Analytical Analysis and Road Map - The Washington Nationals

2011

AdamGerber,DrewHaines,Andrea

Nowack,VivekSupnekar

TheGeorgeWashingtonUniversity

10/17/2011

TheWashingtonNationals

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TableofContents

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………….2

LeagueOverviewandTrends…………………………………..................................................................................2

WashingtonNationalsOverview…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...3

DataSources………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………4

InformationManagementInfrastructure………………………………………………………………………………………..……..6

AnalyticalAssessmentToday………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………..6

DataAnalysis…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………8

WeAnalyticsandSocialMediaMarketing……………………………………………………………………………………………10

Recommendations……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….12

AnalyticalRoadmap……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..16

EvaluationandMaintenanceofPlan……………………………………………………………..…………………………………….17

TimelineforImplementation…………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………..18

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………19

Appendix……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..20

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Introduction

We’reallfamiliarwiththeconceptof“Moneyball,”especiallynowthatitistypicallythoughtofinassociationwithBradPitt,whoplaysBillyBeanoftheOaklandAthleticsinthenew,majorHollywoodstudioproduction.MinorLeagueBaseballteamshavebeencompetingonanalyticsforyears,

developingadvancedstatisticalmodelstorecruitandattracttoptalentwhilekeepingoperatingcostsminimal.Infact,somanyteamshavecaughtontotheconceptthatitisnolongerasourceofstrategiccompetitiveadvantageformostteams.

Humanresourcesisoneoftheonlybusinessfunctionswhereteamshavehistoricallyprioritized

andcompetedonanalytics.Butasbusinessesinallindustriesarebecomingincreasinglyanalytical,teamsarebeginningtorecognizeotherfunctionsthatanalyticscanhelpsupport.Oneoftheseareasisinconsumermarketing.

OnMonday,October3rd,ourgroupmetwithScottLewis,theDirectorofConsumerMarketing

fortheWashingtonNationals,tolearnhowD.C.’sownlocalbaseballteamemploysanalyticalmodels,nottorecruittoptalent,buttofillseats.

BeforeScottcametothecompanythreeyearsago,datawasn’tjustunderutilized,itwasrarelyrequested.However,throughourconversationswithScott,wehavelearnedthattheNationalshave

comealongwaytowardmakingconsumeranalyticsasourceofcompetitiveadvantage,andwehaveidentifiedseveralopportunitiesforfuturegrowth.Inthefollowingpaper,wewilldiscussafewoftheseopportunitiesandprovidearoadmapthatTheNationalscanimplementtobecomeatrulyanalytical

competitor.

LeagueOverviewandTrends

MajorLeagueBaseballisthenation’spastimeaswellasasignificantbusinessintheUnited

States.Theleaguehasseensubstantialgrowthasithasdevelopedfroma16‐teamorganization(eightteamsintwoseparateleagues)in1903toaleaguewith30teamstoday.Whileeachofthe30teams,locatedin28differentU.S.citiesand1inCanada,operatesasitsownseparatebusiness,MajorLeague

Baseballistheregulatorandgovernoroftheentireleague.Thus,theMLBisresponsiblefortheofficialrules,regulatingteamownershipandcollectinglicensingfeesformerchandise(suchasjerseys,hats,etc.).MajorLeagueBaseballisalsoresponsibleforsellingnationalbroadcastingrights(franchisesare

abletonegotiateregionalbroadcastingrights)anddistributingfeestoeachoftheteams.

Someoftoday’smostsuccessfulfranchisesaretheNewYorkYankees,BostonRedSoxandPhiladelphiaPhillies.Eachoftheseteamsboastedincreasedrevenuesandattendancefor2011,withthePhilliesleadingtheleaguewith104%attendance(standingroomonly)andpushedtheirconsecutive

selloutstreakto204games;whichissecondonlytoBoston’s712consecutivesellouts.1However,withinthissuccessfulleague,aremanyopportunitiesforimprovement.Teams,bothwithwinningandlosingrecords,haveseensignificantdropsintheirattendancerecordsoverthepastfewyears.Evenwiththe

1“MLBAttendanceReport–2011.”ESPN.http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance

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reductioninticketprices,salesfiguresaredeclining.Outofthetenteamsthatcutpricesin2011,sevenofthem“haveworsesalesthanlastseason–somesignificantlyworse.”2Whilepartofthedropisdueto

therecentrecession,thereareothersignificantfactorsthatplayaroleindeterminingateam’sattendancerecords.

• In2011MajorLeagueBaseballsawa0.53%increaseinoverallattendance.3o Overallattendanceof73,425,568in2011(Phillies3,680,718).

• The30teamscombinedtohaveanaverageattendanceof30,229in2011…upfrom30,067lastyear.Thisstatisticis8%belowthe2007recordof32,785.

• Clevelandsawthebiggestincreaseinoverallattendanceandwasup31%to22,726fans.Pittsburghsawa22%increaseandTexasan18%increase.

• Evenwithagreatseason,andmakingtheplayoffs,TampaBayexperiencedbaseballsbiggestdecreaseinattendance,19%.

o 18,846fans,45,000seatingcapacity…about42%ofcapacity.• Houston,theteamwiththeworstrecordin2011,sawitsattendancedrop11%to25,546.

WashingtonNationalsOverview

In2005,theMontrealExposfranchisemovedtoWashington,D.C.andbecametheWashingtonNationals.Theyplayedtheirfirst3seasons,2005through2007,inRFKstadiumlocatednearthe

StadiumArmorymetrostation.Sincethen,theNationalshavemovedintotheirnew,state‐of‐the‐artfacilityadjacenttotheNavyYardmetrostation…NationalsPark.

TheNationalsmostsuccessfulyearintermsofattendancewas2005,theyeartheteamrelocatedtoWashington,whentheyranked11thoverallintheleaguewith33,728fans.Additionally,

whentheirnewstadiumopenedin2008,theNatsattractedmorethan29,000fanspergame,whichismuchhigherthanthe23,998theyachievedtheprioryear(thisfigureisalso16%higherthanthe2011attendanceof24,526).4In2011,theNationalsdidachieve60%oftheirseatingcapacity,upfrom55%in

2010,withtheirfansbasedonthestadium’scapacitytohold41,000.Therecenttrendhowever,untilthisyear,hasbeennegative.TheWashingtonNationalsarelookingnotonlyformorewins,butawaytoputmoreoftheirfansintheseatsonaconsistentbasis.

