Scotland’s only professional basketball team, the SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks have been through a major restructure over the last year. 2007 was a turning point for the club as they brought on new partners, new kit, new coach, new crew members and a new ecommerce solution offering online ticketing.
One of the issues for the club was determining how to make it easier and more accessible for their fans to buy tickets and find out up-to-the-minute information on the games and the BBL Championship Table. Another consideration for the club was finding partners to collaborate with. They were looking for partners who had a personal investment in the future of the club and, ultimately, were a Scottish company who were passionate about the game and had the foresight to see what the Rocks were trying to achieve.
Working with NS Design, a forward thinking ecommerce/web solutions agency based in the award winning Hillington Park Innovation Centre, the Rocks have turned their ticket sales around with a 500% increase in advance bookings from last year’s average.
Gary Ennis, Managing Director of NSDesign who are located at the award winning Hillington Park Innovation Centre said, “I myself have been a Rocks fan for a number of years and have attended many of their games during that time, so I have a real passion in helping the Rocks progress. I believe our ecommerce solution has been an essential part of the Rocks evolution and we are working hard to ensure we drive fans to the website.”
Fans have been very supportive of the club and are delighted that the new website allows them to track the progress of the team much more easily and buy tickets online which are cheaper than purchasing them at the door.
Bruce Cook, General Manager of the Rocks said, “We have some ambitious goals and NSDesign have been vital in helping us to optimise the opportunities that come with a modern website. As Scotland’s only professional basketball team, the site is a key part of the future of the team and we plan to use this as a platform to not only service our existing fans but also encourage as many people as possible to take an interest in our product – which is a lot more than just professional basketball.”
“The link up between NSDesign and the SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks is an excellent example of collaboration and something we regularly promote to companies within our Innovation Centres, both in Alba and Hillington. Partnerships are essential for every business, whether a sports club or a technology business and it is encouraging to see a large international organisation partnering up with a small Scottish based company to achieve outstanding results" Anna-Marie Taylor, Marketing Manager, Innovation Centres Scotland Ltd
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Posted on 06 November, 2007
