X for Y Offers

X for Y Offers can apply a discount to a group of Tickets where one or more tickets are zero or a specified amount. For example, two tickets for the price of one or buy 10 tickets, get the 11th ticket free.

Before you read this guide:

• Introduction to Offers

Before setting up an X for Y Offer

Consider the following questions before setting up your X for Y Offer:

• How many tickets should be purchased at full price and how many tickets will be offered for free?
• Which Instances will the Offer apply to?
• How long will the Offer be available?
• Who is eligible for the Offer?
• Will you limit the number of times this Offer can be applied?
• Will you limit the Offer to specific Ticket Types, Price Bands or Fixed Series subscriptions?
• Will this Offer interact with any other existing Offers? If so, do you need to create a Priority Group or a Limit Group?

How do X for Y Offers work?

X for Y Offers:

• Can be used to apply a discount to a group of Tickets for a single Event Instance. Tickets must have a value. Discounts cannot be applied to zero value tickets.
   
• Apply discounts on a group basis. A Customer must have a specified number of tickets (X) in the Basket/Cart. Once the requirement is met, they’ll pay the total price of the second specified number of tickets (Y). The number of free tickets is the difference between the X number of tickets and Y number of tickets. For example, add six (X) tickets in the Basket/Cart and pay for four (Y) tickets at full price; two (X-Y) tickets will be free or discounted.
   
• Will always discount tickets to a 0 value unless a value is entered under the Minimum price an item can be discounted to. For example, buy two tickets, get a third ticket for $5.00 (3 for 2, with a minimum $5).
   
• Can be applied again to the same Basket/Cart if the remaining Tickets meet the minimum number of Tickets. For example, when purchasing 6 tickets a 3 for 2 offer can be applied twice.
   
• Can apply to any Ticket Type or Price Band. You can choose to restrict the Offer to specific Ticket Types or Price Bands. The discount can apply to a mix of qualifying Ticket Types and Price Bands.
   
• Will apply the discount in descending price order. In a group of tickets, the ticket with the lowest price of the group will be discounted to 0. If a Basket/Cart has multiple eligible groups of mixed price tickets, all eligible tickets will be arranged first in price order, then split into groups, with the lowest price of each group discounted to 0.

• For example, an X for Y Offer is configured to 2 for 1 (two tickets for the price of one).

  If Customer A buys:

  • Ticket 1 at $20.00
  • Ticket 2 at $20.00

  When the Offer applies, Customer A will see the following discount: Ticket 1 at $20.00, Ticket 2 at $0.00.

  If Customer B buys:

  • Ticket 1 at $20.00
  • Ticket 2 at $10.00

  In a group of mixed price tickets, the tickets are ordered in descending price order and the lowest of the group is discounted to 0. When the Offer applies, Customer B will see the following discount: Ticket 1 at $20.00, Ticket 2 at $0.00.

  If Customer C buys:

  • Ticket 1 at $20.00
  • Ticket 2 at $15.00
  • Ticket 3 at $15.00
  • Ticket 4 at $10.00

  If there are multiple eligible groups, all eligible tickets are ordered in descending price order and then split into each group. 
  
  In the example above: First Group (Ticket 1 at $20.00, Ticket 2 at $15.00), Second Group (Ticket 3 at $15.00, Ticket 4 at $10.00). When the Offer applies, the customer will see: Ticket 1 at $20.00, Ticket 2 at $0.00, Ticket 3 at $15.00, Ticket 4 at $0.00.

Offers apply the discount to the Price of the Ticket, which includes VAT/taxes and levy. Commissions are not calculated as part of the discount. You can opt to waive commissions when applying an Offer.

How to set up an X for Y Offer

To set up an X for Y Offer, follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Admin Interface > Other > Offers
2. Click the Add X for Y button

TIP: To access the Admin Interface, you’ll need the General Administrator Role. If you don’t have this Role, ask the Settings Administrator in your organization to add this Role to your User Account.

1. Basic details

Complete the Basic details to set up your Offer:

• Name (required): Enter a descriptive name for the Offer. The name will be visible to Customers on your website if the Offer is available online (you can enter a different name to appear online in the Website section of setup).
   
• Description: Use the description to add information that is useful for other users in your organization.
   
• Priority group: If required, select an Offer Priority Group. By default, new Offers will be added to the lowest priority group.
   
• Image: Upload an image to appear alongside this Offer in the Online Savings Panel.
   
• Image Alt Text: If you have uploaded an image, enter an image description for web accessibility.
   
• Start date, time: Enter the date and time you want the Offer to start. If you leave this blank, the Offer will be available as soon as you save it (if the active in box office / website boxes are also checked).
   
• End date, time: Enter the date and time you want the Offer to end. If you leave this blank, the Offer will remain active until it is deactivated.
   
