Brynäs IF lays the foundation for commercial growth with a review of its digital strategy

A club that wants more

Brynäs IF is one of Sweden's most storied ice hockey clubs, with a history dating back to 1912. The club plays in the SHL and the SDHL, and has a fan base whose passion reaches far beyond its home region of Gästrikland. The club stands on solid ground, with driven people in an organization where the commercial ambition matches the heritage.

Even so, Brynäs IF chose to pause. Not because anything was wrong, but because something could be better, and the club's leadership wanted to bring the whole picture together. The question was how a club can connect its digital presence so that each part strengthens the rest instead of living a life of its own.

It was with that question in mind that Brynäs IF began working with Stratigo in winter 2026.

"We have a strong organization, incredible commitment throughout the club and a fan base that follows us wherever we play. We've launched plenty of initiatives and we're proud of what we've achieved. We were looking for someone who could help us see the whole picture from the outside, ask the right questions and point out areas for development in a structured way. That's exactly what Stratigo has done." - Jakob Westerlund, Commercial Director, Brynäs IF

The premise: business control as the engine of commercial growth

What drives our work with Brynäs IF is a conviction we've seen confirmed at most of the Swedish elite sports organizations we meet. Long-term growth rarely comes from more campaigns or more channels. It comes from business control.

By business control, we mean that the club owns its digital presence, its customer relationships and its data, and that it knows who its fans are, what they engage with, how they move through the club's digital world and which offers are genuinely relevant to each of them. Measuring partner value with hard data instead of guesswork. Driving sales all year round, not just on matchdays.

For the vast majority of clubs, this isn't a technical question but a strategic trade-off about where to invest money and attention in a working week full of other priorities. Brynäs IF has chosen to invest in the strategy first.

The work we've done together

Stratigo's assignment has been to deliver an analysis and a recommendation describing how Brynäs IF can accelerate its commercial growth through a cohesive digital strategy. The work has followed our established methodology and drawn on the breadth of input needed for the recommendation to be relevant and to have real buy-in.

We've carried out a thorough review of the club's digital landscape, mapped how data flows through the organization and where it gets stuck, and assessed existing vendor relationships and platforms in terms of what they deliver today and what they need to deliver going forward. In parallel, we've gone through the club's own channel and communication strategy to understand how its ambitions are articulated internally, and held detailed discussions with the commercial leadership to make sure the recommendation is grounded in Brynäs IF's reality.

The result is a strategic direction that Brynäs IF now owns, and its contents stay between us and the club. That's how it should be.

"What reinforced my thesis is how clear the picture can become when someone from the outside maps it in a structured way. These are things we'd sensed day to day, but when it's there in black and white, both the challenges and the opportunities become much more concrete. That makes it easier to decide how we move forward." - Jakob Westerlund, Brynäs IF

What's already working

An important starting point for the whole project has been that Brynäs IF already does a lot of things well. The club has strong partner relationships, active ticket sales and an online store that sells nationwide, while its membership offer drives real engagement. Its social media presence is broader and more considered than that of many clubs in bigger leagues.

Strengths like these shouldn't be taken for granted. They're the result of consistent, committed work over time.

Our observation, which is also the whole point of the assignment, is that these strengths currently work in parallel rather than together. That shouldn't be read as criticism, but as a reflection of how things look at the vast majority of elite sports clubs in Sweden. The difference is that Brynäs IF has decided to do something about it.

"It's easy to get caught up in chasing the next initiative when day-to-day pressures build. This work has forced us to stop and look at the bigger picture. We don't often get the space to do that." - Jakob Westerlund, Brynäs IF

Stratigo's approach

The value in an engagement like this doesn't lie in a single tool or an isolated initiative. It lies in a cohesive development journey where analysis, implementation and evaluation are connected.

