Sports CDP Crash Course - Data Talks – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In this final episode of 2024, Karen Ramirez, founder and skipper of Sporting Sheroes, takes us on a reflective journey through an extraordinary year for women in sports. From historic victories at the Paris Olympics to record-breaking crowds at the Women’s Six Nations, 2024 was full of achievements worth celebrating.

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Karen dives into the challenges that remain—from pay disparities to structural inequities—and the moments that sparked critical conversations, such as the fallout from the Spanish Women’s World Cup scandal.

Looking ahead to 2025, Karen highlights the exciting events on the horizon, including the Women’s Rugby World Cup in the UK and the continued expansion of the WNBA. She also discusses how fans, organizations, and allies can help maintain the incredible momentum women’s sports have built.

Tune in for an inspiring recap, insights into what lies ahead, and a powerful reminder of the role we all play in shaping the future of women’s sports.

In this episode, Data Talks’ founder Stefan Lavén sits down with Gabriel Monidelle, CEO of HockeyAllsvenskan—the second tier of the Swedish ice hockey league pyramid. Together, they dive into how HockeyAllsvenskan is revolutionizing fan engagement and driving commercial success using innovative data strategies.

Gabriel shares the league’s vision for elevating hockey in Sweden, the challenges of uniting 14 unique clubs under a single banner, and the importance of creating meaningful connections with fans in a highly competitive sports landscape. From leveraging centralized data to shaping personalized fan experiences, this conversation is packed with actionable insights for anyone in the sports industry.

Tune in to discover how HockeyAllsvenskan is redefining the game beyond the rink and setting new standards in sports marketing.

When it comes to leveraging fan data to drive ticket sales, merchandise revenue, and high-value sponsorships, you need a partner you can trust. That’s where we come in at Data Talks.

At Data Talks, we’re proud to partner with a diverse range of sports organizations across various countries and sports. From the passionate football supporters of 1. FC Magdeburg in Germany to the committed fans of the Vålerenga in Norway and PAOK FC in Greece, our reach is broad. We also work with AIK, the trailblazing Lewes FC—known for their gender equality stance, and FK Crvena Zvezda, helping these clubs not only understand but also engage their supporters on a deeper level. But our expertise isn’t limited to football and ice hockey. We’re also working with the Swedish Golf Federation, Dolphins - which is competing in the Australian National Rugby League and the Austrian Handball Federation, to name a few.

No two clubs are the same, which is why we tailor our approach to meet your specific needs. For instance, when 1. FC Magdeburg wanted to increase merchandise sales, we helped them initiate a campaign encouraging fans to print their names on their jerseys to increase purchases. The outcome was impressive sales and a clear understanding that targeting specific groups can create fantastic results.

To check their strategy, 1. FC Magdeburg divided their audience and sent the same campaign to two different groups. Group one targeted those who purchased a shirt this year, but also spent a minimum of 90 EUR in previous purchases—a small but promising group of 1,200 recipients. Group two went broader, reaching all supporters who bought a ticket in the last two years, totaling a whopping 38,000 recipients.

The smaller group saw outstanding results—a jaw-dropping 66% open rate, a 6% click rate, leading to 20 orders and 1431 EUR in revenue from 1100 recipients. The larger ticket buyer group also held its own with a superb 54% open rate, and 6% click rate, resulting in 90 orders and a revenue of 7384 EUR from the expansive pool of 38,000 recipients. 

While both groups had fantastic open rates, the segment that had previously bought merchandise stole the spotlight with higher conversion rates. Proportionally, this smaller segment generated significantly more sales. In fact, if that segment were as large as the the segment that had previously bought tickets, the numbers would have skyrocketed to 630 orders versus the already impressive 90 orders from the ticketing segment.

The message was simple yet impactful – a warm reminder that time was running out to secure tickets for the upcoming match.

The combined results from both groups brought in a total revenue of 8 815 EUR in the Fan Shop. Here’s the takeaway—the Data Talks Customer Data Platform (CDP) empowers clubs to go broad or laser-focused. Both approaches yield great outcomes, and the real magic happens when you pinpoint the right strategy, connect with the right audience, and present them with an irresistible offer. 

