Barça’s new digital strategy features at ISE 2020 in Amsterdam

Speaking on a panel titled “FC Barcelona’s digital and audiovisual content strategy’, which was held as part of the AGORA event at this year’s ISE 2020, the Barça director emphasised the club’s commitment to a paradigm shift in its digital strategy in order to get closer to the fans. A new roadmap is putting the fan at the centre of everything, with the creation of cross-cutting entertainment content and data with the aim of developing an ecosystem of Barça digital products that are adapted to fans’ tastes and needs.

Lee explained how changing patterns in the consumption of entertainment products and content have generated a new scenario in which FC Barcelona is now no longer only competing for the audience attention with other sports clubs, but also with competitors who broadcast 24/7 on mobile, computer and tablet screens, namely major corporations and content platforms.

This new context is presenting significant challenges but also new opportunities, which FC Barcelona is looking to exploit in order to continue leading the digital market in the sports industry, as evidenced by the fact that for two years running it has been the club with the highest engagement levels on social media, where it has more than 350 million followers.

The stadium experience

Dídac Lee also spoke about the projects being set up to manage the fan experience in the stadium, which extends from the moment of sale until they get back home. The most important projects that he described include the sale of tickets without seat selection and the match day experience.

On the first topic, Lee explained how, despite Barça having the largest stadium in Europe, most of its seats are taken by season ticket holders. Ticket sales are highly dependent on the Seient Lliure service, whereby members who cannot come to the stadium for any reason can release their seat so that the club can sell it through its own channels. However, half of these releases occur in same week leading up to the match, so a lot of tickets are left unsold. That is why a ticketing system has been set up that predicts the number of seats that will be released in each zone of the stadium. Customers buy tickets without selecting a seat, and two days before the game, the seats are allocated, even in pairs. This system has already been introduced this season and the club has been able to sell 8% more tickets at 9% more than the average price.

Meanwhile, throughout this season and also during the one to come, the club is digitizing all the processes and activities linked to match days: tickets will be exclusively mobile-based. This users will be able to get to their seats more easily (even when building is going on), and the fan experience will be improved by offering the possibility to buy products and services such as food and clothes, and even access the club’s new digital content.