Mariners and PwC Build AI Platform to Improve Fan Experience
The Mariners and PwC built an AI platform using 1.15 million fan records and 49 microsegments. A projected 10% sales lift is not yet a measured result.
Mariners Intelligence combines fan records, predictive models and campaign recommendations to lift ticket sales.
The Seattle Mariners and PwC have built an AI-powered marketing platform that brings together 1.15 million fan records from customer-relationship, ticketing and engagement systems. Called Mariners Intelligence, the system is designed to help the club identify which fans to contact for individual games, when to reach them and which message to use.
In an Aug. 31 PwC case study, Chris Kennedy, the Mariners’ Senior Vice President of Strategy & Analytics, said the club previously relied on six broad fan segments and surveys that drew about 50,000 responses. The new platform defines 49 microsegments and uses three machine-learning models based on demographics, previous engagement and propensity to respond.
The platform was built with Anthropic technology and deployed on Microsoft Azure. PwC says it helped establish data pipelines, develop the models, and create an interface that can coordinate AI agents to analyze results and recommend campaigns. The Mariners’ analytics staff tested the models and integrated the tool into daily operations.
For a particular game, Mariners Intelligence can identify fans most likely to attend based on factors including the day and time, then draft marketing copy for email or text. According to Kennedy, revenue-operations and marketing employees make the final decisions, and recommendations include a trace of the factors behind them.
“We expect this to fuel at least 10% growth in our ticket sales year over year.” — Chris Kennedy, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Analytics, Seattle Mariners
Kennedy said the club plans to expand the system to new audiences, concerts and other major events.
