How Soccer Teams Use TikTok for New Kit Launches

TikTok is one of the most popular social networks and video-sharing platforms. With more than 1 billion monthly active users, it’s perfect for brands to receive visibility and awareness and for sports organizations to increase their engagement with fans.

Data collected from Blinkfire for May 2022 shows if you want your followers to interact with your posts, TikTok should be your go-to platform. Averaging 57.6K engagements per post, TikTok led the engagement per post monthly ranking and was second in video views per post with 489K, surpassed only by Douyin (China’s TikTok parent company).

Videos on TikTok are engaging, fun, and creative. The platform’s content is perfect for teams to show the world how great their new kit looks while also building anticipation — making fans excited to wear the new kit and root for their team.

1. Real Madrid’s “perfect, perfect, perfect” kit moment

If you’re a big TikTok scroller, most likely you’ve not been able to escape “This is perfect. Perfect, perfect, perfect.” sound on TikTok. Real Madrid’s new kit launch with adidas had the camera pan over the jersey with the “perfect” sound in the backdrop.

Why we love this: Well, we think it’s perfect, but also it’s a smart way to take an exciting moment for fans with a fun, humorous spin.

2. England Women’s Soccer kit unboxing

You’ve probably seen a YouTube video (or 10) of someone unboxing something — where they unpack products and give a review or show excitement. The items that get unboxed can be anything, from clothing and beauty products to toys and high tech consumer products.

Using the unboxing trend, the Lionesses’ gathered their players for a 90-second video where they “unboxed” the federation’s new kit, gave their reactions, and talked about what they liked.

Why we love this: As more teams use social media to announce kit launches, creativity becomes key. By using the popular unboxing trend, England Women’s Soccer showed off their kits in a way that was authentic for the players and fun for the fans to watch.

3. Athletic Club’s play on #OneKiss

After Liverpool beat Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley, Liverpool fan and popular TikTok follow (with 2.2 million followers) Birovr posted a video mash up to the backdrop of Dua Lipa’s “One Kiss”. Pro Tip: Scroll ahead to 14 seconds to watch the part that has blown up on social media.

Playing on the viral moment, Athletic Club posted a TikTok of Óscar de Marcos wearing the team’s new 2022-2023 season jerseys with the text “This year I’m not going to fall in love with the new shirt.” The video then transitioned to the text “Also, you” while One Kiss plays and Birovr’s Liverpool moment shines.

Why we love this: We think it’s a super clever way to reuse content, even if it’s from a fan of another team.

4. FC Barcelona and popular TikTok songs

In March, FC Barcelona and Spotify announced a long-term partnership, where the music streaming platform became the soccer club’s main sponsor and official audio streaming partner. Starting in the 2022-2023 season, Spotify will replace Rakuten (for the men) and Stanley Decker (for the women), as front of jersey sponsor.

So, how does one of the most popular soccer team’s in the world and the world’s largest streaming platform show off their new kits? With music of course. FC Barcelona showcased their new kit and new sponsor using players and coaches. FC Barcelona Manager Xavi Hernandez had his “first look” of the new kit with Justin Bieber’s “I Used To Believe” playing, while Ansu Fati modeled the new jersey to the song “I Love You” by Slo Be.

Why we love this: FC Barcelona and Spotify absolutely nailed this. What better way to show off a new kit with your official audio streaming partner than to play music that can be found on none other than Spotify!

5. Real Zaragoza & TikTok — on-the-floor transition

On-the-floor transitions are another trend we see often on TikTok. Think: someone is in their pajamas, steps on camera and voila, ball-gown ready.

Real Zaragoza did their own rendition of TikTok’s on-the-floor transition to unveil their new kit. Also, mad bonus points for the song they picked “Allstar” by Smash Mouth.

Why we love this: TikTok trends are not just for certain pieces of content. They can be used for pretty much anything. Soccer jerseys have become fashion, so what better way to highlight fashion than with the on-the-floor transition.

6. Liverpool’s remix of “Stranger Things” theme song

It seems Netflix sci-fi thriller and fan favorite “Stranger Things” is the show of the moment, used by sports social media teams. Don’t believe us? Check out the Warriors’ post after winning the NBA Finals last week.

Liverpool gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at their window display before their recent kit launch. The setup of the display was accompanied by the “Stranger Things” theme song. One might have thought they were in Hawkins, Indiana.

Why we love this: When sports and pop culture collide, good things happen. Also, it’s a great way to attract a new, younger fan base.

7. AS Roma’s new kit to new player TikTok transition

AS Roma’s new 2022-2023 kit launch happened last week with front of jersey partner DigitalBits. At the same time the Serie A team announced the signing of Nemanja Matic. The AS Roma team used TikTok’s clothes transition trend to bring their new jersey to their newest player.

Why we love this: New player announcement are always a big event, but tying in two events — a new kit launch + new player makes this even better for fans to watch.

Interested in learning how Blinkfire can track your team’s TikTok account (and other social media networks), while also unlocking other insights and trends to help you and your team launch great campaigns? Try Blinkfire today.