Similarly, we helped SC Fortuna Köln prove the power of fighting until the last moment with their last minute ticket campaign. With just 20 hours remaining before a match, Fortuna strategically targeted around 9,000 profiles in their database who had not yet purchased tickets. The result? Despite the short ticket-buying window, the campaign led to an impressive 83% increase in ticket sales. The success of this initial campaign was just the beginning. Fortuna Köln recognised the vast possibilities that the Data Talks platform offered. Beyond overcoming their first challenge, they now look forward to utilising the platform’s advanced features, including segmentation, personalisation, and automation.

Fortuna Köln’s success story is a testament to the transformative power of data-driven strategies and the seamless collaboration with Data Talks. As the club continues its journey, it remains committed to embracing...

In the wise words of Robert Kiyosaki, “the best way to predict the future is to study the past…”. And that’s what we did to identify these trends. Not only that, but based on our first-hand experience and research, we are able to bring you these trends with great confidence. So without further ado, let’s dive right in.

Values-driven fandoms: Sports for many supporters and fans are not just about the game. They are a way of living and being. They are about identity and being. So we are seeing the rise of value-based fandoms. Scour through social media and you will see Facebook, and LinkedIn groups around women in sports, people of color in sports, and other identity-based fandoms. This is a sports trend that will continue into 2023. You need to give more thought than ever before to how your decisions will be perceived by your supporters. Granted, you will not be able to satisfy everyone 100% of the time, but you still need to be meticulous in your thinking. Not only that, but you need to embrace your role as an agent of change in society. So instead of going into defense, go on the offense. Tackle the issues that affect your supporters.

What do Stormzy (the British Grime rapper) and Natalie Portman (the Hollywood Oscar-winning actress) have in common? Well, they are both lending their star power in the sports industry to bring about equality. Stormzy launched Merky FC in partnership with Adidas to “change the game, providing young people of Black heritage with career opportunities from across the football industry” in the UK. Natalie Portman on the other hand helped found the women’s expansion soccer team Angel FC in Los Angeles. This is another sports trend you will see in 2023: Stars lending their power to the sports industry.

Working data-driven and digitalization will only increase in sports in 2023. These are two topics we have discussed extensively on this podcast so it’s no surprise that these two are sports trends you will be seeing a lot in 2023. We discuss these topics in depth throughout the podcast so feel free to go back and listen to them—especially episodes 1 through 3. The main benefits of working data-driven and digitalization are that you can grow your supporter base, continuously, get superior sales and make real revenue.

Business-model innovation is another big sports trend you will see in 2023. Examples include Digital media innovating revenue streams, Community as a business model, and Product Innovation model. I like to call this trend, business model innovation, the “thinking outside the box approach to sports” because you have to identify the unique opportunities available for your organization. And how do you do that? By working data-driven.

Content will still be King in 2023. This podcast is a perfect example of this very trend. Listening to this allows you to get a more intimate and exclusive look into who we are as a company and all the knowledge and insights you could learn from us. Content will do the same for your supporters. So when you produce content, make sure that it brings your supporter closer to your organization and helps you build a stronger relationship with them.

Meet Stefan Lavén the CEO and Founder of Data Talks. 

Did you listen to #49 with Martin Jacobsen, Ticketing Manager at FC Midtjylland on Using a subscription model to sell football tickets? Well, Stefan was the interviewer. So in a sense, you have already met him.

In this episode, however, we get to interview him. We look back:

1. on the journey that our company Data Talks has been on so far in 2022  
2. the highlights and crucial steps we took this past year 
3. and also look forward to what we hope will happen in 2023 

Stefan also gives all the aspiring CEOs and leaders out there advice on how to achieve as much success as he has so far. Follow Stefan on LinkedIn to connect with him.

Join our mission
At Data Talks, we are passionate about equality. This past year we have worked hard to advocate for women's sports in order to bring more visibility for women in sports through our initiative: Women in Sports: Beyond the hashtag. Not only that but we have, and continue, to strive to create tangible value for women's sports by bringing commercial success to clubs and leagues within that sector. Along the way, a lot of people have joined our mission by joining our Women in Sports: Beyond the hashtag community platform. Members have an opportunity to network, collaborate and exchange skills and knowledge. They also get an opportunity to expand their personal brands by coming on to the podcast, speaking at our events and collaborating with us on various projects.

