Celtics Turn to Data Analytics Tool for Help Pricing Tickets

Transferring Best Practice Analytics from Experts to Everyone When The BI You Know Isn't The BI You Need Gaining Insights Through Analytics Sign up to receive Security Resource Alerts

January 09, 2006 (Computerworld) --

When the performance of Paul Pierce and his teammates isn't selling out TD Banknorth Garden, the Celtics use a data analytics tool to come up with ticket prices that will put fans in the seats.

Boston Celtics executives are taking advantage of a data analytics tool for the first time in their annual January task of setting prices for the 18,600 seats in TD Banknorth Garden.
The NBA team installed the StratBridge.net tool from Cambridge, Mass.-based StratBridge Inc. in August to monitor consumer demand through real-time displays of sold and available seats in its home arena. Now team officials are also using the tool during the monthlong project to set base ticket prices for the next season, officials said.
The new tool has helped the organization quickly develop promotions and sales strategies to fill available seats and to analyze revenue based on long-term sales trends, said Daryl Morey, senior vice president of operations and information for the Celtics.

Dynamic View of Trends
"Until we had this tool, it was very difficult to create dynamic packages, because our ticket providers didn't have a rapid way to see which seats were open," Morey said. "Now we can actually see in real time every single seat and how much it is sold for."
The basketball team has already seen a "seven figure" return on investment fueled by five-figure revenue boosts every one to two weeks since it began using StratBridge.net last summer, according to Morey.
Before using data analytics, sales executives used Excel spreadsheets to adjust pricing, Morey said. In that system, pricing could be adjusted only for all the seats within each of 12 large sections in the arena, he added.
"It was a leap of faith looking at the data at that level," Morey said.
Using the analytics tool, for example, planners found that ticket buyers tended to favor aisle seating in certain sections; as a result, the team now focuses on marketing the inner seats.
Now, in the ticket office, group- and individual-ticket sellers can see an image of the arena seating chart on a plasma TV screen with different color blocks indicating real-time availability and revenue for home games. Sales executives can access this information from their desktops to study buying trends and design new promotions.
"It spurs people to get more excited about their job -- they are not waiting a month and a half for their commission check before they see the results of a sale," Morey said.
StratBridge.net extracts data from internal and external sources and displays it visually in Internet browsers and Microsoft Office applications. The analysis can be presented to users in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Adobe PDF files.
Bill Hostmann, an analyst at Gartner Inc. in Stamford, Conn., said companies trying to market "perishable" products like basketball games, hotel rooms or live TV broadcasts are beginning to turn to this type of data analysis, which was first perfected in the airline industry.
"You're seeing more and more of this kind of analytical functionality being embedded in the application itself as a part of the process, as opposed to being done on a quarterly or weekly basis," Hostmann said. "The ROI is very fast on these types of applications."

Print this Story

Send Us Feedback

E-mail this Story

Digg this Story

Slashdot this Story

"We don't need al-Qaeda to blow us up. We are perfectly capable of lighting the fuse ourselves, courtesy of our..." Read more... "Analyzing data from online and your network may be a little easier because of a new browser. Yes, a browser...." Read more... Read more Business Intelligence posts or See all Blogs

Microsoft: Don't misunderstand UAC, other Vista features HP confirms XP SP3 endless reboot snafu, promises patch Microsoft pulls Windows Home Server backup feature More top stories...

Yahoo tells Icahn that its own board knows best Tools circulate that crack Debian, Ubuntu keys Elgan: Hyperconnectivity: Friend or foe?

