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| [November 26, 2012] |
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Using SAS® Analytics, Baseball's Pirates Build Roar of the Crowd
CARY, N.C. --(Business Wire)--
Take me out to the ballgame. TV can't match the thrill of in-person
at-bats, and fans in the stands mean higher ticket sales and ballpark
revenue. To boost attendance, teams and leagues need to improve
individual fan experiences. Powerful analytics in SAS®
for Sports help teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, combine
customer insights and event-day statistics to give fans what they want,
thus earning their loyalty.
Predictive modeling, segmentation and forecasting from the leader in business
analytics put the Pirates' big data to work increasing attendance
and profitability. Using SAS (News - Alert) for Sports, the Pirates were able to
identify the accounts at greatest risk of not renewing season tickets.
Armed with this information, sales representatives were able to focus
efforts on those "at-risk" clients - resulting in a 6 percent increase
in ticket renewals over the previous season. The season-ticket base
serves as the foundation for any successful cmpaign, and every
percentage increase in renewals adds significantly to the bottom line.
That's a win the Pirates can bank on.
Increasing ticket sales
"We're boosting revenue, and we continue to improve the fan experience,"
said Jim Alexander, Pirates' Senior Director of Business Analytics.
"Using SAS, we looked at data from several sources and determined that
the promotional giveaways on Sundays geared to fans 14 and under were
not necessarily driving sales as well as the ALL FAN giveaways offered
on Fridays and Saturdays. We integrated some ALL FAN giveaways on
Sundays and saw an overall increase of sales."
In addition to exploring analytical insights on fan experience at the
park, Pirates marketers used SAS for Sports to analyze thousands of fan
surveys collected throughout the season. The surveys, focused on
satisfaction perceptions versus actual experience. The categories were
concessions, in-game entertainment, promotions, facility and brand
attributes. The goal of the surveys was to determine which experiences
or perceptions within each of those categories most closely correlated
to their overall experience rating. Using SAS, the Pirates determined
that the following factors most closely correlated to fans' experiences:
concessions (overall), family-friendly, seat atmosphere, and
ticket-buying experience. As a result, those are the areas that will get
the most attention.
"We use SAS data analysis as a baseline for decision making," said Jason
Witzberger, Manager of Business Analytics at the Pirates. "Rather than a
subscription model for fan analytics, we chose SAS and have the
flexibility of applying analytical capabilities any time questions or
opportunities present themselves. We appreciate SAS results. We know our
data and the model-building process, and we trust the analytics."
About SAS
SAS is the leader in business
analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor
in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions, SAS
helps customers at more than 60,000 sites improve performance and
deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been
giving customers around the world THE POWER TO KNOW®.
SAS and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are
registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and
other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product
names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright©
2012 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.
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