National Rugby League powerhouse, the Parramatta Eels, have partnered with leading sport and entertainment agency Gemba to accelerate the Club’s ambition to be a leading data-driven organisation.
Following an initial data audit and strategy review with Gemba, the Eels have now appointed Gemba to deliver a Data Acceleration program of work over three months to rapidly progress opportunities to leverage fan and member data.
Jim Sarantinos, Eels CEO, said the Club has set the ambition to be one of the leading data and analytics driven sporting organisations in Australia.
“Data is an incredibly important part of our plans for growing our organisation and fan base, engaging with members, and continuing to improve our commercial position,” Sarantinos said. “Many successful businesses are now highly data centric, and the Club has already delivered some strong outcomes in the last 12 months. However, we have access to a huge amount of meaningful data and we’re only in the early stages of putting it to its best use. Gemba produced a great report which identified a series of opportunities for the next stage of our strategy which will help steer us towards becoming one of the leading data and analytics driven organisations in Australian sport.”
Gemba’s Head of Strategy and Insights, Craig Roberts, said the partnership with the Eels was an opportunity for the agency to have a significant impact in a short period of time with an organisation that was committed to getting the most out of its data, systems and people.
“Most sports organisations recognise the potential of data, but many find it hard to know where to focus, or how to navigate through the multitude of data sources and software platforms to unlock real value. We’re proud to partner with the Eels to help set the Club up to make the most of data.”
As part of Gemba’s Data Acceleration program, a Gemba data strategy consultant will be partnered with the Eels business for an initial three month period, working across all business units to engage and mobilise staff, improve data processes and capabilities within the Club, and execute specific data-driven marketing and other initiatives to deliver immediate value. The Eels will be backed by the wider Gemba Insights, Strategy and Data & Analytics divisions.
The partnership comes alongside several recent wins for Gemba and its sister organisation Turnstile. Turnstile’s Dealmaker software, a sponsorship valuation and management platform, is being used by the Eels as well as two English Premier League teams, Formula 1, Football Marketing Asia (agents for the Asian Football Confederation), Richmond Football Club and the New Zealand Warriors to optimise sponsorship pricing.