WNBA's Seattle Storm Boosts Ticket Sales by Teaming Up With Marketo

SAN MATEO, Calif., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Seattle Storm, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team in Seattle, Washington, is leveraging Marketo, Inc., the leading provider of marketing software and solutions, to increase ticket sales and keep fans engaged year-round.

In just over six months, the Storm has expanded its fan base and grown sales through personalized offers. This includes:

• Boosting the team's season-ticket renewal rate to 86 percent
• Increasing single-game ticket sales by 20 percent
• Growing database size by 25 percent

With sports fans increasingly turning to digital channels for information and interactions, it was imperative that the Storm grow their online presence. Additionally, like marketers at many sports organizations, the Storm's marketing department was challenged with stretching their budget across multiple traditional channels that were not always effective at reaching fans. The Marketo platform helped the Storm's marketers make campaign creation faster and easier, as well as provided the team with the ability to reach each fan through their preferred digital channels with personalized and relevant content.

Additionally, Marketo integrates with the Storm's existing sales tools, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Ticketmaster Archtics. Together, the platforms effortlessly link ticket ordering from the Storm website, email messages, and display ads. Through a single view of the fan base, the Storm's marketing department was able to recognize and capitalize on new opportunities, such as designing programs designed for legacy ticket holders — people who have been fans for 10 or more years — to invite them to exclusive events like post-game meet-and-greets.

"Our single-game ticket sales are the highest they've been since the year after we won our last WNBA championship, and our season ticket renewal rate is the highest it's been in five years," said Kris Kolehmain, director, research and direct marketing, Seattle Storm. "Our investment in Marketo is paying off, and we expect even more successes next year as we further build out our digital marketing program."

Marketo has a proven track record with sports organizations including professional basketball, football, soccer, and rugby teams from around the world. To learn more about Marketo's work with the Storm and other winning teams, visit: https://www.marketo.com/customers/seattle-storm/.

About Seattle Storm

The Seattle Storm is a two-time WNBA championship team committed to bringing a premium professional basketball and entertainment experience to a fan base rich in tradition and support. The organization places high value on community and building platforms to positively impact the overall entertainment, attraction and economy of the Puget Sound region. In addition, the Storm is dedicated to local youth development in the areas of fitness and wellness; with a special emphasis on inspiring leadership, motivation and the empowerment of girls and women. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit StormBasketball.com.

About Marketo

Marketo provides the leading engagement marketing software and solutions designed to help marketers develop long-term relationships with their customers - from acquisition to advocacy. Marketo is built for marketers, by marketers and is setting the innovation agenda for marketing technology. Marketo puts Marketing First. Headquartered in San Mateo, CA, with offices around the world, Marketo serves as a strategic partner to large enterprise and fast-growing small companies across a wide variety of industries. To learn more about Marketo's Engagement Marketing Platform, LaunchPoint® partner ecosystem, and the vast community that is the Marketo Marketing Nation®, visit www.marketo.com.

SOURCE Marketo, Inc.