Client: Major West End leisure operator
Project: Ethnographic study of touting in london’s west end
What were MAKE asked to do?
Following the success of our NightMix project for Sydney, where we measured both the costs and benefits of the Nightclub touting is a hugely problematic issue in the West End of London, particularly around the world-famous Leicester Square. Here illegal touts approach tourists and try to convince them to visit those nightclubs that they would never normally consider. These venues are usually (beneath) the bottom of the barrel; so bad they are desperate for any custom.
All in all this might not be so bad (albeit the way the touts go about their ‘business’ is bad news for the reputation of Leicester Square, the West End and even London). But when they approach customers in queues for outstanding nightclub venues it’s not a joke. Worse, Westminster City Council (that licences the West End) and the Metropolitan Police have done nothing about the touting (because it’s difficult), yet have picked easy regulation targets for those nightclubs that played by the rules. Our client asked us to evidence the problem.
How did MAKE do it?
We used a mixture of individual observation, discreet video surveillance and photography to built a picture of the problem. And it was much worse than we expected.
We edited the footage together to definitively prove the scale of the challenges. At points there were over 50 touts operating. They could on occasion become aggressive or abusive, not only breaking the law by touting but also in their threatening behaviour. The police did nothing on all our observation nights.
What happened next?
It was clear the touts were not individual rogue entrepreneurs, but organised out of the daytime ticket bureaus that are legitimately selling tickets (albeit at rip off prices) to West End shows. This was the first time this connection had ever been evidenced. The proof was used by our client in negotiation with the authorities to generate pressure for better enforcement (which the council and police were had been abjectly failing to deliver) as well as for a change in the regulatory environment to provide some flexibility for the best performing venues, of which our client was the leading operator.
What unique value did MAKE bring to this project?
Our ability to undertake ethnographic observation and surveillance under difficult circumstances (particularly observing and dealing with organised and potentially aggressive criminals) meant we were the only people capable of delivering this assignment.