Utah Jazz and Qualtrics Partner To Revolutionize Fan Experience and Analytics and Accelerate Efforts to Eradicate Cancer

SILICON SLOPES, Utah and SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Utah Jazz and Qualtrics today announced a partnership where the world's leading customer experience management software will become the team's exclusive Fan Experience Insights and Analytics Partner. Qualtrics, a fast-growing tech unicorn based in Utah, will also be the team's jersey patch partner in a first-of-its-kind partnership among North American professional sports teams. Rather than placing the company's logo on the jersey for the 2017-2018 season, Qualtrics is sponsoring the patch in the name of its charity -- 5 For The Fight -- to raise funds to accelerate the pace of innovative cancer research.

The 5 For The Fight logo will be placed on all Jazz game uniforms, calling attention to a global campaign that invites everyone to donate $5 to cancer research. Qualtrics will sponsor the patch and the Utah Jazz will integrate the groundbreaking effort to support cancer research into other highly visible Jazz platforms such as in-game signage and activities, digital and social media content, and arena signage and broadcasting.

"The Utah Jazz and Qualtrics are excited to form a partnership that will both transform the fan experience and make a tangible contribution to eradicating cancer by supporting some of the most important research being done today," said Jazz President Steve Starks. "In addition, our partnership with Qualtrics will help us leverage greater analytics and innovation to take our team performance, employee engagement and fan experience to a whole new level."

The cause-related jersey patch will feature the 5 For The Fight logo in the team's colors. The patch will be located on the front left shoulder of the Jazz uniforms, measuring approximately 2.5 inches by 2.5 inches and coinciding with next season's debut of new Nike jerseys.

"Qualtrics started when my dad called me to tell me he had cancer. I moved home and he and I started working on a tech project," said Ryan Smith, co-founder and CEO of Qualtrics. "That project eventually turned into Qualtrics. We vowed that if the company ever made any money, we would make it our mission to support cancer research. Today we're excited to partner with the Jazz in our effort to raise $50M. We're also excited to leverage Qualtrics' technology and insights in a transformative business partnership with the Utah Jazz."

"The generosity of Qualtrics in sponsoring the jersey patch on our uniforms is unprecedented. Cancer has impacted innumerable people in our community and we are pleased to partner with them to bring attention to this worthy cause," said Gail Miller, owner of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies and the Utah Jazz. "In addition, we couldn't be more excited to partner with Qualtrics to use their technology to help us innovate and improve performance."

A key aspect of the partnership is the announcement that Qualtrics will become the Official Fan Experience Insights and Analytics Partner of the Utah Jazz. The team will leverage Qualtrics' platform and expertise to collect and analyze fan data to transform their arena experience, including everything from concessions and apparel to parking and in-game entertainment. Feedback and analytics generated by the Qualtrics platform will also be used as an integral part of the arena transformation that the Utah Jazz are undertaking later this year.

Based in Provo, Utah, with nine additional offices in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia, Qualtrics is the world's leading customer experience management platform. Founded in a basement in 2002, Qualtrics makes it easy to measure, prioritize, and optimize the experiences organizations provide across the foundational experiences of business. The company's technology powers more than 8,000 of the world's leading brands and 99 of the top 100 business schools.

Jersey sponsorships were approved as part of a three-year pilot program by the NBA Board of Governors in April 2016. The Jazz were assisted by the Properties team at CSM (formerly SJX Partners) in their jersey sponsorship efforts. Terms of the partnership were not disclosed.

Contributions to 5 for the Fight can be made at 5ForTheFight.org or at paypal.com/fight, and 100% of every donation goes towards supporting groundbreaking cancer research.

Full resolution images can be downloaded here http://bit.ly/2lxDqxZ.

The full announcement video can be found here http://bit.ly/2l0K8O4

-- utahjazz.com and 5forthefight.org --

Media Contacts:
Utah Jazz
Frank Zang, Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment, o: (801) 325-2570, m: (208) 863-4287, [email protected]

Qualtrics
Julia Giona, Qualtrics, o: (801) 374-6682, m: (415) 828-4775, [email protected] 
McKenzie Haggard, Method Communications, o: (801) 461-9773, m: (801) 850-3624, [email protected]

About Qualtrics
Qualtrics is a rapidly growing software-as-a-service company and the leader in customer insights. More than 8,000 enterprises worldwide, including more than 75 percent of the Fortune 100 and 99 of the top 100 business schools, rely on Qualtrics technology to make informed, data-driven business decisions. Our solutions make it easy to measure, prioritize, and optimize the experiences organizations provide across the foundational experiences of business. To learn more, and for a free account, please visit https://www.qualtrics.com/.

About the Utah Jazz
Founded as the 18th member of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1974, and located in Salt Lake City since 1979, the Utah Jazz are committed to excellence as a team and in the community. On the court, the Jazz are the third-winningest team in the NBA over the last 30 years, having won eight division titles and two Western Conference championships along with 14 seasons of 50-plus wins, and are supported by one of the most passionate fan bases in all of sports. Away from the court, the Jazz are very active in the local community and have assisted a multitude of organizations and worthy causes by way of charitable donations, service and grants through Larry H. Miller Charities. The Utah Jazz also operate the Junior Jazz program, the largest and longest-running youth basketball league in the NBA, featuring more than 50,000 players and an additional 13,000 volunteers who take part annually across seven states. For more information on the Utah Jazz, visit www.utahjazz.com.

SOURCE Qualtrics; The Utah Jazz

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