WashingtonNationals’Objectives:

Theshort‐termgoalsoftheWashingtonNationalsareto1)increasethenumberofcustomers

purchasingfullseasonticketplansand2)tofillseatsbasedonsinglegametickets.Inordertoachievethesegoals,theteamhastakenauniqueapproachtoreachitsfansandisoneofthefewteamsthathaveaconsumermarketingdepartmenttoanalyzethecustomerdata.Whileseveralmajorleague

teamsfillseatssimplybywinninggamesorbyhavingastrong,historicfollowing,theNationalsarenot

2Passan,Jeff.“TeamsSeekSolutionstoDecliningCrowds.”Yahoo!Sports.http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp‐passan_10_degrees_attendance_042511(April25,2011).3“AttendanceUpByUnderOnePercent.”AssociatedPress.http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7035729/major‐league‐baseball‐attendance‐1‐percent(September29,2011).4“WashingtonNationalsAttendance,Stadium,andParkFactors.”Baseballreference.com.http://www.baseball‐reference.com/teams/WSN/attend.shtml

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accustomedtothisluxury.Infact,theNationalsarestillestablishingtheir“roots”hereinWashingtonandhavefounditchallengingtoattractdiehardfansgiventheirshortlifespanof7years.Additionally,

becauseD.C.isknowntobea“transplantcity,”withmanyindividualsbringingtheirballclub’steamloyaltywiththem,itisdifficulttounderstandtheconsumersinthelocalmarket.

InourdiscussionwithScottLewis,hepointedoutthatafewofthetrendslistedabovedorelatetoattendancenumbers.Inadditiontotheoverallleaguetrendsandtherecession,Scottmentioned

significantfactors/variablescontributingtoattendanceperformancesuchasweather,opponent,dayoftheweekandtimeofday.ThesearevariablesthattheNationalsdeterminedmustbeaddressedinordertounderstandthetruenatureoftheD.C.baseballmarketandisonereasonwhytheNationalsare

heavilyfocusedonconductingdataanalysis.

SowhyexactlydotheNationalscollectsomuchconsumerdatawhenotherteamsdonot?SincetheNationalsarenotthemostcompetitiveontheballfield,itisextremelyimportantforthemtocompeteonconsumeranalyticsinordertofillseats.Whilethereisn’talwaysadirectpositive1:1

correlationofwinningandattendancerecords,5itisasignificantfactorindetermininghowmanyfansareattractedtoateamduringagivenseason.Additionally,theydon’thavetheluxuryofalonghistoryofbaseballinWashington(notincludingtheSenators).ThismeanstheNationals’fanbasehasnotyet

reacheditsfullpotential,andtheyneedtoexploreotherwaystoattractfanstothestadiumongameday.

TheWashingtonNational’sproactiveapproachtogatheringconsumerdatahasputthemaheadofotherteamsintermsofunderstandingtheirfansandtheirhabits/trends.Whiletheymightnotbe

leadingtheleagueinattendance,theyhavemadesignificantprogressinunderstandingtheiryoung,opportunetargetmarket.

DataSources

Asmentionedearlier,theWashingtonNationalsalreadygatheralotofdataaboutitsfansand

targetmarketthroughalargenumberofsources.Whilemanyofthesesourcesareinternal,theyalsodependonexternalsourcesfordataandanalytics.TheNationalsdonothavecompletecontroloveralloftheirdataandsometimesthismakesitdifficulttoaccesstherightinformationattherighttime.

5Caple,Jim.“What’sNextforTampaBayRays?”ESPN.com.http://espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs/2011/story/_/id/7059990/tampa‐bay‐rays(October5,2011)

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Thedatasourcescanbeprimarilydividedintofourcategories.Thesecategories,datasourcesandtypesofdatacollectedareexplainedbelow:

A]PrimaryRevenueDrivers:Ticketsales(Primary&Secondary),ParkingSales,Merchandise,

ConcessionsandSponsorshipsareidentifiedasprimarysourcesofrevenue.Internalsourcesprovideinformationonparkingsalesandsponsorship.Externalsourcesprovideinformationonotherrevenuestreamssuchasmerchandiserevenuepergameorpercapandrevenuefromconcessionsinstands,in‐

seatvending,etc.Primaryticketsalesinformationlikeseasonandsinglegametickets,aswellasgroupticketsareavailablewithinternalsystembutsecondaryticketsalesinformationcomesfromexternalsourceslikeMLBAMandStubHub.com.

B]AdvancedMedia:DatarelatedtotheWashingtonNational’swebsite,socialmediacampaignsis

providedbyexternalsources.Omniturecapturesimportantinformationaboutpageviews,numberandtimingofvisits.OmnitureserviceisusedbymostoftheMLBteams.Otherimportantinformationlikeclick‐thrurates,opt‐outratesandinformationrelatedtothesuccessofvariouscampaignsonsocial

mediasitescomefromFanalytics.

C]CRM/FanData:TheWashingtonNationalscurrentlymaintainaMicrosoftCRMsystem.Faninformationsuchasmailingaddress,comments,buyinghistoryetc.ismaintainedintheCRMsystem.Additionally,theexternalsystem,MLBAMFormTool,providesinformationaboutfans.Thedatafrom

varioussurveysthatprovidevaluableinsightintothedemographicinformationoffansisalsogatheredthroughexternalsources.

D]OtherDataSources:TheWashingtonNationalsalsouseonlinetoolssuchasGoogleAdsandDoubleClicktogatherdataonitsonlineadvertising.Informationlikeview‐thru,click‐thruratesand

revenuegeneratedarereceivedviathesetools.TheNationalsalsodependonmarketresearchtoolstoprovideinformationonfandemographicsincomparisonwithoverallDCmarket.

Adetailedsummaryofalltheinformationaboveisattachedintheappendices.

TheWashingtonNationalshavenumerousdatasources,butsimilartomanyothersmall

organizations,thearefacingthechallengeofhowtocompilethedatatomakesenseofitall.Manyorganizationsdoagreatjobofcollectingdataaggressivelybutlaterfailtoutilizeit,resultinginlessthanexpectedresultsfromtheinvestmentinCRMsystems.

SusanLawler,coordinatorforconsumermarketingfortheNationalstoldusthattheteam

receivesdatainmorethanthirtydifferentforms/spreadsheets.Allthisdatacomesfromdifferentsourcesandthereisnostandardformatting,whichmakesitdifficulttoclean,compile,analyzeandinterpret.

Extractingdataoutofthesesheetsisatedious,timeconsuming,anderror‐proneprocess.The

resultisaCRMsystemthatisnotutilizedtoitsfullcapacity.Sincedataisnotconsistentlyorganizedandthereisnostandardizationacrossdifferentfunctionsoftheorganization,eachdepartmenthasitsown

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definitionsfordifferentattributes.Unlessthereisstandardizationofdataandinformationexchangebetweendifferentdepartments,itwillbeverychallengingtoidentifyanalyticalopportunitiesthatexist.

TheWashingtonNational’scurrentlyhavealltherequiredinformationaboutseasonticket

holdersbutitssystemscannottrackanyinformationaboutbuyersbuyingtheticketsin“walkupform”atthegates.Alsothereisnowaytotrackpurchasesmadebyfansoncetheyenterthestadium(forbothseasonticketholdersandsinglegameticketholders).Therefore,theNationalscannottrackinformation

suchashowmuchmoneyaseasonorsinglegameticketholderisspending,ifhe/sheisspendingmoreonmerchandiseorfood,orwhatistheresultofdiscountsoneachsegmentetc.andthereforetheycannotpersonalizemarketingandpromotionaloffers.