Why not become a part of the change as well by joining our community today?

About Data Talks

Data Talks CDP is a Customer Data Platform built specifically for sports. We make it easy for sports organizations to sell more tickets, negotiate sponsorship agreements of higher value, and increase merchandise sales. We are an international company with Swedish roots, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. Some of our proud clients include RC Lens, The Austrian Ice Hockey Association, PAOK FC, AIK, the Swedish Golf Federation, and Collingwood FC.

In today’s episode, we are focusing on the importance of making women’s sports a priority as part of our “10 components to include in your sports marketing today” series. This is the 10th and final component we are discussing so if you have missed the first 9, make sure to listen to those too. To quickly recap, these are the 10 components to include in your sports marketing today that we have already discussed:

1. Adopt a supporter-centric approach
2. Personalization as a driver of revenue and fan loyalty
3. Why you should work data-driven
4. Content is King
5. Why you should Prioritize OTT
6. The importance of Leveraging your social media platforms
7. Leveraging Influencer marketing to drive personal connections
8. Incorporate new sponsorship opportunities
9. Why you should make social justice a key component of your marketing strategy

And finally today, we are discussing the importance of making women’s sports a priority. Please note, that we are not saying make women’s sports a priority over men’s. But rather that, women’s sports deserve the same push and support that men’s sports have been getting for decades and decades.

This is an area that we are passionate about at Data Talks and over the course of the year, we have worked hard in this area. Our goal has always been and still remains, to create tangible value for women’s sports. We started off with our profiling program where we aimed to bring the tangible value of increasing the visibility of women in sports. The many women who have been on this podcast for our "In conversations with..." sessions were thanks to our initiative women in sports: beyond the hashtag.

Since then, we have also launched a women in sports community where everyone involved within the women’s sports space is welcome to join. There is power in coming together under the same mission and working together to accomplish that mission. If you would like to also join our initiative, find the link in the description below.

If you too would like to make women’s sports a priority, here are a few tips:

1. First and foremost, be authentic - doing things for the sake of marketing is never a good idea. It brings more harm than good so whatever you do, let it be authentic.
2. Start where you are. With the resources you have today, what difference can you make? For us, it was starting our profiling program. We had great storytellers and enough resources to get started so we focused on that.
3. Focus on value - don’t just do something for the sake of just doing it. Think about what value you want to create for others and what value they can create for you. The emphasis here is on tangible and shared value.
4. Grow and expand naturally - it is important to not try to force things to grow in a specific direction but to make sure that the growth you see is organic and natural. Once again, for us, the natural way to expand and grow was to create a platform, where all the fantastic people we had profiled can meet and collaborate, amongst other things.
5. Last but not least, stay collaborative - “alone we can do so little, together we can do so much”

Join our community to meet other people who are passionate about the sports industry!

“FC Midtjylland is the story of how will and unity can create the impossible. It is the story of what can happen when the dreams are big and the will is even bigger. It is the story of a club that from the start had the courage to think innovatively and step out of the shadows”.   One of the ways that FC Midtjylland is leveraging innovation and dreaming big is by using a subscription model to sell their tickets. Something that is not common in the sports world.

Our CEO and Founder Stefan Lavén sat down with FC Midtjylland's Ticketing Manager Martin Jacobsen to talk about all this and more. In this episode, they discuss:

1. Why and how to use the subscription model

2. The struggle of increasing match attendance and not just ticket sales

3. The benefits and drawbacks of using the subscription model

4.  The importance of using data to underpin innovation

Listen to this episode to dive deeper into this subject!

In this day and age, sports organizations possess powerful platforms that can be leveraged for the greater good. And addressing issues related to injustice and inequality are two pivotal examples. Deloitte described this ever so eloquently in their US sports outlook 2021 report when they wrote: “Social justice has become so critical that future growth will likely be predicated upon how authentic organizations are in responding to this challenge. Players and fans increasingly expect leagues and teams to play a proactive role in the social justice movement. Deloitte’s Global Millennial Survey 2020 supports the notion that a proactive response to social injustice may be especially important to younger generations, many of whom tend to be more values-driven in how they engage with brands and businesses.”

