The summer of was a tale of turmoil for Spanish soccer giants FC Barcelona. However, a standout candidate soon emerged. But what impact has the sponsorship been having for Barcelona and for Spotify as a business?
Over the years, though, the Blaugrana have started to commercialise the inventory to keep pace financially with other teams in Europe, with Qatar Airways also featuring on the shirt from to That meant being flexible in terms of the sponsorship rights the club was willing to grant a potential partner, especially when pitching to a brand like Spotify, which has historically partnered with hardware manufacturers, mobile phone carriers, and gaming and social media platforms — rather than sports properties.
Typically, Hazan notes, the Swedish firm teams up with partners that have scale, can help it reach new audiences, and are agile in their approach. More than 85 artists have now used the LED boards at the Nou Camp for promotional purposes and Spotify has also leveraged geotargeting technology to ensure that fans watching in specific countries are seeing promotions featuring artists relevant to that market.
A post shared by champagnepapi champagnepapi. The artists typically love sport, the players typically love the artists. They loved when we dropped the shirt, the fans liked it, they wanted to buy it.
The only way for fans to get their hands on the limited-edition shirt was by entering a prize draw, which saw 72, people sign up in the first 24 hours. Hazan says the media value Spotify receives, coupled with the success of some of the campaigns so far, makes it easier to justify that investment internally. With another three years to run on the partnership, there is still plenty of time for the pair to be more adventurous with their activations. Ricart, however, is coyer about what comes next.
