Bayern Munich (@FCBayernUS) President of the Americas Rudolf Vidal has been with the German club four years, opening its first international office in N.Y. in ’14. The club participated in this summer’s Int’l Champions Cup, going 1-2 in its three matches, but gained exposure and increased brand awareness in the U.S. market. Since joining the club, Vidal said he has been “spearheading our strategy to increase the fan base and form mutually beneficial partnerships.”
Social/digital philosophy:
FC Bayern’s U.S. social/digital philosophy is very fan focused, offering localized, premium content to our fans where they are and how they want to consume it. We want to speak with our fans on social, not at them. To do that we have to always be able to adjust our tone and voice to modern content standards, Internet culture and the demands of the major platforms.
Social media’s evolution:
We are at a point of social media consolidation, so it’s no longer about getting people on the platform but getting people to stay on the platforms and more specifically, our accounts. Social media has evolved to put a greater emphasis on quality of content and engagement rather than just broad reach. It has also become more analytics-driven, so there are more opportunities to draw insights from your content and how fans and users interact with your brand. In that sense it has become a more complex ecosystem. It’s no longer just a broadcasting tool, it’s PR, it’s consumer insights, it’s marketing, it’s sales, etc. It ties together every part of the business.
Marketing the team in the U.S. compared to Europe:
The U.S. is the most competitive sports and entertainment market in the world. That alone makes it completely different. Soccer is still a growing sport and industry here, and a niche product in that sense. It doesn’t have the same cultural standing or institutional support as in Europe, so marketing here is more about education, grassroots work, cross-promotion with other teams and leagues, fundamentals of brand building.
Social media voice:
The FC Bayern U.S. voice is representative of both our fans, and global brand respectively. While we have the empathy and passion of our most ardent supporters, we are still in line with everything that our global brand is trying to accomplish, including transporting our Bavarian roots and values to our global fan base.
Soccer teams doing social media well:
From an engagement perspective, Seria A's AS Roma have done a good job at establishing a voice with creative content. Club America from Liga MX has also done well in building an American presence with their new English-language accounts.
Modeling digital/social realm approach:
Our social media team takes learning from a variety of different brands, teams, and creators, in and out of the soccer industry. Our learnings and gold standards will always evolve with the speed of this fast-paced industry. It’s important to keep an open mind as cultures converge, standards grow and technology evolves.
Attracting new fans in the U.S. market:
We tell the stories that we know will resonate well for people who are learning about the club for the first time. The U.S. markets empathizes with stories of heroes, a strong cultural connection and success. FC Bayern has all three, and we use those elements as the pillars of our content strategy and storytelling.
Difference between U.S. and German accounts:
We describe our American accounts as having a “distinctly local cultural lens,” so we want the accounts to have a stronger commentary on current events, music, other sports and pop culture. We are also more of a utility for fans, helping them discover the club in different ways, while the German accounts have already passed that barrier and focus on delivering more traditional news and team updates.
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