PHILADELPHIA, PA – Vancouver Whitecaps FC were honoured on Thursday with two 2017 MLS Club and Executive Awards, recognizing individuals and clubs for outstanding contributions off the field during the 2017 season. The ‘Caps collected the following awards:
- Business Analytics Team of the Year (Enhanced Lead Scoring): The Whitecaps FC Business Analytics Team, consisting of manager Christopher Bromley, club analyst Stephen Jeske, CRM administrator Isse Ali, and intern Thomas Edlböck, was recognized for developing a new sales prospect scoring model using SAS Visual Analytics decision tree analysis. The new prospect scoring model delivered higher conversion rates, and increased efficiency, by focusing sales efforts on the customers who were statistically most likely to buy during the 2018 season ticket sales campaign.
- Digital Content Experience of the Year (Becoming Canadian: The Alphonso Davies Story): This 18-minute mini documentary, created by lead videographer/editor Zac Ratcliffe and producer/reporter Farhan Devji, chronicled the life and story of Alphonso Davies and his journey to becoming a Canadian citizen. It was the club’s most-watched video of the year with approximately 285,000 views and 620,000 minutes watched across Facebook and YouTube.
Atlanta United led all clubs with five total awards on the evening followed by four clubs winning two awards: Chicago Fire, New York Red Bulls, Sporting Kansas City and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
In addition, the following individuals were recognized for their work with the Whitecaps FC sales and service department in 2017.
- Jenn Wills Bronze award for Group Sales in 2017 (over 15,000 group tickets)
- Jason McBride and Parisa Ebrahimi over 90% renewal rate with more than 1,000 accounts managed
See below for the full list of club and executive award winners.
2017 MLS Club and Executive Award Winners:
- Doug Hamilton Executive of the Year – Darren Eales, Atlanta United
- Ticket Sales Executive of the Year – Don Rovak, Atlanta United
- Corporate Partnerships Executive of the Year – Chris Shewfelt, Toronto FC
- Marketing Executive of the Year – Sarah Kate Noftsinger, Atlanta United
- Ticket Sales Team of the Year – Seattle Sounders FC
- Corporate Partnerships Team of the Year – Portland Timbers
- Marketing Team of the Year – Atlanta United
- Marisa Colaiano Community Relations Club of the Year presented by MLS WORKS – New York Red Bulls
- Public Relations Team of the Year – Sporting Kansas City
- Club Retailer of the Year – Columbus Crew SC
- Platform Activation of the Year – Portland Timbers
- Business Analytics Team of the Year – Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Enhanced Lead Scoring)
- Ticketing Sales Impact Award presented by the National Sales Center powered by SeatGeek – Chicago Fire (Outside Sales Program)
- Digital Team of the Year – Philadelphia Union
- Social Media Activation of the Year – D.C. United (Last Call at RFK)
- Digital Content Experience of the Year – Vancouver Whitecaps FC (Becoming Canadian: The Alphonso Davies Story)
- Best Use of Access in Content - Chicago Fire (Bastian Schweinsteiger’s Arrival)
- Security Team of the Year – Orlando City SC
- Operations Staff of the Year – New York Red Bulls
- Supporter Management Team of the Year – Sporting Kansas City
- Team Administrator of the Year presented by Sportscorp Travel – Manny Tejeda, Atlanta United
- Athletic Training Staff of the Year presented by Mueller Sports Medicine – Houston Dynamo
- Equipment Manager of the Year – Daniel Laroche, New York City FC
