News of the brews - Brewers gear up for the cup
Greene King
Greene King IPA is the official beer of England Rugby. Its World Cup campaign focuses on getting people off the sofa and into pubs. Promotional kits are available, which include branded drip mats, empty-belly posters, fixture-list posters, credit card fixtures lists and back-of-bar displays. Customers will get the chance to win prizes such as beanie hats, free pints and pairs of tickets to the Six Nations. A TV ad campaign marketing Greene King as "the pint with nothing to prove" is also due to hit screens.
SA Brain
The sponsor of the Welsh national team is issuing licensees kits - including banners, bunting and fixture lists - to help create a big-game atmosphere at their pub. There are also T-shirts available for promotions.
Fuller's
London brewer Fuller's has appointed a Rugby World Cup action team to supply pubs with ideas for the event. These include a special Jonny Wilkinson drop-kick competition in pub gardens and an in-pub haka competition. Throughout September, customers will be able to collect a limited edition London Pride rugby shirt by collecting 10 stamps - one with every Pride purchased.
Guinness
Guinness is investing more than £6m in its "Seconds from Greatness" advertising campaign, which will run from August through to October on TV, and in the press and digital media. It is also giving away 15,000 Guinness-branded visibility kits, which include bar runners, bunting and drip mats to help licensees promote rugby. The gold and silver kits give customers the chance to win Guinness-branded rugby gear - including socks, sweat bands and mini rugby balls - plus the opportunity to win a VIP rugby trip to Twickenham.
Tetley
Tetley has scooped quite literally the biggest marketing weapon - former England World Cup winning captain and giant Martin Johnson. The "Tetley don't do things by halves" campaign will see lucky competition winners jet out to France for a dinner with Johnno ahead of an England match. A consumer press campaign will focus on when Johnson went the extra mile for England and how Tetley does too, to satisfy its fans. A radio ad campaign is also in the pipeline.
Caledonian
The Caledonian Brewing Company has brewed a World Cup beer to celebrate the tournament. Try'd & Tested is a 4.2% abv rich, golden ale with perfectly-balanced bittersweet flavours and roasted malt, which adds a nutty character to a quenching beer.
Charles Wells
More than 600 outlets will receive a Wells Bombardier point-of-sale kit, which includes posters, bunting, a pump barker, tent cards, posters and a Wells Bombardier rugby shirt, which the licensee can use as a prize in a competition. Every person that buys a pint of Bombardier will receive a ticket to be entered into each pub's competition for the shirt.
