Making marketing budgets transparent for event organisers
A platform where be•at and the organisers of its shows follow up the marketing budget of every event, without spreadsheets.
Challenge
What's the challenge?
be•at runs some of Belgium’s best-known event venues, such as the AFAS Dome, Lotto Arena and Forest National. Promotors who book a show there receive marketing credits to spend on be•at’s promotion channels, from e-mailings to posters in the venue.
Those credits were tracked in Excel: a workbook per promotor, with a tab per venue for the balance, every expense and what was left to pay.
Keeping those workbooks up to date took the marketing team a lot of time and invited mistakes. Promotors had no view of their own: to know what they had left, they had to ask.
Those credits were tracked in Excel: a workbook per promotor, with a tab per venue for the balance, every expense and what was left to pay.
Keeping those workbooks up to date took the marketing team a lot of time and invited mistakes. Promotors had no view of their own: to know what they had left, they had to ask.
Process
How did we tackle it?
We started with the part nobody sees: the connection with Salesforce. Every show be•at books is managed there. Before, each confirmed show, cancelled event or series that ended meant opening the right workbooks and copying the change across by hand, making sure every tab still added up.
Now every change in Salesforce flows into the platform by itself and updates the right wallets. Behind that one step sit workflows that handle every case: a promotor that is new, a series shared by several promotors, an event that moves to another series or gets cancelled.
Now every change in Salesforce flows into the platform by itself and updates the right wallets. Behind that one step sit workflows that handle every case: a promotor that is new, a series shared by several promotors, an event that moves to another series or gets cancelled.
Solution
How does it work?
Every promotor has a credit wallet per venue group, with all of their series in one overview.
Each series shows every marketing expense and its cost in credits, to marketeers and promotors alike.
Posters and banners are booked on a calendar per venue, where promotors can spot free weeks.
When a series ends, a settlement hands everything still to be paid to be•at’s invoicing.
Solution
How does it work?
Every promotor has a credit wallet per venue group, with all of their series in one overview.
Each series shows every marketing expense and its cost in credits, to marketeers and promotors alike.
Posters and banners are booked on a calendar per venue, where promotors can spot free weeks.
When a series ends, a settlement hands everything still to be paid to be•at’s invoicing.
Impact
What's the result?
We built a credit management platform that replaced the spreadsheets entirely. It has been in use since 2024 and keeps getting new features that improve the workflow of be•at’s marketeers and promotors.
For promotors it brought a level of transparency they never had: they see exactly which credits were spent on what, without having to ask.
Some of the core features include:
For promotors it brought a level of transparency they never had: they see exactly which credits were spent on what, without having to ask.
Some of the core features include:
- A live connection with Salesforce, so credits always reflect the system of record.
- Credit wallets per venue group (AFAS Dome, Arenas and Theaters) for every promotor.
- A detail page per series with every marketing expense, shared with the promotor.
- A product calendar per venue to reserve and book posters, banners and screens.
- Automatic settlements that hand everything still to be paid to be•at’s invoicing.
"Sixth Generation took the time to understand our business and worked closely with us to turn a static Excel spreadsheet into a transparent, automated and user-friendly platform. Their proactive thinking and collaborative approach made all the difference."
