Fanatics Connects with Sports Fans in Real-Time Using Salesforce Marketing Cloud

SAN FRANCISCO, May 10, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the Customer Success Platform and world's #1 CRM company, today announced that Fanatics -- a leader for officially licensed sports merchandise that works with all major sports leagues and more than 300 teams and colleges -- is leveraging Salesforce Marketing Cloud to create personalized, 1-to-1 journeys for its customers in real-time and at scale.

From the largest sports events across the globe to the biggest everyday sports moments, Fanatics is on the front lines of professional sports, connecting fans to the teams they care most about through sports gear and other branded items. Often, the decision of what new merchandise to share with fans comes down to the last few seconds on the clock and whether a certain team wins or loses. However, the email system Fanatics previously had in place couldn't keep pace as the company grew and increasingly focused its marketing around key moments in time.

Today, Fanatics is using the power of Marketing Cloud to scale its marketing efforts and reach sports fans with timely and relevant merchandise for hundreds of teams around the world. In the last year alone, the company used Marketing Cloud to generate 27,000 campaigns and more than 3.8 billion messages -- all with a team of just five people. And with the Marketing Cloud mobile application, the Fanatics team can manage the customer experience and deploy customized campaigns from any device.

"In the world of sports, consumer demand is constantly changing based on what teams are hot or what players have achieved big career milestones. It's critical that we have the right tools to deliver the right merchandise to the right sports fans at the right time," said Matt Smith, VP of CRM at Fanatics. "Whether we're in the office or in the field, Salesforce Marketing Cloud enables our team to quickly personalize and customize communications to millions of sports fans every week. It also gives us the ability to integrate real-time and post-game stats for a truly cross-channel customer experience."

Fanatics is also using Marketing Cloud predictive intelligence capabilities to provide its customers with more personalized product recommendations. As a result, the "recommendations" section of Fanatics' emails has become the second-largest contributor of engagement from customers, generating between 15 to 20% of overall clickthroughs.

"We're in a new era where the physical and digital worlds have converged and every business has an unprecedented opportunity to connect with customers in a new way," said Scott McCorkle, CEO, Salesforce Marketing Cloud. "For a merchandiser like Fanatics, providing customers with a truly cross-channel experience that aligns with how they choose to view and engage with their favorite sports teams is more important than ever. Marketing Cloud makes this possible and enables Fanatics to provide relevant, 1-to-1 interactions at scale."

Experience Fanatics at Connections 2016 - The Digital Marketing Event of the Year
The Customer Success Showcase at Connections 2016, May 10-12 in Atlanta, GA, will highlight how Fanatics has modernized its digital marketing. Stop by the Connections Customer Success Expo in Exhibit Hall A2 for an inside look at how Fanatics is using Marketing Cloud to create personalized, 1-to-1 journeys for its customers.

Global Leaders Deliver 1-to-1 Customer Journeys at Scale with Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Marketing Cloud enables marketers to build a single view of the customer, map and optimize every journey, deliver personalized content on every channel—email, advertising, social, web, mobile, apps—and measure the impact on their business. To learn more about Marketing Cloud, visit: http://www.salesforce.com/marketing-cloud/overview/.

Connect with Salesforce

• Like Salesforce and Marketing Cloud on Facebook: http://facebook.com/salesforce, http://facebook.com/marketingcloud
• Follow @salesforce and @marketingcloud on Twitter: http://twitter.com/salesforce, http://twitter.com/marketingcloud
• Read the Salesforce and Marketing Cloud blogs: salesforce.com/blog, http://www.exacttarget.com/blog/

About Fanatics
As the global leader in licensed sports merchandise, Fanatics is changing the way fans purchase their favorite team merchandise by partnering with top leagues, clubs and soccer brands worldwide to offer the largest collection of timeless and timely gear from every pro and college team online, on your phone, in stadiums or on-site at the world's biggest sporting events.

A top 50 Internet Retailer Company, Fanatics comprises the broadest online assortment by offering hundreds of thousands of officially licensed items via its Fanatics (www.fanatics.com), FansEdge (www.fansedge.com) and Kitbag (www.kitbag.com) brands, as well as the largest selection of sports collectibles and memorabilia through Fanatics Authentic (www.fanaticsauthentic.com). A multi-channel company, Fanatics operates more than 300 online and offline stores, including the e-commerce business for all major professional sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, MLS, PGA), major media brands (NBC Sports, CBS Sports, FOX Sports) and more than 200 collegiate and professional team properties, which include several of biggest global soccer clubs (Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester City).

The company's in-venue and event retail portfolio includes the NBA, NHL, NASCAR, Wimbledon, Kentucky Derby, The Ryder Cup, Manchester City, Texas Longhorns, Pittsburgh Pirates and New Jersey Devils, allowing fans to experience a seamless shopping experience across online, mobile and physical store locations.

About Salesforce
Salesforce, the Customer Success Platform and world's #1 CRM company, empowers companies to connect with their customers in a whole new way. For more information about Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), visit: www.salesforce.com.

Any unreleased services or features referenced in this or other press releases or public statements are not currently available and may not be delivered on time or at all. Customers who purchase Salesforce applications should make their purchase decisions based upon features that are currently available. Salesforce has headquarters in San Francisco, with offices in Europe and Asia, and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CRM." For more information please visit http://www.salesforce.com, or call 1-800-NO-SOFTWARE.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130612/SF30598LOGO

SOURCE Salesforce

Related Links

https://www.salesforce.com