Indiana Fever and PS&E Partner with Salesforce to Enhance Fan Engagement Through Personalized AI Solutions

Salesforce, the world’s leading AI CRM provider, has partnered with the Indiana Fever and its parent organization, Pacers Sports & Entertainment (PS&E), to enhance fan engagement through advanced AI solutions. This collaboration aims to personalize fan experiences, boost attendance, and deepen loyalty within a rapidly growing fanbase. Background: In 2024, the Indiana Fever achieved remarkable milestones in viewership, game attendance, and digital engagement. They sold more tickets than ever before, resulting in a 265% increase in attendance compared to the previous season. To capitalize on this success and continue their upward trajectory, the Fever needed a scalable solution to deliver personalized interactions and content to their fans. Key Solutions Deployed: 1. Agentforce: A digital labor platform that automates and enhances the process of creating and distributing personalized marketing and sales content. Agentforce works by analyzing transactional, behavioral, and demographic data to generate relevant and engaging recommendations. 2. Data Cloud: This tool unifies previously siloed data, allowing PS&E to create detailed fan profiles. These profiles include information such as recent ticket purchases, merchandise transactions, and service requests, providing a comprehensive view of each fan's activities and preferences. 3. Marketing Cloud: Integrating with Data Cloud, the Marketing Cloud leverages AI to craft individualized email campaigns and other marketing materials. For example, it can send tailored messages on fan birthdays with discount codes, notify fans when their favorite player's jersey becomes available, or recommend games featuring preferred teams — all autonomously. Benefits and Impact: By implementing these AI-driven tools, the Indiana Fever hopes to significantly enhance fan experiences. The unified data provided by Data Cloud enables the team to better understand their audience, making it easier to segment fans and tailor communications. This leads to more relevant and timely interactions, which can improve fan loyalty and overall satisfaction. Joey Graziano, Executive Vice President of Strategy & New Business Ventures at PS&E, highlighted the importance of the partnership, saying, "We are building the most valuable database in professional sports, and this partnership with Salesforce is a significant step in that direction. Agentforce will help us enhance how we engage with our fanbase by offering personalized recommendations at scale, unlocking new opportunities for the Indiana Fever and the entire PS&E ecosystem." Adam Evans, Senior Vice President of Product at Salesforce, emphasized the strategic advantage of the partnership: "The Indiana Fever and PS&E are seizing a pivotal moment, and Salesforce is the ideal partner to help them forge deeper, more meaningful connections with its rapidly expanding fanbase. By harnessing the power of the deeply unified Salesforce Platform, the Fever is setting a new standard for understanding and nurturing fans in the WNBA and in sports writ-large." Future Plans: As PS&E's database expands, Data Cloud will continue to integrate customer data across all properties, including the Indiana Pacers, the Gainbridge Fieldhouse event venue, online stores, and various ticketing platforms. PS&E also plans to incorporate Agentforce into its "ONE loyalty program," aiming to develop a unified app that allows fans to manage, track, and interact with every touch point across all PS&E properties and channels. This app will serve as a central hub for fan engagement, ensuring a seamless and integrated experience. Industry Insights: This partnership demonstrates the growing trend of leveraging AI and data analytics in sports to enhance fan engagement and operational efficiency. Industry experts see this as a significant move that could inspire other teams and organizations to adopt similar technologies, transforming the way they connect with and retain fans. The integration of agentic AI, in particular, is praised for its ability to autonomously manage complex tasks, freeing up human resources to focus on higher-value activities. Company Profiles: - Salesforce: Salesforce is a global leader in customer relationship management (CRM) software, known for its innovative use of artificial intelligence (AI). Their platforms, including Agentforce, Data Cloud, and Marketing Cloud, help businesses of all sizes improve customer interactions and operational processes. - Indiana Fever: The Indiana Fever is a professional women's basketball team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), based in Indianapolis. Founded in 2000, the team has gained significant traction, especially with the addition of star player Caitlin Clark in 2024. - Pacers Sports & Entertainment (PS&E): PS&E oversees several sports and entertainment entities, including the Indiana Pacers, Indiana Fever, Noblesville Boom, and the Pacers Foundation. The organization is committed to delivering high-quality entertainment and exemplary service through the efforts of its dedicated workforce. This collaboration between Salesforce and the Indiana Fever/PS&E is poised to set a new benchmark in sports fan engagement, showcasing the potential of AI to revolutionize how teams connect with and serve their communities.