Premiership Preview: getting behind the brands
Major drinks companies are once again getting behind the Premier League season, all with the aim of raising their brands' profiles among football fans heading to your bar.
Budweiser has renewed its partnership with the Premier League, extending its sponsorship of the league through to the 2010 season. WKD's marketing involves sponsorship of Nuts magazine's Football Awards, which invites readers to vote for winners in wacky categories such as Football's Dodgiest Barnet. WKD also advertises on Sky's Pub Channel, meaning its campaign appears in the ad breaks during the vast majority of games televised in pubs. Heineken is in the second season of a four-year deal tying it to Chelsea as the club's official beer.
Vicki Kipling, Anheuser-Busch UK marketing director, says of Bud's campaign: "The Premier League is the most viewed league in the world. For us, it's a real opportunity to connect with supporters in pubs. It gives us a key point of difference to have this credibility around football."
The agreement provides Budweiser with hospitality packages and match tickets for promotional purposes. It will be offering these, and a host of other Premier League-related merchandise, under its online promotion Bud Bucks, which allows consumers to exchange tokens for prizes.
WKD marketing director Karen Salter says: "Rather than straightforward club or shirt sponsorships or perimeter board advertising, we like to maintain our association with the beautiful game in unique, funny and 'WKD' ways. For us, it's all about adding value to consumers' football experience."Heineken will be poured in all restaurants and bars at Chelsea's ground Stamford Bridge until the end of the 2009/10 season.
Heineken UK customer marketing controller Chris Duffy says: "Our sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League, and our role as the official beer of Chelsea, provides an ideal opportunity for outlets to maximise the lucrative opportunities the season offers, by engaging drinkers with the game and firmly cementing the link between brilliant football and premium, imported Heineken."
