Have you ever wanted to take on the challenge of learning a new and scary skill? ultra event We offer the public the opportunity to sign up for eight weeks of free training to learn boxing, mixed martial arts, or stand-up comedy. They then show off their new skills in front of a crowd of 1,000 on a big stage or at a glamorous event. people.
Ultra Events has a unique user journey. Participants sign on for eight weeks of free training in preparation for the final event, which includes a boxing match, mixed martial arts fight, and stand-up comedy performance. After those eight weeks, participants will be asked to sell at least 10 tickets to friends and family and commit to watching the event live.
The UK-based company was founded in 2009 with Ultra White Collar Boxing at the British Derby as its first event. Ten years later, Ultra Events entered the world of e-commerce and first sold tickets online via its website in October 2019. Ashley Gordon, Ultra Events’ technical operations manager, helped launch the company’s Woo store. A self-taught developer who learned WooCommerce as a hobby several years ago, he chose Woo for its simplicity and personal familiarity with it.
Initially, about six months before their first sale on their website, Ultra Events began their foray into online sales with Eventbrite. However, their service was inadequate and cost prohibitive. By switching to Woo, you can now greatly enhance and customize your site. “Thanks to various plugins such as Tickera, we were able to get up and running fairly quickly,” Ashley says. “It was a sliding scale transition, starting with small events, testing the setup, and then moving everything over.”
The company’s business is currently experiencing significant year-on-year revenue growth, with sales tripling since COVID-19 and up to 60 orders per second at peak sales. 100% of tickets will be sold through the Woo store.
Industry: events, sports
Main products: woo commerce
Main results:
- Sales continued to grow at double digits compared to the previous year.
- Sales increased by 500% in four years.
- During peak event periods, we process up to 60 orders per second.
- We have raised over £37m for charity.
Other products used:
Ultra Events’ sales have increased significantly since launching its online store in 2019. After the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the in-person events industry and caused sales to decline, Ultra Events has rebounded impressively. Sales nearly tripled from 2020 to 2023 and doubled again the following year. In 2024, sales soared again, posting a staggering 500% jump from their pre-pandemic start.
Tickets to an event sell automatically in a sense, but the responsibility for getting tickets sold rests with the attendees, so Ultra’s marketing efforts increase enrollment in the program itself and ensure attendees are provided with the highest level of customer service. Ashley says the focus is on weekly support. They promote the program across their social media channels and use Google Ads to increase awareness. Additionally, we prioritized user experience by making it easy for website visitors to find and purchase event tickets.
According to Ashley, Ultra’s growth is largely due to this focus on customer experience. He also credits an increase in events across the three brands. More than 350 events have been added since 2022 alone. We’ve also upped the ante by achieving ISO certification to ensure we adhere to a rigorous set of standards across all our events. Ultra Events is one of the few event companies in the UK to hold this certification.
Currently, during peak event periods, Ultra’s website sees as many as 60 orders per second. While this is a huge feat, increasing traffic is not without its challenges. To reduce the strain on the website during these high-traffic times, the company recently introduced a virtual waiting room system that allows up to 20 users to access the site per minute and up to 250 sessions. I did. Introducing this restriction is a win-win. This keeps Ultra costs low and the user experience uncompromised. Customers queue up with a location number and an estimated wait time, rather than encountering slow site or server errors when trying to make a purchase. Bonus: This gives Ultra the opportunity to market to a waiting audience.
“Given the size of our user base and community, there’s a good chance that no matter what project you’re working on, there are others who have done the same thing. If you need help while building your project, you can find it. It becomes very easy.” — Ashley Gordon
Ashley firmly describes herself as “Team Woo.” Since learning WooCommerce, Ashley hasn’t considered using any other e-commerce platform. “When I take on a new project, the first thing I think about is, ‘Can I do this using WordPress and WooCommerce?'”
One of the biggest benefits of developing with Woo is that it has a built-in community, ready to step in and support each other.
“Given the size of our user base and community, there’s a good chance that no matter what project you’re working on, there are others who have done the same thing. If you need help while building your project, you can find it. It makes it so much easier,” says Ashley.
For them, success looks like continuing to grow their business and increase enrollment in their programs. It also means customers can travel seamlessly through the program and friends and family can easily purchase tickets. “All of this was possible because WordPress and WooCommerce make my life so much easier as a developer and the great support they provide,” he says.
Ultra Events started in 2009 and has raised over £37m for charity to date.
Ultra Events prioritizes charitable giving and uses it as a pillar of its business model. In fact, they use donations as a key indicator of success and growth.
Charitable fundraising is part of the contract participants commit to when they sign up for the program. In addition to driving ticket sales throughout the eight-week journey, participants will also be asked to raise money for the charity of their choice.
Ultra Events currently operates events in the UK and as of 2023 in Canada, but has big plans to expand into new markets and more cities in the future. Masu. Current expansion plans include the United States and Australia. “We’re taking these steps to really expand internationally,” Ashley said.
They have just started selling tickets for a new event in Canada, currently in English, but are considering offering a Canadian French option as a translation. We held our first Canadian event in Calgary in 2023 and have grown to over 30 events a year in 15 Canadian cities.
As we continue to develop the Woo store, we have plans to launch customized multi-site solutions for customers around the world. This plan will provide separate sites for each currency: GBP, CAD, USD, and EUR.
They are developing the second release of their ticketing platform. The main difference, according to Ashley, is that they rely less on third-party plugins and do more custom development work. For example, we use custom-built solutions to handle all custom ticketing, vendors, rates, and statistics.
For Ultra Events and Woo, the future is custom.
“I love Woo and WordPress. I think it’s great and I really enjoy developing there.” — Ashley Gordon
Sydney is a social media manager (her colleagues might even say she’s a social media wizard) and Woo’s esteemed GIF curator. When he’s not creating fun content, he enjoys spending time with rescue puppies and moonlighting as a keyboardist and vocalist in a rock band.
