Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world’s best-known athletes and a top name in social media, continues to extend his global brand with today’s launch of an official mobile app for fans.
The free app, which was created using the Mobile Roadie platform, delivers official news, social media feeds and trends, photos, videos, games and a fan wall that encourages interaction. Fans earn points by downloading and engaging with the app, enough of which qualifies them to compete for autographed Ronaldo merchandise.
Besides his considerable success on the pitch, Ronaldo is arguably the top athlete in the world when it comes to digital engagement. He is the single most popular athlete on Facebook, with over 40.4 million followers. As an aside, the next two most popular athletes on Facebook are also soccer players: Leo Messi, with about 32 million followers, and David Beckham at a distant third with nearly 16.4 million followers.
Additionally, Ronaldo is the second-most popular athlete on Twitter with over 7 million followers. Only fellow soccer player Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, better known to his fans as Kaká, has more, with 8.6 million. Shaquille O’Neal, who used Twitter to announce his retirement from the NBA in June 2011, comes in third with about 5 million followers.
Digital Artists Entertainment Inc. and PolarisSports worked with Mobile Roadie on the new app, which is available for Android and Apple’s iOS. Among the thousands of people and brands that use the self-service mobile app engagement platform are Katy Perry, Madonna, Taylor Swift, The Beatles, Adele, Harvard Law School, Wynn Las Vegas, Dallas Mavericks, San Diego Zoo and London’s Tech City. Mobile Roadie is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in London.
Ronaldo, who plays for Real Madrid and is the captain of the Portuguese national team, said: “It’s been great to see the love and support that I’m getting from my fans all over the world, so this is a great way to be even closer to them.”
Michael Schneider, CEO of Mobile Roadie: “We’re proud to partner with Cristiano Ronaldo to offer his millions of fans a comprehensive and highly interactive mobile experience. Mobile Roadie has consistently been the go-to choice for some of the world’s most exciting artists, teams, brands and we’re proud to add Cristiano Ronaldo to that list.”
Scott Rupp, CEO of Digital Artists: “We are thrilled to bring the no. 1 athlete in the world on Facebook onto his own mobile platform, where he can provide fans with exclusive content and direct engagement. Digital Artists believes sports and entertainment icons should be empowered to maximize and monetize the mobile Internet under their own brands.”
Related links:
http://www.cristianoronaldo.com
http://www.polarissports.com.pt
