best news world n. 1 - fall 2011

PROJECT IAAPA 2011After Singapore and London the next step is Orlando!

ITALY UAEUK USASINGAPORE

BEST UNION GROUPE f f i c i e n c y i n t h e Se r v i ce o f Our Pa r t ne r s

BEST NEWSF A L L 2 0 1 1

N. 01

B E S T N E W S F R O M U K M A R K E TAdventure took front stage for our UK team with prehistoric sites, exotic animals and a world-class display of flowers

B E S T N E W S F R O M I TA LY M A R K E TOur Best Over view Solut ion on display now in I ta ly at the National Museum of Science and Technology

B E S T N E W S F R O M U S M A R K E TFrom luxur y resor ts to high- fashion exhibi ts , we had b ig f un and smoo th sa i l i ng i n t he US t h i s summer

B E S T U N I O N G R O U P

E f f i c i e n c y i n the Ser v ice of O u r P a r t n e r s


Welcome friends and readers! Autumn is the perfect time to look back at the last year and ahead at the next 12 months.In 2011 we have seen some of the worst economic conditions in recent history, both internationally and in Italy.In anticipation of the limited growth that had been predicted for the Italian market we made the decision to focus our organization on our existing activities and client base.We also decided to concentrate on improving the service level we provide to our many value clients in order to promote growth in our current market. Now that our consolidation of the companies in the Group is substantially in place, we believe our new organization will benefit the clients that have been with us through the process and enables us to develop more effective products and services.I can now announce that we expect our performance to be in line with the expectations we set at the beginning of the year.These results are encouraging, and support our idea to “make hay while the sun shines” especially in times of difficulty. The upcoming release of Best Union’s new corporate site and the exciting news in this newsletter are positive signs for our team and our partners, and for all those who share in our success.

Finally, let me comment about the loss of a genius, Steve Jobs. I t i s t h r o u g h v i s i o n a r y entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs that a many technologies have been and will continue to be inspired. At IAAPA in November the world of Apple will enter through the Best Union Group’s front gate and product line. You can rest assure that we will take Steve Job’s advice to always “stay hungry, stay foolish.”


The European stage of IAAPA, the EAS 2011, was held in London at the Olympia Conference Centre, September 27th-29th. This international tradeshow is always a valuable opportunity for key members of the theme park and amusement industry to stay up-to-date on industry trends, and to introduce innovative new products to the market.Best Union Group, parent company of OmniTicket Network, and one of the top 5 global ticketing companies, exhibited at the show and demonstrated the company’s continued growth even amidst the ongoing economic challenges. The next stage of IAAPA will be held in sunny Orlando, Florida this November.

YOU’RE INVITED:P L E A S E V I S I T OMNITICKET NETWORK AT IAAPA 2011!

P R O J E C T IAAPA 2011

After Singapore a n d L o n d o n t h e n e x t s t e p i s O r l a n d o

Come visit OmniTicket Network’s e xh i b i t a t t h e 2011 IAAPA Tradeshow in Orlando, Florida. The t radeshow a rea i s open November 14th-18th at the Orange County Convention Center, and OmniTicket Network will be in Booth #2862. OmniTicket Network is proud to be a Brass Rings sponsor this year. During the tradeshow the OmniTicket Network team and the Best Union Group will partner to demonstrate the latest innovations in ticket sales, s e r v i c e s a n d d i s t r i b u t i o n . Highlighted technology will include the Best Overview Solution (BOS), a un ique ons i t e t echno logy fo r managing all types of venues, in a multi-tier environment with a built-in infrastructure for offering worldwide ticket distribution in real-time. The OmniTicket Network booth will also have hardware on display including turnstiles, ticket vending machines, printers, handheld access control devices and biometric devices. We hope to see you all at OmniTicket Network’s booth for the 2011 IAAPA Tradeshow!

BEST UNION TAKES STAGE AT EAS 2011


Founded in 1998, the company is one of the leading international manufaturers of systems for ticketing and admission management. With worldwide facilities for production, distribution and support, AXESS-group has all relevant knowledge and resources to realize up-to-date system-solutions. Innovation, further internationalization and diversification of products, processes and services form the pillars of the corporate strategy.

