Customer Success Story

From First Game to Avid Fan: the CEBL’s Winning Strategy

Emerging League

Challenge

The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) is building a rapidly expanding fanbase, one game at a time. In 2024, as the league entered its sixth season, 64% of all ticket buyers attended their first game ever. Winning hearts while teams were on the court was easy, but the CEBL needed to preserve and nurture that first-game excitement to drive repeat attendance.

Solution

The CEBL used the StellarAlgo platform to manage the influx of new fans and create more personalized fan experiences. This included nurturing emails targeting first known attendees (FKAs), inviting them back to upcoming games. The league created a total of 74 targeted fan lists which 9 of the league’s member teams activated to engage over 9,500 fans.

The CEBL tested two messaging strategies for effectiveness:

Initial Message: “Thanks for coming to your first game, we’d love to have you back. Here’s a couple of upcoming games on our schedule, plus X% off your next purchase.”
Revised Message: “Thanks for coming to your first game, we’d love to have you back. Here’s a couple of upcoming games on our schedule. Tickets start at $X.”

Counterintuitively, the league discovered that most FKAs who returned bought full-price tickets, prompting the revised approach. The updated approach maintained conversion rates, saved time for the ticketing team, and maximized revenue by avoiding discounts.

Results

8.4%

average conversion rate from FKA segments

9.3%

of first-time attendees returned for a second event

73%

of ticket revenue from returning FKAs tracked through targeted segments

By leveraging StellarAlgo’s platform, the CEBL strengthened relationships with new fans, fostering loyalty and revenue growth without sacrificing ticket value.