InformationManagementInfrastructure

TheNationalscurrentlydonotownmostofitsITinfrastructure,includingitsownwebsite.ItswebsiteisownedbyMLBAM(whichwewilldiscussin‐deptlater).ItownsandmanagessomeIT

infrastructuresuchastheticketingsystemandtheCRMsystem.But,asmentionedearlier,thesesystemsarehighlyfragmented,andbuildinganenterprisesystemthatwouldencompassdifferentfunctionsanddepartmentswouldbehighlybeneficialfortheNationals.Itwouldprovidetheright

infrastructuretoexpanditsCRMsystemandgrowrevenueswithhighlyefficientpersonalizedmarketing.

AnalyticalAssessmentToday

AccordingtoJeanneHarris,“becomingananalyticalcompetitorcallsfirstforaclearheadedrecognitionofwhereyourcompanyispositionedintermsofitscurrentuseofandaptitudeforanalyticalprocesses.”6Thus,inordertoaccuratelydeveloparoadmapforanalyticalcompetition,wemustfirsttakeastepbackandconsiderwheretheNationalsaretoday.

Basedonthe“maturityofanalyticalcapabilitystages”outlinedbyDavenportandHarrisinCompetingonAnalytics,theNationalscanbroadlybedefinedascurrentlycompetingat

6Harris,JeanneG.“WinningwithAnalytics.”AccentureOutlook–May2007.[http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/OutlookPDF_analytics_FINAL.pdf]

Figure1:TheFiveStagesofAnalyticalCompetition,Davenport&Harris

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Stage3–AnalyticalAspirations(seeFigure1).7Theyhaveidentifiedanumberofdifferentconsumerdatasources,andtheyhaveestablishedaneedtocoordinateallsourcestogainadeeperunderstandingofthepurchasinghabitsoftheircustomers.

Currently,theNationalsengageinmanyformsofdescriptivedatacollectionandanalysis.Theycollectdetailedinformationatavarietyoftouchpoints(describedindetailearlierinthepaper)oncustomertransactions,whatfactorsinfluencegamedayattendance,websurfingpatterns,andmuch

more.Whenacustomerpurchasesaticketonline,theyareaskedforinformationsuchastheirnameandemailaddress.Similarly,whentheycalltheTicketSalesoffice,salesrepskeeptrackandmakearecordofuniqueinformation,suchasfavoriteplayersandbirthdays,thatcanbereferencedin

subsequentconversations.Additionally,theNationalshavealreadytakenstepstousethedataforgeneralpredictivemodelingpurposes.Forexample,theyhavefoundthattheonemostimportantfactorindetermininggamedayattendanceisweather.Interestingly,theyalsofoundthatthewin/loss

recordisnotsignificantlycorrelatedwithattendance(although,wepredictthatthereisalikelythresholdwhere,atacertainpointabove.500,itwouldbeasignificantvariable).Althoughtheydonotyetusepredictivemodelingtoestimategamedayrevenueormerchandise/concessionpurchasesand

up‐sells,theycanusetheirmodelstomakegeneralassumptionsonattendancesothattheycanstaffgamesaccordingly.Scottmentionedthatbyusingthebasicpredictivemodeltheyhavealreadydeveloped,theNationalscanusuallyforecastthegeneralnumberoffanswhowillbeatanyspecific

game,withinafewthousandpeople,andthisisalltheyreallyneedtoknowforgeneralgamedaystaffingpurposes.BasedonourinitialanalysisoftheNationals’analyticalcapabilities,wefeelthattheyareontherighttracktowardturningcustomerdataintoasourceofcompetitiveadvantage.

However,theNationalsarecurrentlyhamperedbyasignificantchallenge–theyhavetoomanysourceswheretheycouldpotentiallycollectcustomerdata,andtheydonothaveaclearandconsistentstrategytoorganizeandusethedatatheydocollect.Further,theyarenotclearlycertainthattheyare

collectingtherightdata.Asaresult,customerdataseemstobeverysiloed,whichprohibitsitfrombeingusedeffectivelyandcross‐functionally.TheNationalsdonotcurrentlyhaveonesingledatabase,aDataWarehouse,wheretheyhousecustomerdata–rather,dataiscollectedspontaneously(evenas

.txtfilesfromsomesources),pulled,andorganizedintoseparateexcelsheetswhenneeded.Further,theNationalsareonlyabletocapturedatafromnon‐season‐ticket‐holderswhopurchaseticketsbyWeb,phone,andStubHub–theycurrentlyhavenosysteminplacetocapturedatafromtheseveral

thousandpeoplewhopurchaseticketsviawalk‐upcountersales.

Intermsofconsumermarketing,despitethewealthofcustomerdatasourcesavailabletotheNationals,manymarketingandpromotioncampaignsarestillcreatedbasedonintuition.Further,thecompanyisstillverylimitedastowhatconsumerdataitcancollect.Theycaneasilycollectpurchases

madeviaonlinechannels,however,manysportsenthusiastsnowadaysturntothesecondaryticketmarkettopurchasetickets,orpurchaseticketsattheticketwindowbasedonalast‐minutedecision.TheNationalsareunabletocollectcustomerinformationusingeitherofthesesources.Inshort,the

7Davenport,ThomasH.andJeanneG.Harris.CompetingonAnalytics.Boston:HarvardBusinessSchoolPress,2007.

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Nationalsaresomewhatlackinganenterprise‐levelapproachtoandmanagementofanalytics,oneofthekeydistinguishersofananalyticalcompetitor.8Additionally,althoughScottandhisteamwidely

recognizetheneedtodevelopabroadanalyticalapproachtoconsumermarketing,itseemsthatfullC‐Suitelevelsupportisstillneeded.BeforeScottcametothecompanythreeyearsago,theNationalswerenotadatadrivencompanyintermsbusinessfunctionsoutsideofhumanresources,andthough

thatoutlookhasbeenchangingsinceScott’sarrival,itseemsthathisteamisstillnotallocatedthebudgetandsupportthatisneededtobecomean“analyticalcompetitor.”

Insum,basedontheconsumerdatathatScottandhisteamcurrentlyhaveavailable,theyareoftenabletosay“wethink,”butnevertrulyabletosay“weknow”whentargetingcustomerswith

offersorlaunchingpromotionalcampaigns.However,theNationalshavemadehugestridesintheareaofconsumerdataanalyticsinthepastfewyears,andwefeelthattheNationalshaveahugeopportunitytomovefromLevel3toLevel5throughimplementingaclearandpreciseroadmaptoanalytical

competition.

