Manchester City football club has sought the assistance of social media influencers to help boost ticket sales for its UEFA Champions League games against three low-profile opponents.
The Premier League champions have run an ad on marketing platform for influencers Tribe, requesting users with more than 5,000 followers to submit a post to “get across the great atmosphere of the Etihad”.
The club claims that due to being drawn against Dynamo Zagreb, Shakhtar Donetsk and Atalanta, its “core fans are less likely to attend.”
City is looking for male students, young professionals and those new to Manchester (aged 18 to 55) to post content that can “tell an authentic and genuine story of what it’s like to be at a game”.
Influencers need to submit an image that showcases “the electrifying atmosphere that only Champions League live football matches can deliver”. The content should be “fan-centric” and have “an element of FOMO”. The club is asking influencers to set a fee for their work.
Influencers: @ManCity needs you. Brief: tell your followers how 'electric' the Etihad Champions League atmosphere is. Need to create FOMO for games against 'relatively unknown teams'. Full details here: https://t.co/xRLbvwA3qm. #Influencer #ManCity #CityAtalanta #ChampionsLeague pic.twitter.com/rwjAksqXez
— Arvind Hickman (@ArvindHickman) October 22, 2019
The unusual move by the club to draw interest in one of the most prestigious football competitions in the world has drawn attention to its struggle to fill its 55,097-capacity Etihad Stadium. Last season, it was widely reported that the club was averaging nearly 10,000 empty seats per game, with many across social media labelling it the ‘Emptihad.’ City has also taken out huge billboard ads in Manchester city centre to promote tickets for its European games.
During this year’s Champions League matches, Premier League clubs such as Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham have sold out of tickets for their home fixtures minutes after sale periods open.
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