How Barca Bring Fans to La Liga Matches At Camp Nou - Behind Closed Doors

FC Barcelona is requested that the Spanish government allow fans into Camp Nou for the match against Atlético Madrid. Whether any fans are permitted to enter, social distancing rules to contain coronavirus mean that the stadium won't be full of cheering crowds.

 But a campaign launched by Barça is aiming to fill some of the void by placing jerseys purchased by supporters on seats around the pitch. What might appear to be a gimmick for selling shirts is actually an example of a growing wave of fan development across sports—one based on engagement rather than experience

The jersey-purchasing program, which the club calls “We All Play”, is designed to let fans “symbolically attend” the match. Each special edition jersey, with the fan's selected name printed on the back, will be stretched over a seat in the first tier stands. After the match, Barça will email fans a link for a souvenir photo in which they can locate their jerseys in the stadium and then download the image for sharing on social media. Meanwhile, the actual jersey will be removed from the seat and then sanitized, boxed, and shipped to fans' homes.

At quick glance, the campaign could be seen as a cover to move merchandize at 65 euros (about $75 US) apiece. Every bit might help recoup some of the coronavirus-induced revenue shortfall that, as of last month, was already nearing 140-million euros (about $160-million US). But the first sports club in the world to have reached $1-billion euros (about $1.15-billion US) in annual revenue doesn't achieve that level with sales tactics.

Barça prides itself on the motto “Mes que un club”—“More than a club.” It is the philosophy that shapes the strategy and decision-making running throughout the club. The jersey-purchasing program is grounded in that thinking.

Jordi Cardoner i Casaus, first vice president of FC Barcelona and the Barça Foundation, recently expressed to me that “due to the extraordinary situation we are experiencing, now more than ever, we need to show that we are ‘More than a Club,’ not only by giving this symbolic support to our players and fans, but also by helping with the fight against Covid-19. … 

Our fans play a key role in every game by supporting the players. That’s why we thought the 'We All Play' campaign would offer our fans the chance to be in Camp Nou, albeit only symbolically. We also felt it was a great opportunity for many of our followers around the world, who might never be able to travel to Barcelona, to get close to the team and for the first time actually feel like they are represented inside the stadium.”

Importantly, as part of the campaign, the club is endeavoring to make an impact in the community beyond Camp Nou. A portion of the proceeds from jersey sales will be directed to Barça Foundation projects that are providing assistance to combatting the coronavirus pandemic.

With zero or limited numbers of fans being permitted to attend at football matches for the time-being, teams are going to need to find ways of counteracting the quiet and the disconnect. All sorts of digital enhancements and virtual reality mechanisms are being lobbed up in attempts to do that. Indeed, the search is on for delivering fans “an experience” that brings features from the “before times” into the “new normal.”

Try as they may, the efforts built on creating “an experience” won't cut it any longer. That isn't because of any lockdowns and quarantines kicked-off by the spread of coronavirus. It is because the concept of creating “an experience,” which Joseph Pine and James Gilmore popularized two decades ago, has surpassed being a luxury and is now a necessity. “The experience” is no longer a differentiator—it is something that most customers have come to expect.

The companies that are now gaining a competitive advantage are doing so by focusing on engagement. This isn't an effect of the pandemic. What the onset of the pandemic did, though, was have the effect of accelerating the shift from “experience” to “engagement” that was already taking place. In sports, even when fans eventually fully return to the stands, engagement is going to be where the action is at.