Bisons B€€F: Basketball business in Finland

Sunday's upcoming regular season clash between Bisons and Zenit won't be just another game. It's going to be held in Turku's 11,000-seat hockey arena and will set a new attendance record this season with 9,000 tickets sold over two months ago! It's all the result of the Finnish club's new Bisons B€€F marketing initiative.

VTB United League deputy general director Ilona Korstin recently visited Bisons to see for herself how the club works. With the help of general manager Sampsa Rekonen, she's ready to share Bisons' business secrets.

Step forward with the VTB United League

Ilona Korstin: VTB United League newcomers Bisons are from Loimaa, a small town in southern Finland with a population of 17,000. The team isn't known for its big budget, expensive foreign players or star coach. Bisons try to maximize what they have, both on the court and off it. I'll be honest: the Finnish club's motivation and creativity is unmatched. I was personally convinced of that when I attended a home game and spoke with general manager Sampsa Rekonen, who shared Bisons' marketing plans.

Sampsa Rekonen: The VTB United League is a very interesting competition, featuring some of Europe's top clubs and domestic champions. Participating in this competition is a big step forward for the team. The fact that the league is also attractive financially is just as important. There are a lot of expenses involved in European club competitions, whereas the VTB United League helps teams. There's prize money, airfare discounts, player insurance. The league's competitive aspect has also helped us to develop our marketing: attracting fans and selling tickets to games against the league's top teams.

Club + sponsors + youth sports = sellouts and profits

Sampsa Rekonen: As for the business itself, thanks to our inclusion in the VTB United League, we've implemented a fairly simple but also effective method for making money on basketball this season. We created a new marketing initiative called Bisons B€€F. The idea is for the club, sponsors and youth sports to work together prior to our home games at the hockey arena in Helsinki. Sponsors cover the costs of organizing the game and renting Helsinki Arena, while we give the tickets to youth sports academies and youth organizations. Then they sell the tickets, keeping a large percentage of the profit. We did it for the first time for our December 7 game between Bisons and our neighbors from St. Petersburg, Zenit. I can proudly say that all of the tickets to the game at the HK Arena have already been sold.

Ilona Korstin: Selling 9,000 tickets two months prior to a game is very rare in European basketball. It's definitely never happened in the VTB United League before. A lot of clubs with bigger budgets and more financial options could learn some things from Bisons when it comes to attracting fans and generating revenue from tickets. When it comes to Bisons, this social program of supporting youth sports helps the club develop in several directions. It attracts new sponsors and helps develop talent, plus it increases viewer interest in the team and in basketball as a whole.

Sampsa Rekonen: I should say something more about the upcoming game with Zenit. Zenit is new to the basketball world, but I think that everyone knows about the famous Zenit football brand. Plus, a team from St. Petersburg is coming to Finland. It's a city that our country has always had a close, friendly relationship with. The game should also be very interesting from a competitive standpoint. Our team will be extremely motivated playing with the support of thousands of fans.

To be continued!

Sampsa Rekonen: We plan to use the Bisons B€€F marketing initiative twice more this season in the VTB United League, for the home games against Khimki and CSKA. For those games we want to play at the new arena in Helsinki. I expect that all of the tickets to these games against league contenders and elite European teams will also be sold long before the day of the game. The profit, meanwhile, just like the game with Zenit, will go to developing youth sports.

Ilona Korstin: Bisons are creating a marketing product from basketball games that is capable of attracting a lot of sponsor and viewer interest. In the case with Zenit--you've got the close connection between Finland and our northern capital, plus our opponent's famous brand. CSKA also needs no introduction in the European sports world. As for Khimki, their star guard Petteri Koponen will attract special interest in Finland. Right now there's a real basketball boom in the country. Last summer, the Finns played at the World Cup and Koponen is a star back home. He's the leader of the national team and led the World Cup in assists per game. Koponen's arrival with Khimki will draw a lot of interest in Helsinki.

The Northern Derby: a new classic

Sampsa Rekonen: We're confident that the games against Zenit, Khimki and CSKA will be interesting in Finland and attract sellouts. Our last big game, the so-called Northern Derby, Bisons vs. Kalev, lived up to our expectations. We're very familiar with the Estonian club's front office. We have long-time friendships there. Our clubs are similar and Estonians and Finns are brothers in a lot of ways. It's always enjoyable for me to meet friends on the court, including Martin Müürsepp, who's working as one of the Kalev coaches now. I hope that the Bisons - Kalev rivalry will become a new classic in the VTB United League. It's fine that the first-ever Northern Derby was held in our reserve arena in Vantaa, which fits 3,500 fans. The atmosphere at the game was incredible! Plus, we also had Kalev fans come and provide great support for their team.

Ilona Korstin: Yes, the Bisons - Kalev game was held at the club's reserve arena in a small suburb of Helsinki, but it met all of the competition's requirements. I really liked it there. There was hot food for sale at the arena. Club merchandise was available and kids and adults could play basketball on Playstations at the front of the arena. Prior to the game, two legends of Finnish and Estonian basketball were introduced to the crowd: Hanno Mottola and Martin Müürsepp. I can't imagine what the games at the hockey arena in Helsinki in front of thousands of fans will be like!

I'd like to say that the Finns' approach to business may be what's missing in the VTB United League and other European tournaments. We can see through their example how an original plan to attract fans really works and how the club can earn money with basketball.