“The future of any sports property is to be a media and data company”.
With this statement for 2Playbook, Dídac Lee, former FC Barcelona board member who has led the biggest digital transformation in the club, developed a strategy designed to leverage the most valuable product in-house, the relationship with fans.
The current pandemic has forced stakeholders to learn how to engage globally and digitally, becoming fan-centric is the only alternative to sustain commercial, broadcasting and matchday revenues.
After more than a decade at an average annual growth rate of 6.7%, European football revenues will suffer a decrease of 5,000M€. Only Real Madrid and Bayern München, among European champions, managed to register net profits last season.
Is not a coincidence that major organisations such as FC Barcelona, LaLiga or UEFA are building new digital ecosystems to lead in territories like engagement and data, following owned production models like Netflix Originals and Amazon Original Series.
Every year, only 4M fans out from a 350M global fan base have the opportunity to visit Camp Nou. The challenge lies in being able to replicate and adapt emotions overseas, considering fans’ segmentation is becoming more and more fragmented based on behaviour.
However, what does it really mean to use data to drive engagement?
Barça Digital Vision
Right before COVID-19 began spreading through Europe, the Catalan club presented its new digital strategy, in the pursue of a better understanding and use of data in order to bring global fans closer to the club through personalised products and services.
Being the world’s leading club in social media with over 350M followers, Barcelona expects to continue evolving its revenue streams to make digital business one if its main sources of income in the future.
A fan-centric approach, the ownership of new digital platforms and the deeper understanding and use of data were identified as the key pillars of the strategy. As opportunities to elevate fan experience, the Vision included e-Commerce, Membership, OTT, Ticketing, Social Media and In-venue.
Regarding tactics, we can find: tailor-made content, freemium products, ‘Culers’ membership, Barça TV+, 5G optimisation, Espai Barça, new eSports Division, own e-Commerce and innovative ticketing.
The competition for attention has become that intense that the candidate for new chairman, Joan Laporta, announced the creation of the new position Chief Revenue Officer.
Monetising data
Clearly, developing a new digital ecosystem where more data is collected is the first step, and also half of the process to expand income and converting emotions.
We have seen innovative solutions that can be replicated by sports properties, especially in women’s football in their aim towards sustainability. From IBM Watson AI-powered image and acoustic-based insights, Wimbledon created highly engaging highlight videos for fans.
Clubs like Juventus, PSG, Atlético de Madrid and Barcelona generated more than 47M€ through tokens, using blockchain technology, on the platform Socios.com. Through social ownership, Lewes FC, competing at the second division of English women’s football, has attracted more than 1,600 owners from 33 countries.
Chelsea FC has become the first team outside China to launch on the Kuaishou social media platform, with 300M users, and NBA partnered with Microsoft to create virtual stands, virtual reality experiences and integrating advertising to them.
Of course, technology and creativity play a fundamental role in making that happen. Without designing remarkable experiences and identifying the right data from fans’ segments like Football Fanatics, FOMO Followers or Club Loyalists, it becomes very hard.
We can be sure that there is not a right strategy for all sports properties, but the right product for their own fans.
As a common denominator, we will find digital and global experiences.