In the hyper connected global sport of football, Arsenal’s digital marketing has become a great blueprint to follow in the building of a global fanbase through the use of social media. Arsenal football club is one of the biggest clubs in the world having 114.1 million followers across all platforms. This places them as the 10th biggest following of any football club in the world1. So even though it is not as successful as some of the other clubs ahead of it, it still has a huge following similar to more successful clubs.
The use of campaigns in Digital Marketing:
Arsenal’s digital marketing team understands that football and sports in general is emotional and full of passion. Using this information, narratives around players, traditions and club values are used to help the brand image and unite all fans and not just local match-going fans. Marketing campaigns such as No More Red are a great example of how Arsenal uses narratives. The campaign is about helping young people stay away from knife crime and violence in general2. These sorts of campaigns show Arsenal’s commitment and care for its fans and community, showing they matter, including all fans no matter from where.
Building a connection:
Another way narratives are built is through building a connection between the club and fanbase, more specifically building a connection with the players. Digital marketing is used across platforms to help the fans connect with the players. With hit series such as guess the gooner where players try to guess who the Arsenal fan is from 3 candidates3. This is an amazing way of having players connect with fans in person. Each side learning about the other, with players learning what fans are like and fans learning what players are like. This makes the players and the club more human and likeable. Another form of videos it does to help boost its narratives is inside training. This is a behind the scenes look at the players when they are working and preparing for the matches. This gives fans a look at how the players interact, again making them feel more human. It also gives a look at how they work and on what they work. This helps build the narrative around the club and its players.
These are some of the ways Arsenal uses digital marketing to help grow its global fanbase across the world. As demonstrated, building a connection and creating narratives can help create a global brand and fanbase.
- Kamli. (2025, June 17). Most Followed Football Clubs on Social Media (2025 Ranking). https://www.dailyfutbol.com/rankings/most-followed-football-clubs/ ↩︎
- No More Red: Celebrating community heroes. (2025, November 23). No More Red: Celebrating Community Heroes. https://www.arsenal.com/news/no-more-red-celebrating-community-heroes ↩︎
- GUESS THE GOONER – YouTube. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2025, from https://www.youtube.com/ ↩︎