Sharks Sports & Entertainment (SSE) knows this firsthand, as implementing holiday campaigns through SAP CX not only helped it grow revenue 30% year over year, but also allowed it to more authentically connect with customers.

SSE is the parent company of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks and the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda. It also operates two arenas and multiple ice facilities, hosting events ranging from hockey and ice sports to concerts and family shows. For each of these brands and facilities, SSE manages varied products and services, ranging from tickets and merchandise to concessions and recreational ice programs. The many SSE offerings means fans and customers have a wide range of purchases, interests, and preferences.

But building thriving, long-standing customer relationships is difficult when data about them is spread across siloed databases.

“Most people think experience is only what happens in the arena during an event, but really, when we think about the end-to-end experience, an email or communication to a fan or customer is just as critical,” said Doug Bentz, CMO.

Multiple third-party systems across departments made it hard to generate reports or track metrics in real time, hindering informed decision-making. SSE needed a centralized way to gain valuable insights into fan preferences across brands and properties.

Personalized experiences require centralized data

SSE turned to SAP CX and the SAP Business Suite for seamless, scalable access to mission-critical business data.

Now, SAP Datasphere integrates and correlates SSE’s data from more than five different vendors and systems across ticketing, parking, food, e-commerce retail, and more for a single view of its entire operation. SAPCustomer Data Platform then gives a 360-degree view of each customer, consolidating its ticketing, attendance, and account data.

“With the power of SAP Datasphere in combination with SAP Customer Data Platform, we are able to take otherwise fragmented data sources and get them speaking to one another to best understand our customers’ preferences,” said Tim Malone, Director of Business Intelligence. “This helps us drive and create the best experiences for them, both digitally and in the real world.”

For marketing and sales, the correlation between front- and back-end customer data helps SSE better understand the habits and tenure of its season ticket holders. In 2024, these efforts led to the deployment of a personalized San Jose Sharks renewal campaign that achieved a 75% open rate and 28% click rate. It also surpassed industry standards with an impressive 87% renewal rate.

Now, SSE better understands what type of outreach is most appropriate for each fan and customer based on their spending patterns, attendance, and purchasing behavior. With SAP Emarsys, SSE can act on its data to send personalized email campaigns through advanced segmentation, ensuring fans receive content relevant to their interests.

“Quality content is one of the ways we show our customers we care about their experience,” said Chris Dimich, Manager of Marketing Platforms.

The holidays offer an opportunity to cross-sell and grow engagement

The holiday season means something different in the sports and entertainment industry compared to others. High peaks of customer engagement occur throughout the year at milestones like the release of new season tickets or the announcement of the season’s entertainment lineup. The holidays are especially busy with the start of the hockey season. Between games and entertainment events, there are sometimes more than 100 different holiday offers going on at once.

Keeping up with this level of complex customer data management and send volume requires a platform that can scale. With SAP Emarsys, SSE now uses the busy season as an opportunity to overlap offerings and cross-sell while effectively managing a high level of communications across different audiences. As a result, SSE’s holiday campaigns drove 30% more revenue in 2024.

Looking ahead to AI

SSE remains committed to advancing its customer relationships by integrating even more data sources to enrich customer profiles with new dimensions. AI will also help the organization exceed expectations with faster, more tailored interactions. SSE launched the SAP CX AI Toolkit to a beta group of internal sales and service reps, helping it uncover and focus on fan and customer preferences.

“SAP’s CX AI Toolkit—it works!” said Malone. “Our ability to analyze customer data across multiple streams of revenue and customer engagement allow us to provide curated fan experiences and marketing messages and ultimately drive the innovation that fuels our mission to pioneer the future of sports and entertainment.”