Content is king for Manchester City FC

MANCHESTER City FC have won England’s Premier League title this season and in the process have set a record for the longest-ever winning streak at 18 games.

In the clubs pursuit to become one of the biggest global sports brands, Manchester City shoot a lot of video content during training and around the clubhouse to build relationships with their fans and bring them inside as much as possible.

Manchester City Chief Marketing Officer Nuria Tarre outlines the brand and content strategy driving it beyond the pitch.

“We want fans to get a real sense of the club, the players, and what goes on in training and elsewhere,” she says. “It’s always about trying to find more ways to bring fans closer to the club.”

“It’s fundamental to our business and reflects how brands want to engage with sports brands and football specifically,” says Tarre. “Some partners are looking for brand exposure, signage around the stadium that gets seen during the game on TV, but more and more are trying to engage with the audience in a different way, through stories. In some cases the brands bring ideas. In others, we come up with the ideas, but we always try to do it in such a way that satisfies the brand objectives while also making something great and engaging for our audience.”

Tarre says the brand has invested heavily in its content team and has seen success and growth so far due to four main factors:

1. Making sure the production quality–from the stories and interviews, to the graphics and presentation–meets fans’ standards.
2. Working with influencers, not simply using players and celebrities, but also soccer content producers and Youtubers with audiences of their own.
3. Integrating the women’s team into the fold, not as a completely separate entity, but as much a part of Manchester City as the men’s team, even merging the two into the same Facebook page.
4. Taking a localised approach to its global audience. Its web content is translated into 13 languages, and the club has producers and editors creating content for each language and market.