DataAnalysis

DataProfilingandDescriptiveSegmentation

Inordertodevelopbetterandmoreeffectivemarketingcampaigns,theNationalsmustfirst

gainasolidunderstandingofwhotheircustomersareandattributestheypossess.Theycandothisbyenactingcustomerprofiling,wheretheywilluseallavailablecustomerandcampaignresponse/purchasedatatoidentifykeycustomerattributes.Throughbasiccustomerprofiling

techniques,suchaslookingatmeans,averages,frequencydistributions,variances,etc.andplacingtheinformationintobasiccharts,suchasboxandwhiskerplots,piechartsandbarcharts,theNationalswillbeabletobetterunderstandtheirtargetconsumerandtheirtypicalaudienceoffans,forbothhome

andopposingteams.

Next,oncetheyhaveamoreaccurateprofileofwhotheircustomersare,theNationalscanusethedatatheycurrentlyhaveavailabletoconductdescriptivesegmentationoftheircustomerbasesotheycandevelopbettermarketingstrategiesmoretargetedtowardtheircustomers’behavioral

patterns.Inthisphase,theycanbegintosegmentcustomersintodifferentcategoriesusingsegmentationtechniques.Firstofall,theycanusetheRecency,Frequency,andMonetary(RFM)methodofanalysistogainadeeperunderstandingofwhotheirmoreprofitablecustomersare.RFMis

“amethodofcategorizingthecustomerrecordsinamarketingdatabasesothatthemostrecentbuyers,themostfrequentbuyers,andthebiggestspenderscanbeidentified.”9Thismethodistypicallyusedtomarkettoexistingcustomers/fans,andtheNationalscanuseittodeepenrelationshipswiththese

customerstoincreasesales.TheNationalscanalsouseclusteranalysisfordescriptivemodelingpurposes,bywhichtheywillbeabletousedatatoform“like”groupings.Thoughthiswillnothelp

8Davenport,ThomasH.andJeanneG.Harris.CompetingonAnalytics.Boston:HarvardBusinessSchoolPress,2007.9Yenigun,Demirhan.“DNSC6290–DatabaseandWebAnalytcs.”Lecturenotes,Lecture#2.

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themactuallypredictsales,asnodependentvariableisidentified,itwillhelpidentifykeycustomerattributesanddividegame‐goersintomorerevealingmicrosegments.

AsoneoftheNational’sprimaryobjectivesistosellmoreseasontickets,executingdescriptive

analysiswillhelpthembettertargetwhichcustomerswillbemostreceptivetoseasonticketoffers.Itmayalso,toalesserextent,helpthemidentifywhichcustomersaremorelikelytopurchaselast‐minutetickets,orticketsbasedononesuchattribute(suchasweatherorwinningrecord).

WerealizethatasignificantchallengetheNationalswillfaceinexecutingthesetypesof

consumerdataanalysiswillbeintheirfragmenteddata.Duetothefactthesourcesofinformationcomefromseveralresources,itisdifficulttocompile/cleantheinformationinawaythatiseasilydecipherable.Laterinthepaper,wewillprovideafewrecommendationsonhowtheNationalscangain

betterdataandstreamlinesothatitcanbeusedinmoreeffectiveandpredictiveways.

PredictiveSegmentation

Predictivemodelingtoolssuchasregressionanalysis,moreadvancedCRMtools,andcross‐sellingdatawouldclosethegapbetweentheNational’scurrentanalyticalaspirationsandbecomingatrueanalyticalcompetitor.

Withcompleteandcleandataaboutindividualconsumertrendsandattendance,notonlycould

theNationalsbetterpredictstaffingneeds,butalsogainpowerfulinsightsintothein‐stadiumbehaviorsofdifferenttypesofticketholderssuchaswhichfansarebuyingthemostconcessionsormerchandise,orwhoofthesinglegameticketholdersaremostlikelytorespondtoaseasonticketpromotion.

Thenaturalvariabilityofattendanceprovidedbyweather,seasonality,andin‐cityhistorycan

provideforarockyrevenuestream.Thesevariablescanbesmoothedbyfindinghighlytargetedcross‐sellingpromotionstodrawmorevalueoutofthemostgenerousfansandhelpingtargetemergingfans

formorelucrativerelationships.Forexample,afanthatattendsfivetotengamesaseasonbutonlybuysticketsatthedoor,isacompleteblindspotintheNational’scurrentmodel.However,wealreadyknowthatthisfanisdedicatedandaspender.IftheNational’scouldmicrotargettofansinthat

demographic,theycouldfindwayofpullingthefanintotheCRMdatabase,offeringtargetedconcessionofferings,andhighlytailoredpromotionstojoinamini‐seasonticketplan.

MacroeconmicTrendsthatAffectAttendance

AlthoughScottcitedonlyfourfactorsthatmostpredictgamedayattendance(weather,

opponent,dayofweek,andtimeofday),wefeelthattherearelikelyothermicroandmacroeconomictrendsthatfurtherimpactgamedayattendance,toalesserextent.

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AdeeperlookintotheNational’syearlyattendancedatarevealssomeinterestingtrends.Thefirstyeartheteamcametogether,theystartedoutincrediblystrongintermsofcomparative

attendance(33,728averageattendance–theirwinningrecordwas.500)andimmediatelydroppeddownto26,581thenextyearwithawinningrecordof.481.Attendanceincreasedagainin2008,aftertheteammovedfromRFKtothenewNationalsStadium.Infact,theadditionofthenewstadiumwas

abletoovercomeanextremelysluggishstartfortheNationals(theystartedtheirfirst15gameswithawinningpercentageof.250)andtheyincreasedtheirattendanceby19.4%...orabout5,000fansagame!

Thisyear,theNationalswere9and7tokickofftheseason,whichwasthebeststartintheirfirst

15gamessince2005.Giventherecenttrendsofwin/losspercentageforthefirst15games(seechartbelow);attendancehasrisenordeclinedeachyeardependingonhowfasttheteamstarts.Theonlyyearwherethistrendwasbrokenwaswhenthenewstadiumwasopened,generatingsignificantbuzz

aroundtheteam.10

WebAnalyticsandOnlineandSocialMediaMarketing

TwoelementschallengetheNational’sattemptatanalyticcompetitiveness.First,theteamdoes

nothavefullownershipoveritsmainwebportal.Second,ithasnotyetfoundaconsistentwaytomonetizeitssocialmediaefforts.

MLBAM

AllMLBteamshavewebsites,yetthesesitesaremanagedbyacentralagencyunderMLBAdvancedMedia(MLBAM).MLBAMretainstheuserdata,webbehaviordata,andcrossteambuying

patternsofallteam’swebsites.Describedas,“partbaseballencyclopedia,partticketline11”MLBAM’sleaguewebsiteand30teamsitesgarnersbillionsofpageviewsayear.WithanalyticpartnerSAS,MLBAMusesbothdescriptiveandpredictivetoolstomanageitsproperties,crosssellmerchandise,and

mirco‐targetpromotionstofans.

