Real Madrid Take Lead Globally in Engaging New Fans With Snapchat Deal

Spanish LaLiga giants Real Madrid have teamed up with mobile storytelling application Snapchat.

The club has agreed a deal to become Snapchat’s first individual sports team with an “Official Story.”

Real Madrid's first Official Live Story will take place on Saturday when they host rivals Barcelona in what is considered the biggest match in club football and known as 'El Clasico'.

The agreement enables users of the application to create content with filters and official logos of the club. Ahead of the Clásico, Real Madrid are also opening their own official account on the app.

Rafael de los Santos, Global Head of Digital for Real Madrid said: “We keep an eye on every single social media network and have seen how Snapchat has been growing and growing in past few months . . . especially with millennials.

“We are very keen on taking advantage of every single channel out there to communicate with our fans and capture the next generation of fans.”

Raman Sidhu, VP of Business Development at Beemray, a company that helps major brands and advertisers reach consumers across Europe, says it is great to see Real Madrid taking the step among rights holders to engage with new fans.  

"Major sports rights holders are now embracing innovative technologies, and content mediums to connect with sports fans on mobile platforms," he said.

"In the case of Snapchat, it’s great to see Real Madrid taking the lead globally, to engage new audiences and attract new fans.

"There has been uncertainty, or a lack of haste amongst rights holders, to move onto platforms such as Snapchat and Periscope. In many cases due to the implications on sponsor and broadcast agreements. Or possibly, being somewhat cautious of not owning the fan data, and being at the whim of the platform as it changes it’s policy, as everyone learnt from the likes of Facebook.

"Although fans cannot be directly monetised within these platforms, the likes of Snapchat seek to drive new and existing fans to channels which do have commercial benefit," he added.

"The interesting part is what strategies rights holders are putting into place to better understand and individually talk to their global fans once on their owned platforms. As with everything, those which make the right moves early, will be the winners in years to come. The same goes on the pitch."