• Active: Check this box to make the Offer active. This box alone does not make the Offer available in the Sales Interface or online.
   
• Active in box office: Check this box to make the Offer available to users in the Sales Interface.
   
• Total applications: Once the Offer is live, this section will automatically populate to show the total number of times the Offer has been applied to date.
   
• Total items: Once the Offer is live, this section will automatically populate to show the total number of items the Offer has been applied to date.
   
• Total discount: Once the Offer is live, this section will automatically populate to show the total value of discounts an Offer has been used to date.
   
• Offer Attributes: Any custom Offer Attributes you have configured can be set here.

Click Next to move to the Discount section.

2. Discount

Complete the Discount details:

• Offer: Enter a number in the first box (X) for the total number of tickets required in the Basket/Cart. In the second box, enter a number for the total full priced tickets (Y).

REMINDER: The number of free tickets will be the difference between the first number (X) and the second number (Y). For example, if three tickets are required (X) and two are paid at full price (Y), one ticket is free (3-2=1).

• Service Charge: Check this box to waive any Ticket Commissions on the discounted tickets.
• Minimum price an item can be discounted to: Set a minimum price per item (e.g., buy two, get a 3rd for $5).
• Shopping Cart Value: Set a minimum Basket/Cart value prior to the discount.

Click Next to move to the Event Criteria section.

3. Event Criteria

Choose the Event Instances that could qualify for the Offer:

• All Events: Choose this option to have the Offer apply across all of your Events.
• Specific Event(s): Choose this option to specify which Events or Instances the Offer will apply to. To specify the Event Criteria, drag and drop the Event metrics you want to use to filter in or out certain Instances. To learn more about how to choose specific Events and Instances, read the Event Criteria article.

REMINDER: Your X for Y Offer will only apply to Tickets purchased for the same Event Instance.

Click Next to move to the Ticket Criteria section.

4. Ticket Criteria

Choose which Ticket Types and Price Bands could qualify for the Offer:

For Ticket types:

• Include All: Choose this option to include all Ticket Types.
   
• Include the following: Choose this option and select only the Ticket Types you’d like to include. To highlight multiple Ticket Types, hold the CTRL key or CMD key as you click each option.
   

For Price bands:

• Include All: Choose this option to include all Price Bands.
   
• Include the following: Choose this option and select only the Price Bands you’d like to include. To highlight multiple Price Bands, hold the CTRL key or CMD key as you click each option.

REMINDER: The Offer can apply to a mix of qualifying Ticket Types and Price Bands. For example, if an Offer requires you to buy two tickets to get two free, two tickets can be Adult Ticket Types and the other two can be Senior Ticket Types. The discount will apply to the lowest priced tickets.

Click Next to move to the Fixed Series Rule section.

5. Fixed Series Rule

If you have a Fixed Series subscription set up on your system, you can choose whether or not to include those tickets in this Offer.

• Not Fixed Series Tickets: Exclude all tickets bought as part of a Fixed Series subscription from the Offer.
   
• Only Fixed Series Tickets: Only apply this Offer against Tickets bought as part of a Fixed Series subscription. All Fixed Series Subscription tickets that meet the Event and Ticket Criteria will be included.
   
• Either: Include tickets bought as part of a Fixed Series subscription, as well as Tickets that aren't. All Fixed Series Subscription tickets that meet the Event and Ticket Criteria will be included.

Click Next to move to the Limits section.

6. Limits

In the Limits section, you can choose how to restrict the use of the Offer. 

You can limit the Offer per:

• Event
• Instance
• Offer
• Customer
• Per Customer per Event
• Per Customer per Event Instance
• Per Membership period

To apply a limit, check the box next to your preferred limit. For each limit, you can set the number of applications in the Max Applications box. This dictates the number of times the Offer can be applied.

Click through the tabs below to understand each type of Offer limit.

• Per Event: The maximum number of applications per Event. Tickets must be from the same Instance.
  
  For example, if you apply a limit of "2" per Event, then the Offer can be used up to two times for each of the eligible Events.
  
  This Offer can be used by any number of Customers, across any number of Instances. The qualifying tickets must be from the same Instance.
• Per Event Instance: The maximum number of applications per Instance.
  
  For example, if you apply a limit of "2" per Instance, then the Offer can be used up to two times for  each of the eligible Instances. 
  
  This Offer can be used by any number of Customers.
• Per Offer: The maximum number of applications in the offer’s lifetime.
  
  For example, if you apply a limit of "2" per Offer, then the Offer can be used up to two times across all eligible Events, Instances or Customers.
  
  In its lifetime, this Offer can be applied twice.
• Per Customer: The maximum number of applications per each eligible Customer.
  
  For example, if you apply a limit of "2" per Customer, then an eligible Customer can use this Offer up to two times across all eligible Events or Instances.
  
