Phil Carling - speaker at Don't Forget Your Tickets Academy

Ticketing through a commercial lens

Lecturer 3: Phil Carling
Role: Managing Director, Football, Octagon Worldwide

Live lectures and on-demand content, straight from the industry.

Thursday 24 September 2026

13:00 CET

What you will learn

This session takes you inside ticketing from a commercial and sponsorship point of view, an angle most ticketing training never covers. You will leave understanding why money is moving towards sport, music and entertainment, and how to use that shift in your own role.

Why brands are now paying more for attention and for experiences, and what that means for sport
How to see ticketing as part of the wider commercial and sponsorship model, not a separate function
Why live experience assets, including tickets, are valued more highly than ever before
How to use this trend to make a stronger case for ticketing when you talk to commercial and sponsorship colleagues

Speakers

About Phil Carling

Phil Carling has led the football practice at Octagon Worldwide since 2000, advising major brands on sponsorship and commercial strategy in football for the past 26 years. Before Octagon, he was Commercial Director at the Football Association from 1996 to 2000, Marketing Director at Arsenal Football Club from 1989 to 1996, and Group Head at ITV from 1981 to 1989. For close to twenty five years he has also lectured on the Football Industries MBA at the University of Liverpool, and many of his former students now hold senior positions across the sport and commercial world.

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