Title	#TRUECHAMPIONS BY RAKUTEN AND FC BARCELONA
Brand	RAKUTEN, INC.
Product/Service	RAKUTEN
Category	E02. Sponsorship & Brand Partnership
Entrant	RAKUTEN, INC. Tokyo, JAPAN
Idea Creation	RAKUTEN, INC. Tokyo, JAPAN
Idea Creation 2	FC BARCELONA, SPAIN
Idea Creation 3	OCTAGON UK London, UNITED KINGDOM
PR	OCTAGON UK London, UNITED KINGDOM
Production	RAKUTEN, INC. Tokyo, JAPAN
Production 2	FC BARCELONA, SPAIN
Production 3	OCTAGON UK London, UNITED KINGDOM

Name	Company	Position
William Yeow	Rakuten, Inc.	Visual Designer

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation ?

Rakuten became the partner of FC Barcelona last season. We aim to raise brand awareness and build emotional relationship with fans. #TrueChampions demonstrated the innovative nature of our partnership in 3 ways: 1) Going beyond sports: Usage of a familiar holiday to bring fans, Rakuten and FC Barcelona together in a new way 2) Going beyond corporate branding: Addressing fans on a personal level to create a relatable emotional connection with the brand 3) Going beyond online and national borders: Not only reaching millions of people online, but fostered fan experiences in real-life prompting emotional connections to fans worldwide.

Background

Rakuten is a global leader in internet services that empowers individuals, communities, businesses and society, but is less-known in Europe. By partnering with FC Barcelona, we aim to raise brand awareness. To assert Rakuten as an empowering and relatable brand in a buzzworthy way, we looked to connect with fans on an emotional level. Tying in the campaign to Mother’s Day increased the relevance for fans to easily get involved by simply showing gratitude to their own mothers. #TrueChampions campaign celebrated mothers everywhere by explicitly putting names of players’ mothers on the jerseys and sharing it online as a viral content. The objective was to bring our corporate slogan, “Believe in the future” to life by empowering mothers, the True Champions who are raising the next generation.

Describe the creative idea

We aimed to introduce Rakuten to fans and the wider public as a company that empowers communities not just through our services, but also through our partnerships. Together with FC Barcelona, we wanted to give fans a chance to reflect on their relationship with their families by strengthening the emotional connection between fans, FC Barcelona and Rakuten. At the game closest to Mother’s Day, the Barça players wore the special jerseys with their mothers’ name on the back, and the True Champions slogan on the front to pay tribute to all mothers worldwide. The activation rolled out as a pre-marketing campaign on Rakuten and FC Barcelona’s social media channels. Teasers revealed a mysterious roster for the next game, only with the hint “paying tribute to mothers”, leaving fans to guess the meaning. After the game, Rakuten circulated a recap video on social media, calling out gratitude to all #TrueChampions everywhere.

Describe the strategy

To strengthen the emotional connection with the fans and building Rakuten’s image as an empowering brand, we leveraged Mother’s Day to portray our community-driven philosophy and values. We opted for a day between the Spanish and the global Mother’s Days to address a larger fan base. The timing also masked Barça claiming a double victory in La Liga and Copa del Rey, hence the campaign name #TrueChampions. We implemented a surprise factor, starting with the mysterious roster for the next game on social media. We then posted a video showing the real jerseys with the mystery names to create some more buzz. All was revealed on game day when the players marched onto the pitch wearing the mystery jerseys. At the Rakuten Innovation Booth, we encouraged fans to write messages to their mothers and take photos of the moment, providing them with a physical platform to connect with their families.

Describe the execution

The pre-marketing started on May 5, day before Mother’s Day in Spain with the caption “tribute to all mothers”. The mystery roster circulated on all Rakuten and FC Barcelona’s social media channels, reaching millions of fans worldwide before the upcoming game of the newly crowned double champions. The campaign reached its climax on game day, where the meaning behind the mystery names were revealed. The players were dressed in the special jerseys with their mothers’ names and the slogan TrueChampions, paying tribute to all mothers attending the game. Rakuten captured this iconic scene in a recap video which was shared on social media leading up to Mother’s Day on May 13, expanding the tribute to mothers worldwide. Rakuten also encouraged fans to express their gratitude to their mothers, both offline at the Rakuten Booth at Camp Nou, and online via social media with the campaign hashtag #TrueChampions.

List the results

Online: The pre-marketing social media posts and recap video generated more than 1.5 million views on both Rakuten and FC Barcelona’s channels. This helped to increase Rakuten’s brand awareness and values among fans, as well as portraying Rakuten as a caring and relatable brand. On-site: Hundreds of fans who stopped by the Rakuten Booth and wrote messages to their mothers were presented with a complimentary Rakuten branded printed selfie that fans could give to their mothers. This campaign expanded from an online to an interactive offline activation, sparking connection among fans and their families worldwide. Rakuten and FC Barcelona’s innovative joint campaign played cleverly on the fans’ expectations, ultimately revealing a good cause that truly reflected Rakuten’s corporate slogan, going beyond our business interests. The campaign helped us position Rakuten as a passionate organization who empowers communities across the world.