For much of its existence, Saski Baskonia has punched above its weight against big-name Spanish basketball rivals that enjoy heavyweight backing.
Now, this spirit of the underdog – encapsulated by the club’s famous and feisty goat, Aker – is shifting into the digital space as the club bids to ramp up the competition off the court, as well as on it, with the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Indeed, artificial intelligence-powered technology delivered via WSC Sports is enabling the Basque Country-based club to strengthen relations with its fiercely passionate supporters and engage new followers.
Outside the box
Located in the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, the four-time winner of the domestic Liga ACB title is one of only three clubs this century to have played in 25 seasons of the EuroLeague, the sport’s top European competition.
However, in recent years, a push to explore new commercial opportunities has led Baskonia to think outside the box in an effort to enhance competitiveness off, as well as on the court – and that is where leveraging sophisticated AI comes into play.
WSC Sports first teamed up with Baskonia in June 2020, shortly after the team’s most recent league title win, to edit and distribute video clips from games on an automated basis, from spectacular breakaway dunks to outrageous three-pointers on the buzzer.
The partnership has been crucial to Baskonia in terms of driving engagement and growth, with digital innovation key for a club of its size to compete.
“It’s super important,” says Alberto Ausín, Baskonia’s head of communications. “We have a very loyal fan base in our region, but by exploring new technologies, we are able to reach a global audience.
“At Baskonia, we are competing at the level of other clubs with greater financial power because we are an innovative club, constantly striving to be the first to do things. Tools that allow us to be agile and fast, help us to be leaders in innovation and to continue growing digitally faster than other clubs.
“We were looking for a way to grow our digital content without losing that fresh, dynamic touch, and their AI-driven technology was the perfect solution. We wanted to offer our fans quick, engaging content that was always relevant – AI and automation made that possible.”
Cross-platform growth
The WSC Sports platform enables unique content to be created for every digital platform within minutes, generating engagement at speed and scale.
As a result, Baskonia’s social media team is able to channel its creativity into other content ideas.
This has allowed the club to generate a large volume of engaging, game-related content each week which, according to Ausín, engages followers like nothing else.
“Since partnering with WSC Sports, we’ve ramped up both the quantity and variety of our content,” he adds. “Highlights and quick clips of key moments are what drive the most engagement, especially on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
“Personal content, such as player profiles and exclusive interviews, has also worked really well. The platform has allowed us to make a qualitative leap in our content that allows us to highlight our players and promote the Baskonia brand on our social networks and also with our sponsors.”
The enthusiasm is backed up by the results. In the past year alone, Baskonia has gained more than 20,000 new followers on Instagram – a rise of more than a quarter. Baskonia currently counts around 97,000 followers on the platform, and more than 450,000 on TikTok. Baskonia also has more than 100,000 followers on X, and more than 470,000 on Facebook.
More followers mean more eyeballs on video content, and Baskonia’s impressive digital growth has also helped drive traffic to the club’s website, which in turn has boosted ticket and merchandise sales.
“We’ve seen huge growth in short video consumption and fan interaction on platforms like Instagram, YouTube Shorts and TikTok,” says Ausín. “Looking forward, we want to personalise content even more for different types of fans. We’re also exploring new tech like augmented reality experiences and interactive videos to keep surprising and connecting with our audience.”
‘Constantly evolving’
Baskonia’s digital strategy centres on four main pillars: fan-focused content, real-time engagement, generating business, and building a community.
The aim is to leverage technology that keeps fans engaged during games while “always giving them something interesting to watch or share”.
WSC Sports has also worked with Liga ACB, generating automated highlights for the league and its member clubs to share on their social media channels.
For Baskonia, WSC Sports is set to remain a key partner as the club continues to expand its digital footprint.
“We expect to keep leveraging AI technology to stay at the forefront of content creation and distribution,” says Ausín. “More broadly, we plan to continue innovating in how we connect with fans, investing in personalised experiences and exploring new platforms that allow us to stay one step ahead.
“Our digital strategy is constantly evolving to adapt to what our fans want. We’re committed to innovation, and our partnership with WSC Sports is key to making that happen. Our goal is to make every fan feel connected to Baskonia, whether they’re in the arena or watching from anywhere in the world.”