A pandemic-linked data initiative from Siemens and FC Bayern called #FCBayernPulse which tracked fan heartbeats during games to showcase fan/team real-time game connections culminated in a season-ending #HeartbeatFinal campaign which tracked fan heartbeats during the final game and turned them into funds for the #WeKickCorona programme supporting local charities combatting the pandemic.
Territory: Germany
Agency: The Economist Group / Signal Noise
Objectives
On 1 July 2020 FC Bayern and Siemens extended their ‘performance partnership’ for a further three years: the tie-up began in 2017 and the new deal saw it continue to the end of the 2022/23 season.
For Siemens, the strategy behind the partnership is based around leveraging synergies between ‘two strong world-renowned brands united by an unending passion for performance and quality’ by jointly developing, implementing and showcasing ‘transformational, future-oriented technology-led solutions – including hardware, software, automated, digital and physical infrastructure – with a focus on sustainability’.
To bring this partnership to life in the 2020/21 season, Siemens and FC Bayern Munich ran a data-led, consumer-facing initiative which connected fans and the team during the pandemic – when supporters were unable to be as physically close to the club as normal – which showcased Siemens’ marketing-leading hardware and software digital expertise and which also set out to raise funds for charities combatting Covid.
Activation
The flagship consumer-facing 2020/21 season activation bringing to life FC Bayern Munich performance partner Siemens’ club digital transformation programme was #FCBayernPulse: a data project which calculated match intensity based on heart rate match data which was turned into support for local social services.
The project saw the Munich-headquartered multinational conglomerate work with the club on a project which incentivised Bayern fans to measure their heart rates via #FCBayernPulse during matches and upload the data to a bespoke, interactive website where the supporter statistics were combined with additional game-related information – such as player speed and goal action – to create multimedia match excitement visualisations.
Displayed on the project’s website, these visualisations showcased the connection between fans and players during a match through the excitement, passion and rhythm of the game.
The project saw the sponsor and club work alongside The Economist Group’s data design firm Signal Noise and ran through the final seven homes of the 2020/21 Bundesliga season.
It culminated in #HeartBeatFinal: which asked even more fans to measure their heart rates during the last FC Bayern match. The #HeartBeatFinal game, played between FC Bayern Munich and FC Augsburg on 22 May 2021 saw Siemens will donate €1cent per measured heartbeat to the joint #WeKickCorona initiative (a donation-driven cause campaign hubbed at https://www.wekickcorona.com/ which was initially founded by Bayern players Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka to help regional social and charitable institutions in financial difficulty due to the pandemic).
Participation was driven through an incentivised, digitally-led campaign which offered supporters a chance to win 50 Fitbit activity trackers which can measure heart rates (among other things) which could be used to take part in the initiative during the Bavarian derby.
To win a Fitbit, fans were asked to socially share a ‘favourite FC Bayern heartbeat moment’ (eg the first visit to the Allianz Arena, a memorable goal by a favourite player etc) and include the campaign hashtags on the post.
The content pieces ran across the sponsor and club online platforms, carried the campaign hashtags #FCBayernPulse, #WeKickCorona and #HeartBeatFinal and sought to drive viewers online to bespoke websites (https://thepulse.dc.siemens.com/ and http://fc.bayern/HeartBeatFinal) to find out more about the initiative and to register to take part.
Ready for some highlights of our #HeartBeatFinal?
Today we look back at the season finale of the #FCBayernPulse. Together with Robert, Sophia and many fellow fans of our partner @FCBayernEN, we donated 18,800 € for @WeKickCorona! pic.twitter.com/34F7dSdW0N
— Siemens (@Siemens) June 9, 2021
Stay tuned for some exciting news from our partner @Siemens!
Follow #FCBayernPulse ❤ pic.twitter.com/4SIsdwWumI
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) November 18, 2020
Daten ❌ Emotionen
Stay tuned! #FCBayernPulse ❤️ pic.twitter.com/XthUiOqSDV
— FC Bayern München (@FCBayern) November 18, 2020
Case Video
“As FC Bayern’s official performance partner, we support the club in providing extraordinary fan experiences in all disciplines, inspiring people beyond the game itself and contributing to society. Our solutions work mainly quietly and behind the scenes, ensuring safety in the stadium, a perfect pitch, and a safe journey for fans to and from the stadium, whether they travel by subway, bus, or car,” explained Siemens AG CEO Roland Busch. “With #FCBayernPulse, we’re demonstrating the possibilities of innovative data technologies. We’re proud that thanks to this collaboration with #WeKickCorona, our work on this project is now also helping social services that have come under pressure during the pandemic.”
“I hope that many of our fans will participate in #HeartBeatFinal, because it is time well spent for two causes at once: Every heart rate measured helps to further develop our virtual stadium experience. And with one cent per heartbeat, a lot of money can be raised for #WeKickCorona,” added FC Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
“This is our contribution to helping our society survive this crisis, making sure it will be just as diverse and strong afterwards,” commented Kimmich. While teammate Goretzka added: “We are pleased that Siemens, our club, and our fans are joining us in support of the #HeartBeatFinal. It’s important to assist the many helpers working for social services during this difficult time.”
Outcome
The activation spanned the last seven home matches of the 2020/21 season (which saw 32 goals and 659 minutes of football) and saw 261 fans record 2,575,347 heart beats.
While the campaign’s reach was in excess of 10m and its lead content pieces generated more than 1m views on Facebook alone.
In total #WeKickCorona generated more than €5m from over 4,000 donors through the 2020/21 season.
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