MLSE was among the first in the sports world to embrace digital transformation, an effort aided by its 2016 partnership agreement with IBM.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press
Fan sentiment and influence have entered a new era.
Until relatively recently, sports franchises could only use ticket demand, Nielsen ratings and merchandise sales to measure how fans were feeling about their favourite clubs. Now teams can tap into a galaxy of insights, which they use to make more precise decisions around the fan experience.
“Through recurring brand-health studies, fan-satisfaction surveys and daily social-media tracking, we are constantly looking at how our programs perform, our fans’ interest, and if they are reacting positively to our messages,” Terri Mattucci, senior director of strategy and growth marketing for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), said in a statement. “The more we know about our fans and growth markets, the better we can be at connecting with them.”
Ms. Mattucci says the organization accesses an array of data points to better understand fan sentiment in real time and uses that information to optimize its decisions.
“Fandom for us is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Because of that, we try to ensure that we’re finding ways to interact with our fans at all times, whether that’s through team messaging, brand programs, community initiatives, or partner programs – even when there are no games.”
MLSE – which owns the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto Raptors, the Toronto Argonauts, Toronto FC and the Raptors Uprising eSports team – was among the first in the sports world to embrace digital transformation, an effort aided by its 2016 partnership agreement with IBM.
“They’re very proud of having the most advanced technology tools among all the other sports organizations in North America,” says Ashek Mahmood, who lead’s IBM Canada’s consulting for artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technology and manages its partnership with MLSE.
Mr. Mahmood points out that MLSE is able to collect data from a wide array of sources, and those insights help make decisions on everything from in-game experiences to social-media content, to community engagement activities.
“One of the key areas that everyone is focused on is how to elevate the event experience itself,” he explains. “How do you offer fans a more personalized experience, using the data you get?”
Mr. Mahmood says this new galaxy of data contributes to high-level decisions regarding in-venue entertainment, food and beverage options and more, but it’s still early days. He suggests that advancements in AI will soon enable an enhanced stadium experience. Fans might be presented with stats tailored to them, and real-time replays sent to their devices, in addition to personalized discounts and offers – even directions to the least-occupied bathroom during breaks.
Sports teams are also leveraging data to better engage with fans over social media, and to gain insights from that online chatter. “Just being able to take the flood of comments and categorizing them can help people make decisions,” Mr. Mahmood says.
Another key area of focus is youth fan engagement, which is vital to the long-term survival of any sports franchise. Mr. Mahmood says organizations harness social-media data to better develop community outreach programs and to engage the next generation of fans.
“For example, data could allow you to understand the particular youth communities that are passionate about sports, and now you can go engage with those youth communities and provide them with opportunities to interact with the team,” he says. “There’s a lot of angles there for teams to use the vast amount of data and analytics they have to help develop sports in communities across the country.”
All these efforts are a far cry from the traditional approach to fan-sentiment analysis and engagement, which had remained largely consistent since the last time the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup, in 1967.
“Standard things like how many people are in the stands, how many people are watching on television, how much merchandise is being sold, these are things teams had even in the 1960s, and they tend to be correlated with the overall brand equity,” says David Soberman, a professor of marketing at the Rotman School of Management. “When you have high levels of viewership, it usually means things are working.”
With the advent of digital media, Mr. Soberman says teams could take a more proactive approach to fan engagement, collecting real-time feedback and adjusting to optimize the experience. “Now you can fine tune it,” he says. “Because of social media you have an opportunity to assess at the micro-level the things you’re doing to a much greater extent.”
When it comes to engaging with customers, sports franchises have certain advantages that industry insiders suggest will make them leaders in outreach and engagement moving forward.
“I’ve been through this in other industries, and the application of analytics and personalization in sports is going to end up being one of the most dynamic and interesting,” says Charlie Bunce, consumer intelligence principal industry consultant for SAS, which provides data analytics services for brands and professional sports teams.
“The frequency of engagement by the fans, and the richness of the content, and the natural passion people have for sports, it puts all of this on steroids, and it’s going to be very exciting.”