That is why today’s episode is centered around making social justice a key component of your marketing strategy. Please note that we are not encouraging you to exploit social justice courses for the sake of marketing your sports organization. We are rather, encouraging you to find the course that your organization is passionate about and then make a concerted effort to make a difference within that area. This is such a crucial distinction because we as human beings are very good at spotting when someone is being disingenuous. So the key here, just like the Deloitte report so eloquently put it, is authenticity.

This is something that Alba Pardo, the co-founder of the Women in Action Sports, also spoke about when she guested on the podcast in episode 34. So, do check that episode out. In a nutshell, making social justice a part of your marketing strategy is saying to your supporters, we see you and we hear what you are passionate about. We will meet you halfway to ensure that, together, we build a more equal sports industry.

Moreover, it is important to note the intricate relationship between sports and society. Research continues to prove that this relationship yields significant benefits for everyone involved. Not just the societies themselves, but the individuals that make up that society as well. Some people say that sports and politics don’t mix. And by politics, they include things such as protesting against discrimination on the basis of race, sexual orientation, for example. I don’t aim to substantiate or discredit this statement in this blog post, but I want to rather highlight an important fact that we overlook when we fixate on this line of thought. This fact is that sports is a mirror of society. And because of the deep sense of belonging and identity sports evoke in fans, sports can be a very powerful force for change in society.

Creating sponsorship agreements of higher value for your organization is one of the top two priorities of many sports organizations. We know this because we talked to over 100 decision-makers in sports and found out this information. And you know as your preferred sports CDP partner we take what you say seriously.

That is why we are focusing on incorporating new sponsorship opportunities as part of our “10 components to include in your sports marketing today” series. This is the 8th component we are discussing so if you have missed the first 7, make sure to listen to those too.

“According to Nielsen’s 2021 Trust in Advertising Study, 81% of global respondents either completely or somewhat trust brand sponsorships at sporting events.” So there’s a great opportunity for sports organizations to tap into new and lucrative sponsorship opportunities. Some sponsorship opportunities that are either growing or are projected to grow faster than their traditional counterparts include:

1. Crypto/Blockchain/NFT
2. Automotive
3. Insurance
4. Retail
5. Unbundled sponsorship investment in women’s sports which have grown by about 146%, according to the Nielsen 2022 Global Sports Marketing Report.

So how can we help you create sponsorship agreements of higher value for your organization? I am glad you asked. Well, using our sports CDP takes the guesswork out of the process. This is because firstly, With the CDP you can develop a long-term sponsorship strategy that you can replicate. For example, sponsorship acquisition is one thing but delivery is another. So once you get the sponsorship, how do you plan on delivering the best results possible? Secondly, the CDP will help you keep on improving your sponsorship strategy so you can always get results. For example, when you know exactly what your supporters will appreciate, you can keep delivering exceptional results for your sponsor. You can also effectively monitor the performance of your sponsorship campaigns. And the CDP will also help you align with the right sponsors for your organization.

Did you also know that you can also leverage your supporter information to negotiate higher sponsorship deals? That’s right - data is one of the most valuable assets a sports organization could ever have. But unfortunately, not a lot of people who work in sports organizations understand this. So then sometimes they give away their data for discounts on software and the like. While the thought behind the practice is not wrong, it’s what you get in exchange for your data that we are questioning. So why not use your supporter information to create sponsorship agreements of higher value for your organization?

Okay, enough talking. How about you just see this in action instead? 

Try out our demo for free today.

Join our Women in Sports Community today

Meet Lindi Ngwenya

The Founder and Managing Director of a sports agency called  Sisu Sports Management, representing male and female football players, staff, and clubs as well as providing merchant services to Clubs. Lindi Ngwenya is passionate about serving emerging football markets across Africa, Scandinavia, the USA, and Women's football. And today, we get to step into her world and share her incredible story with you.

Lindi is also part of our Women in Sports Community, so join the community if you would like to meet her and other incredible women like her.

In this episode we discuss:

1. How Lindi built Sisu Sports Management from the ground up

2. Lindi's background - from being in the military to getting her engineering qualification and playing rugby

3. The future of sports representation and the sports industry in Africa

4. Being a woman of color in the sports industry

Connect with Lindi today!