10Theirhomeopenerin2011wasonly39,000(thisistypicallyadaywhenallteamsselloutandtheNationalshad

roomforimprovement,evenagainstadivisionrival).

11“BaseballBuildsCustomerLoyaltyWithSAS.”SAS.comNewsandFeatures.http://www.sas.com/news/feature/21apr05/mlb.html.

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However,inthenameofcentralizedconsistency,MLBAMhascreatedauniquedesertofinformationforindividualteamsthatisnotfoundinanyotherprofessionalsport.WhileMLBAMwins

awardsforitssavvyuseofanalytics12,teamsliketheNationalshavetodealwithaslowandunwieldyprocesstouseanyofthatdataatthelocallevel.TheNationalshavelimitedaccesstodataonwhovisitsNationals.com,whobuysmerchandisethroughthewebsite,andhowvisitorstothewebsiteare

behaving.Furthermore,theyarediscouragedfrominteractingwiththefansinmanytraditional,butdigitalwaysincludingbloggingandtwitter.

Comparethistootherprofessionalsportswherevibrant,decentralizedwebtoolsdeepentheengagementwiththefansandprovidetheteamswithplentifuldata.

SocialMedia

Thecurrentsocialmedialandscapeisas

follows;morethan20,000Twitterfollowers,34,000Foursquarecheck‐ins,and120,000Facebookfans.Thismaysoundimpressive,buttheNationalsare,social

mediawise,theleastpopularteaminAmericanprofessionalsports13.Thepotentialforusingsocialmediaattheteamlevelistremendous.Asdescribed

above,thetwotopprioritiesfortheteamaresellingseasonticketsandsellingindividualgametickets.Socialmediacouldplayanexcellentroleindelivering

onthosegoals.

AbriefscenariofromUniversityofUtahexplainsthepotential14:

“Itwaslateinthesummerof2008,andtheUniversityofUtahstillhad500footballseason

ticketstosell.ZackLassiter,Utah'sassistantathleticsdirectorforcorporatesalesandticketoperations,waspreparedtosendoutatraditionalpressrelease,inthehopesthatlocalnewspapersandTVstationswouldtaketheballandrunwithit.Butfirst,theticketdepartment

postedanoticeaboutavailabilityontheUtahAthleticsFacebookPage,whichatthetimeboastedfewerthan15,000fans.Bythetimethepressreleaseevenreachedtraditionalmediaoutletstwohourslaterall500seatshadbeensold.”

12“BaseballBuildsCustomerLoyalty,EnhancesFanExperiencewithSASMarketingAutomation;MajorLeagueBaseballAdvancedMediaWinsSASEnterpriseIntelligenceAward.”http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20050411005205/en/Baseball‐Builds‐Customer‐Loyalty‐Enhances‐Fan‐Experience(April11,2005).13Fisher,EricandRyanBaucom.“EuropeanTeamsLeadSocialMediaBoom.”SportsBusinessJournal.http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/04/25/Media/Social‐Media.aspx(April25,2011).14Steinback,Paul.“CollegesUseSocialMediatoSellSportsTickets.”AthleticBusiness.http://athleticbusiness.com/articles/article.aspx?articleid=3599&zoneid=40(August2010).

Figure2:TheNational’sFacebookpageexiststopointfansbacktoMLB.com

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Additionally,leadingMLBteamssuchasthePhiladelphiaPhilliesusesocialmediatoconnectwithfansandescalatetheirrelationship.Byusingtweetsfromplayersandmanagersthemselves,the

teamencouragesfanstointeractdirectlywiththeteam.Aparticularcampaignevenhadthemanagerandplayersofferingtargetedpromotionsformini‐seasonticketplanstohighlyengagedfans15.

Socialmediacanalsoplayakeyroleindrivingdatatoandfromtheteam’sCRMtools.AsophisticateduseofCRMcouldincludeascenarioinwhichagroupofpeopleattendagameona

friend’sbirthday.ThebirthdayfanreceivesatextoratweetfromtheNational’sinvitingthemtohaveeitheraconcessionorseatupgrade.Inorderforthistypeofhighlevelinteractiontooccur,theCRMtoolsbecontainthefollowingelements;whoisintheparkatanytime,wherearetheysitting,whatis

theirsocialmediacontact,whatistheirbirthday,andwhoaretheywith.ThistypeofinteractioniswithinthegraspoftheNationalsbutwillrequireasophisticatedeffortindatamanagement.

TheWashingtonNationalshavetoovercometwodeficitstofulfilltheirseatfillinggoals.First,they

mustdrawthemaximumlevelofinformationfromtheironlinetools.Second,theymustcreateconsistentandmeaningfulonlineexperiencesfor

fansthatwillhelpdrivecasualfansintoticketbuyers,

andticketbuyersintoseasonticketholders.

AnalyticalRoadmapandRecommendations

Aswe’vementionedthroughoutthepaper,theNationalsalreadydoanicejobwithcustomerdatacollectionandbasicanalysis,especiallyincomparisontootherteams.Mostteamsdonoteven

haveconsumermarketingdepartments,whichisatrendwebelievewillshortlycatchononceitstruevalueisrealized.Webelievethistrendwillbesimilartothe“Moneyball”effectonceteamsunderstandhowtheycaneffectivelycommunicateandtargettheirfanbase;muchlikeBillyBeandidwhenhewas

targetingtalentfortheOaklandAthletics.However,sincemanyotherlocalsportsteamscannotidentifyconsumeranalyticsasarelativesourceofcompetitiveadvantage,theNationalshaveahuge

opportunitytocompeteinthisareaandincreaseattendanceandprofitability,aslongastheycandevelopaclearandconsistentapproachandgainwidespreadbuy‐inandsupportfromseniorexecutives.SincetheNationalsdonotactuallycompetewithotherMLBteamsincapturingmarket

shareforitsgeographiclocation,albeitwhenitcomestoplayerrecruitmentandselection,theycanuseconsumerdataanalyticstoaddvaluetoMLBasawhole.BecauseteamsinMajorLeagueBaseballopenlyshareinformation,bothgoodandbad,thereisanopportunityforWashingtontocomeoutasa

leaderintheleague.

TohelptheNationalsdevelopacompetitiveapproachtowardconsumeranalytics,weproposethefollowingroadmapbasedonshort‐termsolutionsthatcanbeimplementedbeforethestartofthe2012seasonandlong‐termsolutionsthatmaytakeseveralseasonstoimplement.15George,John.“Root,Tweet,BlogforthePhillies.”PhiladelphiaBusinessJournal.http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/print‐edition/2011/07/29/root‐tweet‐blog‐for‐phils.html(July29,2011).

