TOM ELSDEN is the senior client manager for Shanghai-based digital marketing agency Mailman Sports. His agency on Thursday released the sixth edition of its Red Card report, which assessed 53 European teams' presence in China across eight different metrics. The 23-page report revealed that ManU is currently the most influential team online in China, followed by Bayern Munich, then Liverpool and Arsenal, which are tied for third. The Bundesliga has the biggest online presence of any league. Before this year, the teams Mailman recognized as China's most influential were Barcelona ('13), Bayern Munich ('14), Real Madrid ('15) and Bayern Munich ('16). Elsden spoke to SBD Global about some of the key takeaways from this year's Red Card.
On what ManU, Bayern Munich, Liverpool do to stand out ... Tom Elsden: Manchester United: the most notable factor was their summer tour to China this year with fan engagement activities and digital activation. Their WeChat presence is also extremely strong, with almost two times more reads than the nearest club. Bayern Munich are the most engaged team on Weibo, and have delivered a content strategy that engages their fans with the unforgettable moments and by creating locally-relevant stories. Liverpool and Arsenal (joint third): both teams have been very strong across the board in the last 12 months. Their WeChat level of reads are both in the top three and have performed very strongly on this platform.
On the top four teams' lead on the next-closest clubs: Man City, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Tottenham ... Elsden: The lead of these top four clubs in these year's report is substantial, but we can expect them all to close the gap with investment into digital over the next 12 months.
Source: MAILMAN SPORTS
On the Bundesliga's top competitors ... Elsden: The Premier League is the closest challenger to the Bundesliga online in China, but this is the second year in a row that the Bundesliga has finished first. The Bundesliga will continue to innovate and invest into their digital presence online in China, so it's going to be a challenge for these other leagues to match them online. That said, the Premier League and La Liga have so far been complacent around their digital presence, and have plenty of room to grow.
On the keys to the Bundesliga's success ... Elsden: The Bundesliga is the only league with an official Chinese-language website. This is the hub for all digital content for the league, and actively promotes each individual team. Similarly, the Bundesliga is the only league to have published a livestream online in China, with the most popular content around their Legends Tour to China featuring Jens Lehmann.