A X E S S

The company‘s main guiding principle is to offer the best technical and commercial solutions for the customer and to realize their requirements after careful analysis and with expert knowledge and competence, based upon a good partnership. AXESS-Systems are developed by using proven state-of-the-art technologies. Wherever possible, industrial standards are observed and systems are designed with open standard interfaces. AXESS products are in use in 40 countries worldwide.

The partners who work alongside us in Orlando

Arti Grafiche Julia SpA was established in 1967. Since the beginning Arti Grafiche Julia has focused our activities on security products and admissions tickets. We are the leader in the Italian ticket market and export our products to more than 28 countries (both in Europe and outside Europe). During the last year we have printed more than 200 million tickets. We have a fully dedicated department for Chip-on-Paper, RFID Cards and RFID Labels solutions, the AGJ RFID DIVISION. Furthermore we can propose a FULL PACKAGE including: thermal RFID printers and RFID thermal tickets. This package grants an extended guarantee of the printer and print-head life, and provides a guarantee that everything will work in the most efficient way. www.agjulia.it

www.teamaxess.com

We can produce tickets applying magnetic bands with hot t ransfer applicat ion, holographic anticounter fei t ing bands, shearings and punches in plain, rotary machines, in folders, rolls or single format, with progressive numbering, bar codes and precoding magnetic band. During the last two years we have introduced the production of microchip cards for remote sensing. Our production system improves the technical capabilities of the product and the total cost.

Mecstar Srl was founded in 1989. Our company cooperates with the most important firms that produce access systems, such as Best Union, Omniticket, ACS, Thales, Skidata, Designa, Erg, Scheidt & Bachmann, Zeag, Parkeon, FAAC. Mecstar Srl produces ticketing for museums, stadiums, fairs, public transports, bus, trains, undergrounds, parking and every king of access control.We can offer a high quality product with U.V. or water flexographic printing up to 13 colors and choose the best raw materials of the market.



M E C S T A R

A R T I G R A F I C H E J U L I A

www.mecstar.it

http://www.agjulia.it/

http://www.agjulia.it/

http://www.teamaxess.com/

http://www.teamaxess.com/

http://www.mecstar.it/

http://www.mecstar.it/




OmniTicket Network is proud to sponsor the 9th Annual IAAPA Internat ional Chari ty Golf Tournament by providing online r e g i s t r a t i o n s e r v i c e s f o r t h e tournament.The tournament will take place during the IAAPA Attractions Expo 2011 in Orlando, Nov. 14-18, 2011 and supports Give Kids the World Village, a resort that creates magical moments for children with l i fe-threatening illnesses and their families.

“We’re delighted to provide online registration services for the IAAPA Charity Golf Tournament again this year,” says John Davies, the Director of Operations for OmniTicket Network’s UK operations. “We really appreciate the chance to suppor t such a wonderful charity.”

This year’s tournament will be held at Hawk's Landing Golf Club, Orlando World Center Marriott Resort on Sunday, November 13. The playing slots are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis through the registration site hosted by OmniTicket Network. The registration deadline is set for October 31, 2011.

O M N I T I C K E T S U P P O R T S I A A PAI N T E R N A T I O N A LC H A R I T Y G O L F T O U R N A M E N T


“We were excited to provide the onl ine t icket ing for such an important exhibit,” says Mickey Carlson, COO of North American Operations for OmniTicket Network. “And it was great to see such a positive response from the public.”

This summer OmniTicket Network provided the online ticketing solution for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty. The exhibit was resounding success, and based on the intense interest of the public, the exhibition was extended for an additional week and the hours were.After the exhibit ended, the Museum officially announced that the exhibit attracted 661,509 visitors during its run from May 4 to August 7, placing it among the Museum's top 10 most visited exhibitions ever held at the Met in its 141-year history.

ALEXANDER M C Q U E E N E X H I B I T UPDATE USA

BEST NEWS FROM US M A R K E T


Some of this new or improved functionality includes Improved assigned seating capabilities for special events, integration with the room management system and an interface for selling gift cards on property.