Figure3:TheNationalsonTwitter

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Short‐TermRecommendations

EngagingwithFansInsideTheStadium

ArecentarticleintheMcKinseyQuarterlystatesthat“Bigdatapermitsamajorstepbeyondwhatuntilrecentlywasconsideredstateoftheart,bymakingreal‐timepersonalizationpossible.”16At

thecurrentmoment,theNationalsdonothaveasysteminplacetotrackfansastheymoveaboutthestadiumandusethatinformationtooffertime‐sensitiveorhyper‐targetedoffers.Ifthisinformationwereavailabletotheteam,theywouldbeabletousethatinformationtooffertime‐sensitiveorhyper‐

targetedoffers.ThereisahugeopportunitytodevelopsignificantrelationshipswiththefanbaseandcapturefanswhocanoffertheNationalsahighcustomerlifetimevalue.

OneteamthatdoesthisverywellistheSanFrancisco49ers.Theytrackfans’spendinghabitsfromthemomenttheyenterthestadiumtothemomenttheyexit.AnarticleinInformationWeek

highlightsafewofthebenefits:“Providingentrydata,thenewstadiumwillhelptheteamunderstandwhichfansarearrivingtwohoursearlyfortailgateactivitiesversuswhicharearrivingfiveminutesbeforethegamewithchildrenintow.”17

Additionally,anon‐sports‐relatedbusinessthatiscommonlycitedasagoldstandardbusinessin

thisareaisHarrah’s.InanInformationWeekarticleprofilingthecompany’sbrilliantuseofdata,onecompanyexecutivestates,“What'simportantisnothowmanyterabytesofdataarestoredinourdatawarehouseorthekindsofreportssomeanalystcanrunafterthefact.Rather,it'showtheinformationis

leveragedinrealtimetoservethecustomerimmediatelyonthecasinofloor.Ifthecustomeriscelebratingabirthday,forexample,thatdatawillletemployeesknowinstantlysotheycansurprisetheguestwithaspecialgreetingorgiftinthecasinoorhotelroom.”18

Currently,TheNationalsoffer“loadedtickets”whichallowfanstousethebarcodeontheir

ticketstubtopurchaseitemsattheconcessionstand.However,theycurrentlyaren’tabletotracktheuseofthesetickets,whichwouldbeaterrificsourceofdatafortheNationalstogetaholdof.Tohelp

gainabetterunderstandingofwhatthesefansarepurchasing,wheretheyarepurchasingtheseitemswithinthestadium,andhowmuchtheyarespending,itisimperativetheNationalsinvestinsoftwarecapableoftrackingtheseconsumerhabits.

TheNationalsshouldre‐engineertheircurrentloadedticketprogramtocollectconsumer

spendingdataandusingthefindingstomakethecaseforafull‐fledgedrewardsprogram.Torevampthisprogramandencouragemorecustomerbuy‐in,offerloadedticketsatadiscount–forexample,theycanoffera$10loadedticketfor$8andheavilypromotethisoffersothatcustomershaveanextra

16Brown,Brad,MichaelChuiandJamesManyika.“Areyoureadyfortheeraof‘bigdata’?”McKinseyQuarterly,October2011.http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Strategy/Innovation/Are_you_ready_for_the_era_of_big_data_2864.17Henschen,Doug.“Football49ersLaunchFanAnalyticsInitiative.”InformationWeek,June14,2010.http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/bi/225700039.18Stanley,Tim.“High‐StakesAnalytics.”InformationWeek,Feb.1,2006.http://www.informationweek.com/news/177103414?pgno=1.

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incentivetopurchasethisoffering.Additionally,whenofferingGrouponandLivingSocialdeals,theNationalscanofferextradiscountsonconcessionswrappedintothedeal.Thoughtheywillseeaprofit

lossintheshort‐term,thevaluetheywillbeabletoachievebygaininggreateraccesstothisdatawillfaroutweighthecosts.

EngagingWithFansOutsideTheStadium

ThebiggestopportunityforTheNationalsthatcancomefromconsumerdataanalysis,intheshort‐term,isintheareaofpromotions.Atthemoment,theNationalsarecreatingpromotionsbased

onwhathasworkedinthepastorforotherteams,butnotnecessarilybasedonwhatmightbebestsuitedtothelocalenvironment.Giventhedifferencesinthetargetmarketsacrosscities,itisimportantfortheNationalstoadoptapromotionalstrategythatispositionedtocapturetheirfans.TheNationals

canusedescriptiveandpredictiveanalyticaltechniquestoevaluatethesuccessofpastcampaignsandpredictthesuccessoffuturecampaignstoincreaseattendance.SomeofthequestionstheNational’sshouldconsiderwhenseekingpromotionalstrategiesare:

1. Whichneighborhoodsprovidethehighestconcentrationofsinglegameticketholdersvsseasonticketholders?

2. WhichincomegroupsarethemostreliablebaseballfansintheWashingtonarea?3. WhichoutsideDCteamsaremostrepresentedbyWashingtontransplants(forexample,

formerNewYorkresidentsandYankee’sfanslivinginWashington)andwherecanwefindthemtobettertargetindividualgamepromotions?

TheNationalshavefoundthattheyattractmorefansfromoutsideD.C.thananyotherteam,which

likelyimpliesthatNationalsParkisseenasanattractivetouristactivityforpeoplevisitingD.C.WhilethisispartlyduetothefactthatD.C.isatransplantcity,thereisstillalargeopportunityhere.Thus,theNationalsshouldfurtherexplorethistrendtobettertargetpartnersandpromotionaloffers.Inaddition

topartneringwithlocalschools,forexample,theymightseeaddedvaluefrompartneringwithlocaltourismresourcesorcompanieswithmajorofficesinanumberofcities.

Long‐TermRecommendations

ImplementaRewardsCardandLoyaltyProgram

Inthelongterm,theNationalsshouldconsiderimplementingaRewardsCardLoyaltyand

IncentivesProgramsothattheycangeneratebetter,moreaccuratefan‐specificdata.Throughthisprogram,eachcustomerwouldbetiedtoauniqueidentifierthatwouldtracknotonlyticketpurchases,butcross‐sellsandup‐sellsaswell.However,inordertogainwidespreadadoptionofaRewardsCard

Program,theywillneedtomaketheincentivesattractiveenoughforpeopletobuy‐in.

