Why Following FC Barcelona Is a Game of Its Own

Since 2022, our partnership with FC Barcelona has spanned playlists and football pitches alike. And helping fans connect with their favorite artists and players has been at the heart of that. But Bar a faithfuls are no ordinary supporters: They are authentic, emotional, and most of all, exceptionally committed to the club.

This also means their expectations are very high, and they have a voracious appetite for club-related content that is distinctive and entertaining. So each and every day, FC Barcelona's social media accounts set out to deliver photos, videos, memes, and team updates that keep hundreds of millions of fans around the world buzzing.

The club's brand identity and engagement teams, headed up by Bar a Identity Director Paloma Mikadze and Fan Engagement Director Eric Serra, are responsible for the playful social media strategies, posts, and videos that keep fans supporting the club through their likes, comments, and reposts. They are the storytellers of FC Barcelona, and working together with Spotify's own storytellers, like Partner Marketing Lead George Mead, they find new and unique ways to bring Bar a players together with music's biggest stars. (Who can forget ROSAL A's epic shirt reveal?)

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Over the years, FC Barcelona has cultivated a deeply loyal fan following through its social media accounts, and since partnering with Spotify, it only continues to grow stronger. For the Record sat down with Paloma, Eric, and George to talk about their approach to fan engagement, how they get players into the mix, and insights into some of their most memorable campaigns.

No one can forget the incredible artist reveal with ROSAL A on team kits ahead of an El Cl sico match. Can you tell us a little about the process behind that campaign, as well as the results? Paloma Mikadze: When passion and ambition come together, incredible things happen. That's a philosophy we truly believe in, and the MOTOMAMI campaign underscores that. Our team makes extraordinary ideas come to life. Bringing sports and music together is wonderful, and we wanted fans around the world to feel and experience that fusion of culture.

We built a strong journey around the hype phase to capture all the attention we were looking for before the reveal moment-we wanted all eyes to be on us, and that's what we did. The ROSAL A shirt reveal was a trending topic all over the world. Our content was being consumed by millions of fans, which multiplied the exposure of our brands around the world.

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George: That was truly unforgettable! It helps when it coincided with a last-minute match winner to essentially secure the La Liga title, but that really exemplified why this partnership is the first of its kind.

After she featured on the shirt, searches for ROSAL A on Spotify spiked significantly across the world. Barcelona, meanwhile, got roughly half a billion impressions on content with the singer's MOTOMAMI logo across all club media channels.

Plus, a TikTok video featuring ROSAL A remixing the club's anthem, which was posted on Barcelona's account to promote the campaign, has now amassed more than 86 million views, further illustrating how Bar a have been able to leverage Spotify's relationship with its artists to better target Gen Z.

How about Anitta's playlist challenge during this summer's preseason tour? Eric Serra: Can you imagine Anitta playing football, or Gavi, Pedri, Raphinha, and Balde recreating one of Anitta's trendy dances? Maybe not, but this is where the team comes in to create remarkable content for the fans while achieving commercial goals simultaneously. Connecting all the dots is not easy, but when you have the players and artists on the pitch with big smiles during production, you know that the idea is good, and the content will perform very well.

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George: Again, that was a perfect example of seeing football and music come together in a way that aligned across the markets for both the club and the artist. Bar a has such a massive following in the Latin American markets, so to be able to work with some of the biggest artists and celebrate their talents with those of the club was something that we really wanted to do for the preseason tour. The players loved it because it intersects with the music that they like to listen to, and we saw really good engagement across our own channels as a result.

The players are super active on social media. What's behind their social strategy? George Mead: This has been a really fun aspect of our work with the club from the beginning. Working with current players and legends like Ronaldinho to create and share their favorite tracks, which motivate them on match days, in special Spotify playlists-as well as the opportunity for fans to Blend with players-has provided another way for fans to connect with the players via music.

Paloma: We never miss an opportunity to bring the players into our social media plans. They're generally aware of how crucial content is in today's landscape, and we always try to propose innovative and fresh content so they can make the most of it. Highlighting their personality and qualities is key when we draw up our content strategy.

They take part in different ways-whether it's trends, challenges, choreographies, interviews, or amplification from their own channels. We'd like to send a huge thank you to them for their proactivity and willingness to expose the Bar a brand to the fullest.

Eric: The approach to player activations is a perfect fit for them. We are providing the kind of content that they consume on social media, and t

LINK:	https://newsroom.spotify.com/2023-10-18/fc-barcelona-social-media-fan-...
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