In the analysis phase, we mapped the current state, identified untapped potential and prioritized initiatives based on value creation and feasibility. In the implementation phase, which is about to begin, we'll work hands-on with Brynäs IF's staff to put the prioritized direction into practice: practical solutions that create measurable value, with knowledge transfer built in from day one so that Brynäs IF becomes stronger and more self-sufficient through the process. In the evaluation phase, we track impact and results on an ongoing basis. The direction must be adjustable based on actual data, not assumptions.

It's a methodology built on a simple premise: we don't benefit from creating dependencies, but from delivering results. After a time-limited engagement, we want to leave behind an organization that has advanced its position and developed both its operations and its people, in work that would otherwise have taken considerably longer to achieve.

On the same side of the table

Part of what has made the work constructive is the division of roles. Stratigo isn't a system vendor. We don't sell licenses and we take no kickbacks from any platform. It's a deliberate choice that shapes how we work.

We can ask the uncomfortable questions about existing solutions without an agenda in either direction. Brynäs IF can trust that our recommendation is based on their needs and not on a commission model. And in any future negotiations with external parties, we sit on the same side of the table as the club.

Combined with our methodology for structured RFP processes, this gives Brynäs IF the opportunity to genuinely take the driver's seat, instead of letting vendors' sales pitches drive decisions.

"Knowing that Stratigo has no hidden agenda makes a big difference. When they point to something, it's because it's right for us, not because they profit from it. That trust means we can have very honest conversations about where we are and where we're heading." - Jakob Westerlund, Brynäs IF

The long-term ambition

The analysis was never meant as a short-term project. It's a multi-year development journey in which the club's digital foundation is strengthened step by step, with each step building value in the next. The journey is planned in clear phases, with deliverables along the way so that both the organization internally and the fans externally can see the progress take shape.

The shared ambition is for Brynäs IF to be able, over time, to measure its commercial development in new terms. Not just tickets sold and games won, but year-round fan engagement, partner activation with documented impact, data-driven sales and relationships that grow stronger with every interaction.

It's not an impossible mission. But it requires someone to actually do the work, and to do it in the right order.

"This is a big shift we're going through. The analysis was planned in clear phases, with clear deliverables and clear responsibilities, which has given us confidence that it's moving us forward. We know what the next step is, and we know why we're taking it." - Jakob Westerlund, Brynäs IF

What other clubs can take away

Brynäs IF is not alone. Most Swedish elite sports clubs live with the same underlying challenge. The initiatives are there, the ambition is there, the will is there. What's often missing is the strategic direction that makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

What Brynäs IF is doing now isn't unique in its ambition. What's less common is a club actually taking the time to step back, investing in analysis before implementation and daring to challenge its own organization with the question of what will truly create value going forward.

Our experience is that this kind of investment almost always pays for itself many times over. Not because it solves a single problem, but because it lays the foundation for a whole range of improvements that together change the conditions for the entire organization.

"If a colleague at another club asked me about this work, I'd tell them one thing. Invest in the analysis. That's what makes every other decision easier." - Jakob Westerlund, Brynäs IF

A new phase takes shape

Brynäs IF has embarked on a strategic shift centered on taking control of its business through digital strategy, and in doing so building the foundation for long-term commercial growth. Together with Stratigo, the club is now moving from strategic direction to execution, with an approach that balances ambition with structure.

Business control isn't an end in itself. It's the engine of commercial growth. A club that takes control of its digital presence, its data and its customer relationships creates the conditions for growth far greater than the sum of individual initiatives can deliver.

Brynäs IF has made the decision. The journey has begun.

About the partnership

In April 2026, Stratigo delivered a strategic analysis and recommendation to Brynäs IF describing how the club can accelerate its commercial growth through a cohesive digital strategy. Both parties aim to continue the partnership through 2026 and beyond, with in-depth requirements definition, vendor evaluation, implementation and ongoing activation support.

About Stratigo Sports Business

Stratigo helps sports organizations with Digital strategy & development, Commercial growth, Data-driven marketing and Analytics, data & AI.