TheRedBullsrecentlylaunchedasimilarprogram,however,Scottmentionedthatwhenhetraveleduptothestadiumtoobservethenewprograminaction,customersusingthecardswerefewandfarbetween.Whenwelookedintothedrawbacksofthisprogram,werealizedthatitwaspoorly

executedonthepartoftheRedBullsbecausetheincentiveswerenotstrongenoughtoencouragefanstousethecardoverotheroptions,suchaspurchasingticketsonStubHuborbringingtheirownfood,

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andthereweremanystipulationsattached.Forexample,onedisgruntledfanbloggedabouthisdisappointmentwiththeprogramaftertheRedBullsannouncedthatpointsdonotrolloverintothe

nextseason:

“Forfanslikemewhohaveaccumulated2,500+loyaltypointssinceRedBullArenaopenedlastseason,it'sabitdiscouragingtoseethemallflusheddownthedrainwiththelaunchofthe2012ticketprogram.ChrisHeckblindsidedmanyseasonticketholderswhenheintroduced

astronomicalpriceincreasesincertainmidfieldsections.Itappearsthathe'salsodecidedtotakeabenefitawayfromtheclub'smostloyalfanswithlittletonowarning.”19

Someideasforincentiveswouldbefree/heavilydiscountedticketstogamesthatareinhighdemand(RedSox,Phillies,etc.),firstreleaseticketstocardholdersorhighdemandgames,concession

discounts(similartoaGrouponNowideawherecustomerswithRewardsCardscanparticipateindiscountsthroughoutthestadiumatanygiveninning),free/discountedNationalsmerchandise,andforthosewithanextremelyhighlevelofpoints,perhapssometypeofgrouppromotionwheretheyare

abletoparticipateina“meetandgreet”withcertainNationalsplayers(promotesthefamilyatmosphere).

CRMDatabase

“Withoutfan‐specificinsight,it'shardertocompileaccuratecustomerprofilesandmeasuretheeffectivenessofchurninitiatives,merchandisingprogramsandcross‐sellandup‐sellefforts.”

–DougHenschen,InformationWeek20

ThegoalofCRMistobuilddeeperandmoremeaningfulrelationshipswithfansandasuccessfulimplementationofCRMisthestepinrightdirection.SteveWebster,SalesDirectoratDQGlobal,acompanyprovidingDataandAnalyticsserviceworldwide,states“OurexperienceswithsportingassociationsintheUK(especiallyfootballclubs),isthatalynchpinofCRMisDataQuality—i.e.validity&completenessofnames&addresses.Thechallengeoftenisthatdataiscapturedinarush(payongate,busyticketingcentresetc),soifthedatacollectedisnotvalidated,cleansed&improvedsubsequently,thenmarketing,analysisandCRMactivitiesareatamajordisadvantage.”21

WerecommendtheNationalsestablishaprocesstostandardize,cleanandvalidatedataitgetsfromdifferentresources.Alldepartmentsshouldusethesamedefinitionsacrosstheorganization.ThetimeandresourcesspentonthiswillbecrucialforthesuccessofNational’spersonalizedmarketingcampaigns.TheyshouldstrivetobuildarobustCRMsystem.GoingforwardtheCRMsystemshouldbecapableofhandlingallthetransactionsandprocessthedatareceivedthroughRewardCardprogram.CRMSystemshouldbetreatedasjustonecomponentoflong‐termstrategyofcompetingonanalytics.Allthedepartmentsshouldco‐ordinatetheiractivitiesforeffectiveutilizationofCRMsystem.For

19TheViper’sNest.http://www.thevipersnest.com/2011/09/reading‐fine‐print‐rbny‐loyalty‐points.html.(Sept.13,2011)20Henschen,Doug.“Football49ersLaunchFanAnalyticsInitiative.”InformationWeek,June14,2010.http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/bi/225700039.21SteveWebster,http://www.customerthink.com/forum/crm_in_sports

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exampleMarketingandSalesdepartmentsshouldhavegoalsthatcomplementeachother.JustusingacommonCRMsystemwon’tbringthesuccess.

PotentialChallenges

Theimplementationofthisplanwillnotcomewithoutitsownsetofchallenges.Firstofall,advanceddataanalysisofexpensive,andwouldrequireadditionalemployeetalentthattheNationalsdonotcurrentlyhaveaccessto.Oneresearcherfoundthat“intheUnitedStatesalone,ourresearch

shows,thedemandforpeoplewiththedeepanalyticalskillsinbigdata(includingmachinelearningandadvancedstatisticalanalysis)couldoutstripcurrentprojectionsofsupplyby50to60percent.”22

Additionally,alongwithincreasedconsumerdataanalytictechniquescomesgreaterprivacyconcernsfromconsumers.Theabove‐mentionedresearcherpointsoutthatoneofthefundamental

tensionsthatarisefromgreateraccesstopersonaldataisbetweenconvenienceandprivacy.Thus,inimplementingthisplan,theNationalswillhavetobecarefultocollectdatawhilestillworkingwithincustomers’privacyexpectations.23Lastly,theimplementationofthisplanwouldrequirefullexecutive

commitment,whichwouldlikelytaketimetoachieve.Thus,thisplanwillworkbestbeingimplementedinsmallerincrements,andwillneedacarefulanddetailedmeasurementstrategytoprovetheROI.

Roadmap

Toaccomplishthesegoals,we’vesetoutthefollowingroadmaptoanalyticcompetivenessforthe

National’s.

Step1:Gainwidespreadexecutivecommitment

Moresignificantthatwinsandlosses,puttingfansintheseatsisthenumberonedriverforfinancialsuccessforanyMajorLeagueBaseballclub.Theexecutiveleadershipmustseetheconnectionbetweenstrongdescriptiveandpredictivemodelingandfinancialreturns.Examplesaboundacross

Americanprofessionalsports.Thesemustbeleveragedsotheclub’sleadershipiswillingtoinvestthetime,resources,andcuriositynecessarytosustaintheseplans.

Step2:DataCleaning

Datainaccuracy,inconsistency,andgeneralmessinessarefundamentalsforanyaspiringanalyticcompetitor.TheNational’sdataqualityisespeciallycompromisedbythewidevarietyofinputs

contributingtotheirdataandthelackoftargetedusesofthedataonceit’sreceived.Acleanandsimplesupplyofdatapointswillclarifytheusesandopportunitiespresent.

Step3:DataIntegration

22Brown,Brad,MichaelChuiandJamesManyika.“Areyoureadyfortheeraof‘bigdata’?”McKinseyQuarterly,October2011.http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Strategy/Innovation/Are_you_ready_for_the_era_of_big_data_2864.23Ibid.

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ThedatathatcomesinfromStubHub,oronlinemerchandisesales,oranyothersource,mustallserveaunifiedpurposeandbemodeledandintegratedinpreparationforthoseservices.The

integrationofdataisusuallymanagedbyoutsidebusinessintelligencecontractorssuchasSAS.Therelationshipsbetweenotherteams,MLBAMandSASprovideanexcellentframeworkforbuildingouttheNational’sanalyticcompetitiveness.

Step4:EstablishnewKPIs

Ifwin’sandlossesarelessofadriveroffinancialsuccessthanfillingseats,howcanthe

National’sbettermeasurewhichactivitiesaredrivingmorefanstothestadiumandmorefanstoseasonticketplans?Theconversionbetweencasualattendeeandregularattendeeandtheconversionbetweenregularattendeeandseasonticketholdermustbecloselymonitoredasaleadingindicatorof

theteam’sperformance.

