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MEET EPIC EVENT CENTER
EPIC Event Center is a multi-genre live entertainment venue in Wisconsin, hosting 80–95 events per year across rock, metal, hip hop, country, comedy, and specialty events.
With a highly seasonal calendar and a small team, EPIC needed a way to promote shows consistently, stay top of mind with fans, and drive ticket sales without relying entirely on paid platforms or changing algorithms.
After outgrowing Mailchimp, EPIC moved to Hive to run email more strategically and to invest in a channel they truly owned.
In 2025, that approach paid off.
Email generated more than $314,000 in ticket revenue, making it one of EPIC’s most reliable and controllable marketing channels.
EPIC had been using Mailchimp since opening, but as their event calendar grew, the platform no longer fit how they needed to market live events.
As Marla Maney, Marketing Director at EPIC Event Center, explained:
“It’s fine for general business emails or something more generic, but the integration and being able to know our audience and target them better was just super helpful. Before, we were just basically sending out emails. Now we’re strategically sending out emails.”
EPIC wanted to:
- Better understand their audience
- Target past ticket buyers
- Run presales and reminders more intentionally
- Move away from purely generic email blasts
EPIC Event Center already used Etix for ticketing, and Hive’s native integration made it easy to connect ticketing data directly to email marketing.
“You integrate with our ticketing platform, so I’m like, yeah, we can’t not use this platform. I needed to work more strategically and smarter. And that’s what Hive did.”
With Hive, EPIC gained the ability to:
- See and target past ticket buyers
- Connect ticket data directly to campaigns
- Run event-specific marketing instead of generic sends
EPIC’s email strategy is intentionally paced and value-driven. Rather than flooding inboxes, every send has a clear purpose.
“We really consciously tried to build it and send out campaigns slowly so people would see us as valuable, not spammy.”
Their core email cadence includes:
- Monthly newsletters highlighting what’s coming up
- Presale emails, which consistently drive the highest engagement
- Seasonal and holiday promotions with clear value
- Recently announced newsletters sent mid-month to catch shows fans may have missed
- Targeted reminders to past ticket buyers who attended similar shows
“Just because we see it doesn’t mean everybody else is seeing it. So the recently announced newsletter has been really helpful as a reminder.”
Hive’s Etix integration also unlocked smarter follow-ups:
“If we had them here last year or the year before, and they didn’t buy this time, we can email them again like, ‘Hey, don’t forget, they’re coming back.’”
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“A lot of that money comes from presale newsletters. If it’s the band they like, they’re opening the email.”
What stood out most was not just presales, but how fans engaged with EPIC itself.
“Our general newsletters get as much engagement as band-specific emails. That tells me they’re opening it because of EPIC. They want to know what’s going on here.”
EPIC’s email success is built on consistency, relevance, and respect for the audience.
“It’s all about value. Making sure what we send is worth opening.”
By focusing on clear timing, familiar formats, owned communication, and strategic targeting, EPIC turned email into a dependable long-term growth channel.
EPIC is not looking to overhaul what is working. Instead, 2026 is about refinement.
“I like the cadence. Now it’s about how do we work smarter? Let’s A/B test. Let’s resend. Let’s optimize.”
With Hive, EPIC plans to:
- Continue testing subject lines and layouts
- Lean further into past-buyer targeting
- Make each campaign work harder without increasing volume
“Figure out what you want out of your newsletter. If you need to work smarter and more strategically, Hive can do that.”
Marla Maney
Marketing Director at EPIC Event Center
For EPIC Event Center, Hive has become the foundation for running email in a way that is intentional, strategic, and sustainable.
For Marla, the difference comes down to usability and approachability. Hive makes it possible for teams to move quickly without sacrificing quality or strategy.
“Some systems are so archaic. Hive is very plug and play. People who don’t have experience building newsletters should be able to do it, and Hive does that.”
As EPIC continues to refine its email program, Hive supports the goal Marla cares about most: working smarter and making every send count.
Written under the steady rhythm of Tom Petty’s “Runnin' Down A Dream” 🚗