Deloitte and AWS are leveraging AI to analyze sports fandom and consumer behavior through Deloitte’s Converge service, which synthesizes massive amounts of data to create highly personalized fan profiles. The collaboration demonstrates how AI-powered analytics can unlock deeper insights into consumer preferences across multiple industries, with media and entertainment identified as the next frontier for expansion.
What you should know: Converge by Deloitte uses AI and propensity modeling to create granular profiles of sports fans, helping brands understand the intersection of team loyalty, league preferences, and consumer behavior.
- The service targets what marketers call “that Venn diagram of the team, the league and your own brand,” according to Michelle McGuire, principal and chief commercial officer of Converge by Deloitte.
- AWS provides “Clean Room” services that allow multiple parties to analyze collective data while maintaining privacy compliance and data ownership.
How it works: The AI system processes enormous datasets to generate consumer insights without violating individual privacy.
- “We know who you are. We know what you care about,” McGuire explained. “And then we use our propensity modeling, our IP, our understanding of sports and fandom to hand that off to sponsors so that they’re then able to activate in a more personalized way.”
- The technology can determine specific player preferences, merchandise buying patterns, and optimal engagement strategies across a fan’s lifetime.
The big picture: Fandom research reveals that consumer passions extend beyond sports into other areas of purchasing behavior and lifestyle choices.
- “The thing that I find most interesting about fandom is that your fandom is not unique,” McGuire said. “It crosses music. It crosses your retail and buying habits. It crosses all the areas of your life.”
- Sports fans represent diverse segments rather than a monolithic group, requiring sophisticated analysis to understand their unique preferences.
What they’re saying: Industry leaders emphasize that comprehensive data analysis has become essential for competitive advantage.
- “For customers, for advertisers — this is table stakes today,” said Ruba Borno, VP of global specialists and partners at Amazon’s AWS. “And so the more data you have, the better insights you have, and you can be differentiated.”
- McGuire noted that sports fans “are rabid about teams, leagues and different sports. So how do you look at them holistically as a fan and then act upon that unique fandom in that audience of one?”
Next steps: Deloitte plans to expand Converge into media and entertainment, applying the same analytical framework to streaming and subscription services.
- “The next frontier is media, of course,” McGuire said, focusing on measurement and engagement for media organizations seeking to understand potential subscribers.
- The expansion will examine how “fandom in characters, titles and worlds all influences your purchasing behavior when you think about streaming and subscription.”
Recent Stories
DOE fusion roadmap targets 2030s commercial deployment as AI drives $9B investment
The Department of Energy has released a new roadmap targeting commercial-scale fusion power deployment by the mid-2030s, though the plan lacks specific funding commitments and relies on scientific breakthroughs that have eluded researchers for decades. The strategy emphasizes public-private partnerships and positions AI as both a research tool and motivation for developing fusion energy to meet data centers' growing electricity demands. The big picture: The DOE's roadmap aims to "deliver the public infrastructure that supports the fusion private sector scale up in the 2030s," but acknowledges it cannot commit to specific funding levels and remains subject to Congressional appropriations. Why...
Oct 17, 2025Tying it all together: Credo’s purple cables power the $4B AI data center boom
Credo, a Silicon Valley semiconductor company specializing in data center cables and chips, has seen its stock price more than double this year to $143.61, following a 245% surge in 2024. The company's signature purple cables, which cost between $300-$500 each, have become essential infrastructure for AI data centers, positioning Credo to capitalize on the trillion-dollar AI infrastructure expansion as hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI rapidly build out massive computing facilities. What you should know: Credo's active electrical cables (AECs) are becoming indispensable for connecting the massive GPU clusters required for AI training and inference. The company...
Oct 17, 2025Vatican launches Latin American AI network for human development
The Vatican hosted a two-day conference bringing together 50 global experts to explore how artificial intelligence can advance peace, social justice, and human development. The event launched the Latin American AI Network for Integral Human Development and established principles for ethical AI governance that prioritize human dignity over technological advancement. What you should know: The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the Vatican's research body for social issues, organized the "Digital Rerum Novarum" conference on October 16-17, combining academic research with practical AI applications. Participants included leading experts from MIT, Microsoft, Columbia University, the UN, and major European institutions. The conference...