Philadelphia 76ers Analytics 50 Submission

Business Challenge

During the 2015-16 NBA season, Philadelphia 76ers capped off three seasons of very low win totals. Therefore, the organization knew there would be an immense challenge upcoming in renewing season ticket members residing in the volatile Philadelphia sports market. Additionally, the Sixers Retention Team was small compared to industry standards. With six representatives for over 8,000 season tickets, optimizing efforts would be critical during the renewal period, especially since it takes the Sixers over four weeks to work through its accounts and reach out to all season ticket members. The Sixers Analytics Team was tasked with helping maximize the renewal rate.

Analytics Solution

To address these challenges, the Analytics Department, led by Braden Moore, gathered all available demographic and psychographic information available. The team ran the consumer data through machine learning processes and developed a two-pronged model set, which consisted of a logistic regression as well as a decision-tree model.

Impact

The roll-out process included an individualized attack plan for each retention rep based on the model results. This enabled the team to better understand the intricacies of the retention process, and focus its time more effectively and efficiently on difference-making touch points during the offseason. The changes instantly increased the speed of initial sales. The team improved on first-week accounts renewed, seats renewed, and overall revenue by 3-4%, respectively. The Sixers increased the renewal rate of rookies by 3%, and second-year accounts by over 5%. The Sixers Service and Retention Team exceeded NBA projections by 13% and is currently ranked Top 10 in the NBA. The current renewal rate is second among all non-playoff teams, and 19% ahead of the next non-playoff team. Most impressively, the Sixers Service and Retention Team was also ranked No. 2 in customer satisfaction among NBA teams in season ticket member surveys.