This free instant messaging platform is used by more an 600 million people around the world The Cub is opening two channels, in English and Chinese, to bring it and its fans even closer
Mid-Autumn Festival
Barça’s launch on WeChat coincides with the celebration of Zhong Qiu, the Chinese Festival of Autumn, an ancient festival at which the moon and sweets are seen as symbols of family unity.
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FC Barcelona, a worldwide leader in the area of New Technologies, is launching a new way of communicating with its fans via two new channels, in English and Chinese, on WeChat, one of the leading instant message platforms, with a notable presence in the Asian market. Club members and supporters can now follow all the latest updates about the Club as they happen, as well as check out the newest photos and videos
WeChat began in China in 2011 and soon enjoyed a global presence with more than 600 million users and 438 million active users.
Principal features
WeChat is a free application for smartphones and tablets, as well as for principal operating systems on the web, which has become an important multiplatform tool and as well as instant messaging it offers voice and video calls and the opportunity to connect with other users via a geo-localisation service
To celebrate the launch, all Barça fans can obtain free player stickers from the app shop in order to enrich their conversations on WeChat. According to the Club’s Director of Media and Communication, Dídac Lee, who is also in charge of New Technologies: “this is a great moment because Barça are joining with We Chat, which is a leader not just in China, but in Asia and the world a s a whole. Thanks to Tencent, we can share the experience and the sentiment of being a Barça fan with any supporter across the globe”.
FC Barcelona are joining other sporting associations such as the NBA and the Premier League, as well as figures such as Leo Messi and LeBron James. in joining forces with We Chat.
Barça’s strength in China
Barça’s new channels on WeChat will allow the Club to increase contact with the millions of fans it has in China, adding to the website in Chinese www.fcbarcelona.cn, and the official accounts on the social networks Tencent Weibo and Sina Weib. The Club’s website in Chinese had nearly 20 million users last season and there are currently 5.5 million users of its Chinese social network sites.
With their alliance with Tencent fully consolidated, the Club recently signed a deal with its first Chinese sponsor - Suning – with the electrical goods company becoming the Club’s regional Sponsor for the next two years, with a further option of another year.