can create emotional relationships with fans and fan communities based around their passion for sport and entertainment through content, SoMe, PR, and social experiences.
ignition is the industry leader in experiential marketing, delivering fully integrated experiences that drive positive actions and attitudes between people and brands.
Our network now benefits from the expertise of five strategic partners: Music Dealers, a global music licensing agency and Independent Artist Community; London-based Seven46, specializing in editorial communications and bid campaigns; Benza, our brand experience partner in Brazil; eventures, an integrated communications agency in Romania and boutique global sports consultancy based in Switzerland, SportCom Ventures.
International clients include: adidas, Atos, Barclays, BMW, The Coca-Cola Company, Danone, Delta Air Lines, EDF, ESPN, Heathrow Express, Hyundai, Kia, LVMH, Mars, Nike, Orange, Procter & Gamble, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Puig, Reebok, Reckitt Benckiser, Santander, the United Nations Foundation, Victoria’s Secret, QTA, and Yahoo! and sports organizations such as Roland Garros, the Argentinean Tennis Association, the English Premier League, FIFA, the French Golf Federation, the International Rugby Board, the International Cricket Council, the Italian Rugby Federation, MLB, the NBA and the NFL.
Further information can be found at www.havas-se.com and www.ignition-inc.com.
Follow us on Twitter at @Havas_SE
About Seaters
Seaters is a technology start-up that has developed an innovative solution which allows organizers and sponsors of sports and music events to optimize the occupation rate of their event by filling seats that would otherwise remain empty.
Share the live, fill the empty seats: even at sold-out music or sports events there are always between 1% and 10% empty seats. The main repercussions are frustrated fans, lack of f&b revenue and a bad image.
The product developed by seaters enables organizers and sponsors to capture, in a structured way, people to fill the empty seats without overbooking or presales. Seaters is a first-minute tool for a last-minute problem. Seaters’ proprietary technology creates an intelligent & ranked waiting list with a fair communication on the likelihood to get a seat. The product is available on mobile devices (iOS and Android) as well as on the internet.
Seaters has offices in New York, Brussels and London. It has a strong founders team (Jean-Sébastien Gosuin, Manu Jans, Dominique Snyers) combining more than 30 years of entrepreneurship and impressive expertise in ticketing, software development and finance. Seaters also has the support of an impressive list of investors and advisors (Chris Burggraeve, former CMO AB InBev; Dave Elmore, founder of SportsMark; Michel Akkermans, former CEO and President of Clear2Pay;,…) Seaters closed a successful seed round of $4M in January 2015.
Further information can be found at www.seaters.com
Seaters on the app store : https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/seaters™-gets-you-live-at-sold/id950964181?l=fr&ls=1&mt=8
Seaters on Google Play : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.seaters.android
Follow us on Twitter: @seaters