Esports franchise the Pittsburgh Knights have announced a partnership with data management company SSB.
The partnership between the two looks to aid the Knights in their growth, whilst also sharing each other’s best practices for North America’s emerging esports market.
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With clients spanning major league teams and university athletic departments across the country, SSB offers the Pittsburgh Knights with sports expertise, whilst also being a hub for data integration and analysis.
SSB’s technology will inform the Knights in making educated, actionable decisions through their ‘Central Intelligence’ data platform and ‘Discovery CRM’ solution.
Mike Banville, CEO of SSB, commented: “Esports is an exciting new market for SSB, and we look forward to combining our sports industry methodologies and toolset with the advice and guidance of a leader in the industry.
“As esports continues to grow and commercialise, this partnerships allows us to provide organisations with the opportunity to understand their customer data and convert more leads to customers, faster than ever before.”
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The partnership will also offer an opportunity for SSB to hone in on the specifics of the esports industry. Additionally, it has been announced that SSB will have a certain role regarding the Knights’ Rocket League team, with news to come in January.
According to the release, the Pittsburgh Knights first learned of SSB’s uses through the industrial city’s American Football team – the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Garrett Bambrough, Pittsburgh Knights’ esports consultant, added: “We saw what these major teams were doing and wanted to see how we could utilise this tool for our own unique piece of the sports industry.
“Esports is a data-rich landscape – our fans interact with us in so many ways with new technology. We’ll utilise SSB to create a full picture of benefits and serve our partners and fans in new ways.”
Esports Insider Says: SSB was not named 2017 Microsoft U.S. Education Partner of the Year for no reason – and any top tier data analytics company is a benefit for esports organisations. This one makes particular sense as the city’s sporting counterpart, the Pittsburgh Steelers, already use SSB to their benefit – so the Knights will be hoping for the same positive influence.