In addition the Biltmore introduced an innovative new Web sales process using the OmniTicket Network Nexus solution. This process allows for seamless reservations for Biltmore’s many tours and guest offerings, including i t s popu la r w ine r y, s tab le s , restaurants, shops and guided tour packages. The Web site also offers season pass sales, season pass renewals, assigned seating sales and an upselling feature that promises an improved buying experience for their guests.

Biltmore, the 8,000-acre luxury resort in Asheville, North Carolina has a brand new ticketing system as well as a new online ticketing process!On August 30, 2011 the OmniTicket project team was onsite and excited to be supporting Biltmore during their go-live with the Overview System.

“The new system is much more streamlined than before,” says Mickey Carlson, COO of North American Operations for OmniTicket Network. “Biltmore is going to have far more functionality than they did just a short time ago.”

B I LT M O R E GOES LIVE AND ONLINE!


The Chicago Navy Pier brought back the Tall Ships for their popular “A Taste of Tall Ships” event this August selling tickets through the Overview System both onsite and online.For this 4-day event OmniTicket Network supplied additional ticket sales stations and scanners onsite to help manage ticketing for the event. Tickets were also available for purchase through the Navy Pier’s website using OmniTicket Network’s hosted Nexus solution.


“Our team is always glad to be involved with this type of special event. We can provide cost-effective hardware and software rentals, as well as experienced resources to help support the event’s ticket sales onsite and online,” says Mickey Carlson, COO of North American Operations for OmniTicket Network. “And in this case our support team got a chance to enjoy the Tall Ships as well!”

Visitors were able to purchase print-at-home tickets in advance for the four days of dockside boarding of the six Tall Ships that docked at the Navy Pier for the special event held August 11-14th.

TALL SHIPS EVENT A SUCCESS FOR CH ICAGO’S N AV Y P I E R




OmniTicket Network’s support staff was impressed with the atmosphere and attendance at the California State Fair this summer. With a promise to fair-goers that “The Fun Just Got Bigger”, the State Fair certainly delivered for 18 days in July, and set a new record as well.

“BIG FUN” AT THE CALIFORNIA S TAT E FA I R

Based on preliminary numbers released by the State Fair, there were 80,765 visitors on Kids Day, Tuesday, July 26 which is a record number of guests for a weekday. Preliminary attendance figures for 2011 include paid attendance of 521,083 (increase of approximately 2% over last year) and total attendance of 736,355.

O m n i T i c k e t N e t w o r k congratulates the California State Fair on another successful year of “Big Fun.”


BEST NEWS F R O M U K M A R K E T

This is the first phase of the project, and the Floriade 2012 World Horticultural Expo will take place in Venlo, The Netherlands from 5 April to 7 October 2012.

The OmniTicket Network team recently installed the Overview Ticketing and Access Control Solution at Floriade for their visitor centre and cable car system.

Tickets are currently available online at http://www.floriade.com.

OVERVIEW SYSTEM S U P P O R T S F IRST PHASE AT FLORIADE 2012

http://www.floriade.com

http://www.floriade.com

The newly installed system is comprised of seven complete ticket stations, a photo ID station for season passes and three wireless access control hand scanners.A new laser-counter unit for the exit is in place to allow the Zoo to determine the entry and exit trends of visitors.

EDINBURGH ZOOD E B U T S N E W LY D E S I G N E D ADMISSIONS AREA (AND THE OMNITICKET S O L U T I O N )

The Edinburgh Zoo recently redesigned their admissions area to coincide with the installation of OmniTicket Network’s Overview ticketing system.“OmniTicket was very happy to provide input to the design team to provide the best ergonomic layout,” says John Davies, the Director of UK Operations for OmniTicket Network. “The design and installation of the new system was completed in preparation for the increase in visitor numbers expected with the arrival the Giant Pandas later this year. “





STONEHENGEUSING OVERVIEW SYSTEM DURING 2011

OmniTicket Network has installed the Overview Ticketing and Access Control solution at Stonehenge, an English Heritage site, for a trial run during 2011. The installed system at this prehistoric monument is comprised of three complete ticket stations used to produce barcoded tickets that are then scanned at one of four wireless hand scanners to control access.