EvaluationandMaintenanceofPlan

Onceanalyticalstrategiesareimplemented,thereareseveralwaystoevaluatetheeffectiveness

ofthesestrategies.Thelong‐termgoaloftheprogramistoincreaseNational’sfanbaseinD.C.andacrossthenationandcreateastrongfanloyaltyenjoyedbyonlyafewteamsinthemajorleague.Gameattendance,marketingcampaigntakerates,increaseinseasonticketsales,profitability,increasein

merchandiseandconcessionsales,andfanloyaltyareprimarysuccessfactors.

Toevaluatethesuccessofanalyticaltechniques,theNationalscanfindpotentialcustomerspopulation(exampleyoungmalepopulationagedbetween25to35,havinggraduatedegrees)usingpredictivemodels.Thenoutofthesepotentialcustomers,halfcanbetargetedwithpersonalized

advertisingcampaigns,specialdiscountsetc.andotherhalfcouldbetargetedbasedoncurrentmassmarketingmethods.Thentheconversionratecouldbemeasuredforboththesesegmentstomeasurethesuccessofthecampaign.Thisisjustoneexample,andmanydifferentcampaignscateringto

differentsegmentsoffanscanbemodeledoncethecustomerinformationavailable.Theresultscanbeevaluatedfromothersourceslikemerchandisesalesaswell.

Also,asmentionedbefore,justusingdataforsometimewillnotbringresults.AccordingtoDavenportandHarris,competingonanalyticsshouldbeapartofstrategyfortheorganization.These

effortsshouldbebackedupbyseniormanagement.Thereisculturalchangerequired,employeesatalllevelsshouldunderstandtheimportanceofdataandstrivehardtogatherandusedataeffectively.AstheNationalsgaininsightsintofandata,managementshouldcomeupwithnewmatricestoevaluate

effectivenessofitsanalyticalcompetitiveness.Itisanongoingprocessandresultscouldonlybeobtainedbylong‐termcommitmenttoanalytics.

TimelineforImplementation

Thetimelinefortheimplementationofourproposedstrategiesissomethingthatcanchangequicklydependingonthedifferentvariables.Theshort‐termgoalsfocusingonthe“Real‐TimePersonalization”shouldbeimplementedinthefirstyear(thisoccursinsidethestadium).Oncethe

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softwaretotracktheloadedticketprogramisinplace,itshouldbefairlyeasytobegintogatherandtrackthedata.Wewouldsuggestimplementingthissoftwareintoallconcessionsandmerchandise

locationsatoncesowecangetarepresentativebodyofinformation.Theshort‐termrecommendationsoutsidethestadiumshouldbeimplementedwithin1‐2years.Thecurrentpromotionsarealreadyinplace,sonowitissimplyamatterofgeneratingandgatheringthedatasotheNationalscanbegin

focusingthepromotionstogenerateresponsesfromthetargetedmarket.Gatheringthedataonthemarketcouldtakeuptoayearsoitwouldbeadvisedtotestasignificantamountofpromotionsandtrackthedatatouseforfuturepromotionsinthesecondyear.

Thelong‐termrecommendationsthatwillbeoccurringinternallyshouldbedevelopedand

implementedwithin4‐6years.ThestreamlinedCRMdatabaseshouldbeplannedwithinthefirstyearandshouldbecleanedandorganizedinyears2and3soitwillbeavailabletoreferencenolaterthan2015.TheRewardsCard/Loyaltyprogramshouldalsotake4‐6yearsandshouldbebrokenoutinphases.

Inyear1and2,aplanandstructureofhowthecardwilloperateshouldbeinplace.Furthermore,anincentivesprogramneedstobeestablishedbeforeanyimplementationcanbeperformed(year2and3).Followingtheplanningphase,wearesuggestingtheNationalstesttherewardscardonasample

marketofjusttheseasonticketholders(Year4).Oncethedataiscompiledandanalyzedwiththeseasonticketholders,theprogramshouldbereevaluatedandcorrectedwhereseenfit.Thiswilloccurinyear5.Finally,inyear6,arewardscardshouldbeimplementedformini‐planholders.Infollowing

years,ifitisfeasibleandvaluable,theNationalsshoulddevelopaprogramforthoseindividuals/fanspurchasingticketsonasinglegamebasis.

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Year1 Year2

Year3 Year4

Year5 Year6+

Conclusion

TheWashingtonNationalshavemadeincrediblestridestowardsdevelopingamoreanalyticalapproachtoreachtheirorganizationsgoals.Thesimplefactthatthefranchiseunderstandstheimportanceofcompiling,organizing,analyzingandASKINGfordatafromtheMLBputsthemaheadofmostteams.BecausetheNationalswillhavesuchahighunderstandingoftheirconsumer,theywillbeabletoeffectivelycommunicatewiththemthroughtargetedpromotions,cross‐sellsandup‐sells.Additionally,notonlywillthisconsumerdataallowtheNationalstofocusitsresourcesonpromotionsandusedifferenttacticstoputfansinthestands,butovertimethisapproachislikelytoshowanextremelyhighROI.Finally,becauseitisunderstoodtheleagueopenlysharesinformation,webelievethisconcept,muchlike“Moneyball,”willcatchonquickly.Wearecallingthisoperation“Databall!”

ShortTerm:PurchaseandupdateLoaded

TicketsSoftwareandDevelopplantotargetpromotions.

LongTerm:StreamlinedCRMdatabaseplan&developplanandstructurefor

Rewards/LoyaltyCard

ShortTerm:CompileLoadedTicketsdatafrom

software.Developnew,targetedpromotionsbasedonanalyzedresults.

LongTerm:CleanandorganizeCRMdatabase.Continuethedevelopmentofplan/structureand

begindesigningincentivesprogramforRewards/LoyaltyCard.

LongTerm:Completecleaningand

organizingofCRMdatabase.FinalizeincentivesProgramforRewards/LoyaltyCard.

LongTerm:ContinuetoanalyzeCRMdata.TesttheRewards/LoyaltyCardwithSeasonticketHolders.

LongTerm:ContinueanalyzingCRMdata.CompiledatafromRewards/LoyaltyCardProgramand

analyze.Reevaluateandmakechangeswheredeemednecessary.

LongTerm:ContinuetoanalyzeCRMdata.ImplementRewards/LoyaltyCardProgramforMini‐Planticketholdersanddevelop

strategytoimplementtoallticketholdersinfollowingyears.

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Appendix

Appendix1:ConsumerDataSources

Appendix2:NationalsSeasonData(Attendance,Win%,Payroll)

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Appendix3:AnalyticalRoadmap

GainWidespreadExecutive

Commitment

DataIntegration

DataCleaning

PredictiveModeling

EstablishNewKPIs

LoyaltyProgram

OfferHyper‐targeted

promotions

TargettheOptimalConsumer