Fcb Case Study
Case Study ‘FC Barcelona: More than just a club’
Case Study ‘FC Barcelona: More than just a club’
On 26th August 2009, Lander Unzueta, FC Barcelona’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), was sitting in his office with his early morning cup of coffee in front of all the day’s newspapers. The day before, Jorge Valdano, General Manager of FC Barcelona’s archrival, Real Madrid, had declared to the German news agency DPA (Deutsche Presse Agentur): “Each [club] aims to occupy a place in the world from its own particular vision. Barcelona does it by looking from Catalonia inwards, while Real Madrid does it from Spain outwards...” Valdano’s words were on the front page of every Spanish sports newspaper and were also highlighted in the sports sections of all the major general newspapers in Spain. The international media were also echoing Valdano’s opinions. Unzueta knew for sure that this was going to be a hectic day, with journalists calling to get the expected reactions from FC Barcelona representatives. He also knew that it would not be long before different stakeholders jumped into the fray, expressing their views on the issue. But Unzueta also thought it was probably a good excuse to revise FC Barcelona’s global brand strategy.
This case was written for ESADE Business School by Professors Josep Franch and Jordi Montaña and MSc student Andreu Turró, with assistance from MSc student Guillermo Muñoz. The authors would like to thank Lander Unzueta and Patricia Plasencia, FC Barcelona’s Chief Marketing Officer and Marketing Manager respectively, for the information and assistance provided. The authors developed this case for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of the situation. The case, instructor’s manual, and synopsis were anonymously peer-reviewed and accepted by the North American Case Research Association (NACRA) for its annual meeting in October 2010,
Case Study ‘FC Barcelona: More than just a club’
On 26th August 2009, Lander Unzueta, FC Barcelona’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), was sitting in his office with his early morning cup of coffee in front of all the day’s newspapers. The day before, Jorge Valdano, General Manager of FC Barcelona’s archrival, Real Madrid, had declared to the German news agency DPA (Deutsche Presse Agentur): “Each [club] aims to occupy a place in the world from its own particular vision. Barcelona does it by looking from Catalonia inwards, while Real Madrid does it from Spain outwards...” Valdano’s words were on the front page of every Spanish sports newspaper and were also highlighted in the sports sections of all the major general newspapers in Spain. The international media were also echoing Valdano’s opinions. Unzueta knew for sure that this was going to be a hectic day, with journalists calling to get the expected reactions from FC Barcelona representatives. He also knew that it would not be long before different stakeholders jumped into the fray, expressing their views on the issue. But Unzueta also thought it was probably a good excuse to revise FC Barcelona’s global brand strategy.
This case was written for ESADE Business School by Professors Josep Franch and Jordi Montaña and MSc student Andreu Turró, with assistance from MSc student Guillermo Muñoz. The authors would like to thank Lander Unzueta and Patricia Plasencia, FC Barcelona’s Chief Marketing Officer and Marketing Manager respectively, for the information and assistance provided. The authors developed this case for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of the situation. The case, instructor’s manual, and synopsis were anonymously peer-reviewed and accepted by the North American Case Research Association (NACRA) for its annual meeting in October 2010,