I n a d d i t i o n , n e w l y o f f e r e d ruggedized hand-held wireless ticket sales stations are being evaluated for portable/mobile walk-about ticket sales.“It’s incredible to see one of the world’s oldest monuments successfully using the very latest in ticketing technology”, says John Davies, the Director of UK Operations for OmniTicket Network.To make sure the new system integrates smoothly with the existing Stonehenge operations, an interface has been put in place with the English Heritage’s management reporting package to allow data to be automatically uploaded to head office.


BEST NEWS FROM ITALY M A R K E T

BOS (Best Overview Solution) is Best Union’s newest product which uses the latest ticketing and access control technology. The implementation of the BOS ticketing soluttion to manage weekend activities is part of an ongoing program by the MUST for the renewal of public services. The MUST, founded in 1953, is the largest technical and scientific museum in Italy, and one of the most important in Europe. Over the past 10 years MUST has consolidated its expertise and capabilities in the production of cultural experiences and the provision of services for culture.

In particular, they have created exhibitions, education programs and training in science and technology for a l l c i t i z e n s w i t h d i r e c t experimentat ion in in teract ive workshops, initiatives for the protection and enhancement of the scientific, technological and industrial heritage and international activities through the figure of Leonardo da Vinci.The overall objective of the MUST is to inspire vocations in science and deve l op new gene ra t i on s o f "scientific citizenship" through the knowledge and skills needed to understand all the implications of science and technology on everyday life. These activities are developed through collaboration with important institutions, companies, associations, foundations and other museums.

T h i s A u g u s t t h e Nat i ona l Museum of Sc ience and Technology 'Leonardo da Vinci' (the MUST) signed an agreement wi th Omniticket Network, a subsidiary of Best Union, for the implementation of the new BOS Ticketing and Online Reservation system.

T H E M U S T NOW USING T H E B E S T T I C K E T I N G S O L U T I O N


F.C. INTERNATIONALWITH BEST UNIONFOR OVER 10 YEARS

The collaboration between Best Union and F.C International has now lasted over 10 years! Best Union has proudly delivered many game-related services to this prestigious Italian club, often thought of as one of the world’s most famous football clubs. With the start of the 2011-2012 football season Best Union will continue to provide a complete portfolio of activities for the club which is chaired by Massimo Moratti, and will also provide exclusive sales and services for all visiting fans at the San Siro stadium.For all the league games, and fans of all clubs, including Juventus, Rome, Naples, Genoa and all the other teams, Best Union will sell tickets to visiting fans attending games at San Siro.

BEST NEWS FROM ITALY M A R K E T

The experience gained working with F.C. International in recent years has been invaluable, and their decision to expand the use of Best Union’s services demonstrates once more their confidence in the quality solutions our group can offer.

As for Best Union, this new process has resulted in the creation of an extensive branch network through Italy that can manage thousands of requests simultaneously while verifying each purchaser has a Fan Card and meets the legislation requirements.

This expanded commitment of F.C. International is important in several ways, from the volume of visitors, to the new legislation for Fan Cards, to the emotions it evokes. From a volume aspect, the San Siro stadium hosts the largest number of visiting fans in Italy. The reasons are obvious: the charm of San Siro, the opportunity to witness the opposing team Inter, which is one of the biggest and most successful in Italian history and the hope of seeing their favorite team achieve successful results against Inter. These elements prompt fans of the Italian teams to travel more often to see Inter than to see any other team. From a regulatory standpoint the 2011-2012 season marks the widespread distribution of the Fan Card which is intended to provide a tool for fans who want to follow their team as they travel.Thus the legislators wanted an organization that ensured tickets are sold only to Fan Club holders, and that anyone who was not a Fan Club holder would not be eligible to purchase a ticket.


www.bestunion.it

A B U S I N E S S M O D E LUNIQUE AND INNOVATIVE

BEST NEWSF A L L 2 0 1 1

N. 01

http://www.bestunion.it

http://www.bestunion.it

best news world n. 1 - fall 2011

Documents

i ng i n t

o n d o n t h e n

t h i s summerb e s

s i t omniticket network

e tour

e tadventure

p r o j e c t iaapa

i ta ly