Pirates call on SAS Analytics

05 October 2011 | Posted in Agencies, Baseball, North America | By Warwick Symcox

The Pittsburgh Pirates have signed a deal with SAS Analytics to assist in improving the club’s marketing and operations, as well as build a stronger relationship with the fans.

The Pirates will use SAS Visual Data Discovery in an attempt to organise customer insights and identify new opportunities to increase ticket and merchandise sales, as well as increasing the number of season-ticket holders retaining their tickets.

Pirates business analytics manager Jason Witzburger, said: “We wanted to make sure that we gave ourselves every best possible chance we could to retain as many customers for next year.”

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Jim Alexander, senior director of business analytics for the Pirates, commented: “As we approach the 2012 season we fully expect that each one of those elements that we plan to use the product for is in play and that people have access to that information so different departments can get smarter at what they do.”

The Pirates will be able to renew their partnership with SAS on a year-by-year basis.

SAS’s technology is used by several other pro sports teams, including the San Antonio Spurs, the Orlando Magic and San Francisco 49ers.