  There is no limit on how many eligible customers can use this Offer, just how many times each customer can use it.
• Per Customer Per Event: The maximum applications per Customer per Event (can be across instances, but qualifying tickets in a single application must be from one instance).
  
  For example, if you apply a limit of "2" per Customer per Event, then an eligible Customer can use this Offer up to two times per eligible Event.
  
  The two per Customer per Event limit can be spread across one or more Instances. The qualifying tickets must be from the same Instance.
  
  There is no limit on how many eligible customers can use this Offer, just how many times each customer can use it for each Event.
• Per Customer Per Event Instance: The maximum applications per Customer per specific Event Instance.
  
  For example, if you apply a limit of "2" per Customer per Event Instance, then an eligible Customer can use this Offer up to two times per eligible Event Instance.
  
  There is no limit on how many eligible customers can use this Offer, just how many times each customer can use it for each Event Instance.
• Per Membership Period: The maximum applications per Customer during a Membership period. Must be combined with Membership eligibility.
  
  For example, if you apply a limit of "2" per Membership period, then an eligible Customer can use this Offer up to two times per Membership period.
  
  This limit should be combined with a Membership eligibility. Only one type of Membership can be added to Eligibility per Offer. Non-members won’t be eligible if this limit is set.

• Override this…: Any Offer with a per Customer limit will only apply once the Customer has logged in online or is added to the Basket/Cart in the Sales Interface. You can override this behaviour by checking the Override this… box. This can be useful if you want an Offer to calculate the potential discount a Customer could gain.

  Checking the Override this... box will mean that the Offer will apply before a Customer has logged in or is added to the Basket/Cart. If that Customer has already reached the per-Customer limit of that Offer, it will be removed from their Basket/Cart once they are logged in. 

• Select the Offer's Limit Groups: To add a limit group, select the name of the group on the left, then click the > button to add it to the Selected Offer Limit Groups column. To learn more, read our article on Offer Limit Groups.

Click Next to move to the Eligibility section.

7. Eligibility

Eligibility dictates which Customers can access an Offer.

To make this Offer available to all Customers you do not need to populate the Eligibility section. If the Offer is available to all customers, then it will apply before a customer is added to the Basket/Cart.

To limit the Offer to certain Customers, set the Eligibility Criteria:

To specify the Eligibility Criteria, drag and drop the Customer metrics you want to use to filter in or out certain Customers.

To learn more about how to choose specific Customer Eligibility Criteria, read the Customer Eligibility article.

TIP: To set up an Offer that can only be manually applied by box office staff, and is not based on any Customer eligibility rules, then you can use a Promotion Code. Set the Promotion Code as unavailable for web so that it can only be applied by a member of your team.

Click Next to move to the Website section.

8. Website

In the Website section, you can choose how the Offer will appear to Customers online:

• Active on website: Check this box to make the Offer available to Customers and Agents online. Leaving it unchecked will mean the Offer is only available on the Sales Interface and cannot be applied to transactions using the Agency API.
   
• Name on web: When creating a new offer, the name of the Offer will auto-populate. However, you can enter a different name for Customers to see online.
   
• Description on web: If you’re using the Offers iframe, enter a description for Customers to see online. 
   
• Web URL: If this Offer already has its own page on your website, add the URL to this field. Where the Offer Name appears, it will be hyperlinked to this URL. 
   
• Show in online savings panel: Check this box if you want the Offer to be advertised to eligible Customers when they’re adding items to their Basket/Cart.
   
• No website content necessary: Check this box if you’ve already entered a Web URL above, or, if you don't need to share any additional information about the Offer with the customer online.
   
• Offer Page Content: Populate this section to create an iframe page about this Offer. Where the Offer Name appears it will be hyperlinked to a page, which shows this content. You can use Wikitext to format your Offer Page Content.

Click Save to finish setting up your X for Y Offer.

Test your Offer

Always thoroughly check your Offers before advertising them to Customers. 

When testing:

• Try the Offer in the Sales Interface, online or both (depending on where it should apply).
   
• Test your Offer across different Events to check the Event Criteria.
   
• Test your Offer across different Customers to check the Customer Eligibility. Try buying the same Tickets without meeting the eligibility criteria to ensure the Offer doesn’t apply where it shouldn’t.

If you need to edit your Offer, return to the Admin Interface, locate it and click the Edit button to make further changes.

Testing online

If you need to test your Offer online, and you don’t want Customers to be able to use it yet, try temporarily amending your Customer Eligibility Criteria. 

To do this:

1. Set up a Tag called Offer Testing
2. Edit the Offers Eligibility Criteria to include only Customers with the Offer Testing Tag
3. Apply the Tag to your Customer Record
4. Test your Offer online, then remove the Tag from your Customer Record and the Eligibility Criteria