Shuttle Columbia's hard drive data recovered from crash site Specialists have retrieved about 99% of the data on a disk drive on board the crashed space shuttle Columbia. Don't miss the photographs of the recovered drive. The top 15 vaporware products of all time These big ideas were supposed to revolutionize technology, but they never actually appeared. In a few cases, you'll be glad they didn't. Opinion: Malware vs. anti-malware, 20 years into the fray Nearly 20 years after the first Internet worm, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols takes stock of the malware/anti-malware landscape and spotlights how the two sides are approaching the battle. Leopard at six months: Does it live up to the early hype? Though some thought it was released too soon, Mac OS X 10.5 has matured into a solid operating system, says reviewer Michael DeAgonia. Windows Vista A to Z Reviews, analyses, how-tos, visual tours, hot issues and predictions about Microsoft's new OS. More Continuing Coverage After 9/11: Homeland SecurityAsk a Premier 100 IT LeaderBlackBerry Legal BattleData Security BreachesElectronic VotingFirefoxH-1B VisasHP's Boardroom ScandalHandheld DevicesHurricane Katrina AftermathMicrosoft Legal IssuesMicrosoft's VistaOpen SourceRFID TechnologySCO's Linux FightSarbanes-Oxley ActSpamVoice Over IPWi-FiWindows Meta File VulnerabilityWindows XP Service Pack 2 IT Careers 2010 Four years from now, the IT field will be a vastly different place. Will you be ready? More Special Reports Premier 100 IT Leaders 2007 Best in Class2006 Computerworld Horizon Awards2006 Premier 100 IT Leaders2006 Salary Survey2007 Best Places to Work in IT2007 IT Forecast2007 Premier 100 IT Leaders40 Years of ComputerworldASPs, Take TwoBest Places to Work in IT 2003Best Places to Work in IT 2004Best Places to Work in IT 2005Best Places to Work in IT 2006Business Intelligence Home RunsBusiness Intelligence: Smarter BIBusiness Intelligence: The Future of BICRM Goes VerticalCRM: Sober CRMCareer Planning Guide 2005Careers: IT Profession 2010Computerworld Horizon Awards 2005Data Management: Mining for GemsData Management: Taming Data ChaosDevelopment: Hard-Workin' Web SitesDevelopment: New Tools New ChoicesDevelopment: The New World of Application DevelopmentDevelopment: The Web Services TsunamiDevelopment: Web Services HurdlesDisaster Recovery: Preparing for the WorstE-commerce Grows UpE-mail/Groupware: Big DecisionsFaces of Mobile ITForecast 2006Global MobileHardware: Multiple Cores, Multiple ChallengesHardware: On-Demand Un-HypedHardware: The Shape of Things to ComeHorizon Awards: 10 Cool Cutting Edge TechnologiesIT Management: Guide to Managing VendorsIT Management: Navigating Global ITIT Management: Recovery AheadIT Management: The Future of ITIT Management: The Resourceful Project ManagerInnovative Technology Awards 2004Management: Reinventing ITMicrosoft in TransitionMobile/Wireless Leaders and LaggardsMobile/Wireless: The Untethered WorkerMobile/Wireless: Tiny Gadgets, Huge CostsNetwork Management: Taking ControlNetworking: Turbulence Ahead!Networking: VoIP Goes MainstreamOperating Systems: In the Slow LaneOperating Systems: Linux Goes GlobalOperating Systems: Should You Nix Unix?Outsourcing: Offshore Buyer's GuideOutsourcing: Outsourcing DangersPremier 100 IT Leaders 2004 Best in ClassPremier 100 IT Leaders 2005 Best in ClassROI: Do the Math!Salary Survey 2003Salary Survey 2004Salary Survey 2005Security Action PlanSecurity: Compliance HeadachesSecurity: Proactive SecuritySecurity: Risk and RewardSecurity: Tips From Security ProsSouped-up SecurityStorage: Battling ComplexityStorage: Cheap & Secure Data StoresStorage: Stretching Your Storage DollarsStorage: The Lean Storage MachineStorage: The New Rules of StorageStorage: The Ultimate Backup GuideSupply Chain: Missing LinksSupply Chain: RFID Reality CheckThe Business of SecurityWeb 2.0 SecurityWireless: Wireless At Work All Zones Application Performance Zone Enterprise-Class Security Zone Enterprise Solutions Zone The File Data Management Zone Grid Computing on Windows Zone Security Management Zone ITIL Best Practices Zone The SAS Zone Storage Virtualization Zone The Data Center Management Zone See your link here

Computerworld Report: Storage Gets Strategic Download this Computerworld Report, free, compliments of HP. (Source: Computerworld) Data Storage has emerged from the back room to become a key part of regulatory compliance, disaster recovery and strategic tecnhology plans. Learn more in this new this Computerworld report, a $49.95 value, available free for a limited time, compliments of HP. Download this executive briefing  Why SaaS is Vital to Email and Web Security Why SaaS is Vital to Email and Web Security Download this webcast, free, compilments of Webroot Software Go to the webcast  The Advantages of a Hosted Messaging Security Solution Get this report now! (Source: Microsoft Office Live Meeting) Messaging management is becoming more difficult thanks to the growing malware threat. At the same time, messaging system administrators are under enormous pressure to push their messaging infrastructures to do more than ever, including archiving messaging content for regulatory compliance, archiving to support legal discovery and for overall litigation support, providing services to a growing body of mobile users, and ensuring continuity by making the messaging system more reliable, and managing policies for message encryption. Download this white paper  White Papers Read up on the latest ideas and technologies from companies that sell hardware, software and services. Securing Financial Services Beyond the Perimeter Intercept Spam & Viruses With MessageLabs Meeting PCI Compliance with SonicWALL Global Management System View more whitepapers

• Microsoft: Don't misunderstand UAC, other Vista features
• HP confirms XP SP3 endless reboot snafu, promises patch
• Microsoft pulls Windows Home Server backup feature
• More top stories 

Computerworld Technology Briefing: An open-source path to optimal virtualization Looking for a virtualization strategy that offers both the flexibility and reliability to meet the demands of mixed-source environments? Look no further than the fast-emerging open virtualization approach backed by some of the biggest names in enterprise computing. Together they are pointing the way toward higher data center performance without higher costs. Download this briefing



XenServer FREE trial Citrix XenServer is the simplest and most effective way to virtualize and provision servers. XenServer combines comprehensive server virtualization capabilities with unparalleled scalability, performance, economics, and ease-of-use. Based on the open source Xen hypervisor, XenServer delivers fast performance, easy management, and advanced features such as live migration. Request free trial now



Since You Asked A weekly storage column from storage analyst, Steve Duplessie of the Enterprise Strategy Group Click here to read the latest column by Steve Duplessie