International recognition is more important than ever for leagues and clubs. And while the Bundesliga has already built a great reputation across the globe, not least due to its “Football As It’s Meant To Be“-theme, awareness can still be augmented, especially in Social Media. Thus, the Bundesliga partners with digital media outlet and agency 433. This special cooperation is bound to use 433’s extremely successful Social Media channels to promote topics and content from the Bundesliga in a digitised world, where users often turn their attentions to different sources. 433 will help give fans more insight and offer behind-the-scenes material, starting during pre-season already.
433 to augment digital Bundesliga attraction
Various news outlets, including SportBusiness Media, have reported on the German Football League’s (DFL’s) partnership with digital media agency 433. This very partnership was struck to strengthen the Bundesliga’s appeal throughout Social Media as 433 and the DFL will create and share content for the different platforms. Not only will highlights and easy-to-digest scenes from games or interviews be shared, but footage from the off-season is bound to be put on the channels as well. Therefore it’s a good time to announce the partnership just now that the season is ending.
The Bundesliga is already a league with numerous followers, the channel Bundesliga_en on Instagram counts 3,4 million followers, on Twitter it’s 2,4 million for the Bundesliga channel and another 839.00 for Bundesliga_en. But to partner with 433 is a shrewd move indeed. On Twitter they may only have a mere 261.000 followers, but on Instagram they do have 20,6 million. What’s more important is that their content yields incredible engagement rates. A study by Axios and Crowdtangle from February underlines that.
The full-service digital and Social Media agency is focused on football and already helps partners like Manchester City, The MLS and LAFC, the FA, FC Barcelona or Real Madrid, Arsenal, AC Milan and many more with digital engagement strategies. As one of the fastest-growing sports communities worldwide, the company from the Netherlands is now at the Bundesliga’s side to spread their storytelling even more and wider. The Bundesliga’s international chief executive, Robert Klein, said:
It’s important that, whilst the Bundesliga is the best attended football league in the world, we work with 433 to expand our storytelling around ‘Football As It’s Meant To Be’ so that we can bring even more fans closer to the game here in Germany. With the channels 433 use and style of content they share, together we will increase social engagement in the league, particularly with younger fans who are our future.
The style of content differs
It is the unique style of content, as quoted by Klein, that makes 433 so engaging. Over 37 million followers on the different channels, from Facebook to TikTok, are proof of that. By their own account, 433 grow by ten to twenty thousand followers a day and generate around four billion impressions in digital media per month. Their main hashtag, #433, like their name a reminiscence to probably the most used tactical formation these days, is easy to remember and used widely. Plus, 433 content is definitely different from the official channels of the Bundesliga, the MLS or what have you. It’s far more divergent, often more funny and engaging or just more creative and interactive.
Moreover, it’s always very much up to date, which in a time of digital content piece staccato is proving to be more important than ever before.
433 will help the Bundesliga bring more content to countries in Asia, South America or anywhere in the world, as they aim to make the league’s brand more attractive in the global competition. For the agency, the partnership with the DFL is great news, too, as it enables them to use even more content regarding players that are very popular internationally, like Reus and Sancho, Neuer and Coman or maybe even Timo Werner. Floris Weisz from 433, chief commercial officer, comments:
The opportunity to work with the world’s most entertaining league is really exciting for us. With the highest number of goals, fierce competition throughout the season, unique fan culture, electric stadium atmospheres and a host of world-class players and rising stars, this is golden content for our channels.
So, the Bundesliga will probably make up some ground in the Social Media universe, because the 433 content machine is certainly only going to keep its momentum.
Agencies like 433 will likely get even more partnership deals over the line in time, for every league or association behind it and every club has to mastermind and optimise their digital strategies – and the entities that already have a combined and engaging fellowship will profit. In the long term, the partners will be able to reap the rewards as well. The Bundesliga is on its way to fight La Liga and the Premier League to become the most sought-after football league in the world; and you can only get there via Social Media and a lot of content, 24/7, these days.