RBFA chooses SAS to offer fans and members a consistent digital experience

Analytics leader SAS announces a new partnership with the Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA). The national football organization uses SAS technology to engage fans and members with a personalized experience, optimize campaign planning, and support objectives such as diversity.

Consistent experience

To achieve this, the RBFA chooses the SAS solution Customer Intelligence 360. This will allow all stakeholders to enjoy a more consistent experience across different channels. The platform should not only attract new fans but also provide loyal supporters with a more in-depth and personalized experience. In this area, SAS technology is unique as it offers one omnichannel solution for the entire marketing funnel.

Suppose, for instance, that the RBFA wants to reward loyal fans with a 15% discount on football shirts, then this discount will be offered to these people consistently on all channels. So not only through email but also on social media and the website. In addition, the platform automizes the entire experience path of fans and members.

Protecting data

As the largest sports association in Belgium, the RBFA naturally has a lot of data about its members and fans. The RBFA wants to protect its data optimally and, thanks to SAS, the data remains stored in the football association’s own environment. This means there is no need to migrate the information to the cloud. For the RBFA, this was an important reason to choose SAS. The platform only needs to connect to the data in the on-prem environment to use it. 

For sponsors it is also important that marketing campaigns can be organized with a smooth workflow. The SAS solution centralizes budgets, ensures transparent planning, and also accelerates and facilitates the roll-out of campaigns. In addition, it is possible to measure the impact of a campaign efficiently. The RBFA will also be able to launch campaigns effectively with a small team. 

“Our fans and members deserve the best experience when we communicate with them. From our social media or newsletters to the website and push notifications. We have chosen SAS after extensive market research. They are the perfect partner for us to take the engagement and interaction with our fans to the next level”, says RBFA’s marketing manager Michael Schockaert. 

SAS’ experience with other sports organization is an extra asset for the RBFA. For example, SAS has been working with the Dutch football association (KNVB) for quite some time and also with big names such as the NBA team Orlando Magic and the American football league (MLS). This enables SAS to support the RBFA with specific knowledge and experience from the sports sector. 

“We are proud that the RBFA chooses SAS to become the number one in fan experience. Together we are working on a new standard for fan experience in football. Whether it is via mobile, on the website, by mail or in the stadium. SAS and the RBFA will share the most relevant information for every fan or member in a user-friendly and personalized way”, says Sander Huysmans, account manager at SAS. 

The implementation of the platform is now in full swing and its launch is scheduled for the spring of 2021. Just in time for important events such as Euro 2021 and the World Cup 2022 in Qatar.