Some interesting links about sports, analytics, business and the Celtics

[Casperian]

Welcome to the wonderful world of social media.

Some snippets

http://www.zdnet.com/sports-marketing-and-technology-with-the-new-england-patriots-7000018909/

Over last few months, I have met with senior marketing and technology folks from teams such as the Boston Celtics, New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox, Boston Bruins, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Yankees, and the German National Football Association. For all these organizations, the common thread is using technology to deepen relationship with fans.

During an appearance on CxOTalk, Fred Kirsch, Chief Digital Officer for the New England Patriots football team, and CIO Magazine staff writer, Lauren Brousell, described the Patriots almost fanatical commitment to fan relationships.

Interview in full length on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=U13jU0hkZmw

This one has a 45-minute interview with JoJo White and Jay Wessel, Celtics Vice President of Technology (yup, we have that)

http://www.zdnet.com/cio-lessons-from-the-boston-celtics-7000016679/

Although corporate sponsorships are an important source of revenue for the Celtics, team finances rely primarily on ticket sales. For this reason, most professional sports organizations, including the Celtics, invest significantly in technology to create an attractive experience for fans. One sports CIO summarizes this goal with the imperative mandate to get "butts in seats."

The Celtics use analytics to link data on how fans use mobile and interact on social media, such as Facebook, with who buys tickets and for which games. Combining analytics with customer data enables the team to tailor the services and information it provides to specific groups of fans, while targeting marketing efforts more narrowly to specific audience segments.

Another 50-minute interview, sadly without JoJo.

http://www.zdnet.com/professional-sports-innovation-patriots-celtics-red-sox-and-bruins-7000011727/

To give us that insider view, network infrastructure provider Enterasys Networks brought together CIOs from all four major sports teams in Boston to discuss mobility, social networking, fan loyalty, and other issues that matter to the business of sports. [Disclosure: Enterasys is a consulting client for market strategy, positioning, and messaging.] I was honored to be a member of the panel.

The professional sports CIO panel consisted of the following participants:

    John Gallant, chief content officer, IDG Enterprise

    Fred Kirsch, VP of Content, New England Patriots

    Jay Wessel, VP of Technology, Boston Celtics

    Lorraine Spadaro, VP of Technology & eBusiness, Boston Bruins

    Heidi Labritz, director of Business Applications/IT, Boston Red Sox

    Michael Krigsman, CEO of Asuret, Inc

    Craig Mathias, principal analyst, Farpoint Group