FC Barcelona: Celebrating Lunar New Year Across Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is one of the world's most valuable football audiences, and FC Barcelona is one of its most recognised names. Recognition is not the same as connection: to many fans in the region the club is simply another big European team, with little sense of its history, values or purpose in being more than a club.

The club wanted to deepen that relationship in four markets at once, without a matchday, a tour or a local office, and with content that felt native to each country rather than exported from Catalonia.

The insight was to meet fans inside a moment they already own. Lunar New Year is celebrated across Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, a season of family, luck and shared rituals that maps naturally onto a club that defines itself by belonging. Ruder Finn Era's Thailand team acted as the regional hub, coordinating in-market execution in each country.

The programme ran on two channels with two jobs. On TikTok, 26 micro-influencers created featured videos with the players, bringing the club into local feeds in local languages. On Instagram, 23 KOLs showcased a Lunar New Year AR filter and sticker GIF that let fans put themselves inside the celebration. Nano and micro creators were chosen over celebrities for credibility and engagement rather than raw reach.