Scrums of comfort

There aren't too many televised events these days that can attract an audience figure of 16 million. There's even fewer that can capture such a number on a Sunday morning in November.

Yet, this was the case in 2003, when Jonny Wilkinson's last-gasp drop-kick cemented victory over home nation Australia and sealed Rugby World Cup (RWC) glory for England.

Hard, then, to believe that this memorable sporting moment happened eight years ago. And some may find it equally surprising that the 2011 RWC, this time in New Zealand, is only four weeks away.

The six-week long competition kicks off what is likely to be another momentous season of sport for blokes to savour. Whether it's rugby, football, cricket, horse racing, or any other of the plethora of sports covered on TV, publicans need to start planning ways now to maximise sales around these events.

As you would expect, beer brands are getting behind the RWC with heavy marketing investment backed up with on-trade support.

Greene King IPA remains the official beer of England rugby and, despite the early kick-off times (which, in the main, vary from 6am to 9.30am), the Suffolk brewer believes the tournament provides an opportunity for publicans to extend opening hours and offer breakfasts and lunches.

"One of the main motivations for fans to watch the World Cup in the pub is that it gives them an experience they just wouldn't have at home," says Dom South, marketing director at Greene King Brewing & Brands.

"Pubs need to capitalise on this, and we have IPA promotional kits to help them."

Another tactic to increase sales is to replay the matches in full, or host highlights sessions during the afternoon or evening, says South.

Darryl Hinksman, head of on-trade customer marketing at Heineken UK, agrees pubs should be replaying the games later in the day and, importantly, they need to make a song and dance about it.

"Whether it's live or a replayed game, the key thing is to advertise availability and let people know when it's on," says Hinksman. "Make sure you have a World Cup theme and run food with it," he adds.

Brand support​

Heineken is a title sponsor of the World Cup, and closer to home, it will be continuing its association with Europe's premier club rugby tournament — the Heineken Cup.

According to Hinksman, this coming season's competition, which starts in November, will be "bigger and better" than ever, simply because the final will be staged at Twickenham.

"It's really good for us that the final is at Twickenham. Before the final itself, we always make a big effort with pubs in the local vicinity," he says.

"We do van sales of bottled Heineken for pubs that don't stock it on draught, as well as a great deal of PoS and outdoor advertising."

But publicans don't have to be based near Twickenham, or wait until the final, to capitalise on the Heineken Cup.

"I live near Sale Sharks in Manchester, and when they participate in the competition there is a lot of noise locally," claims Hinksman.

"The whole thing is televised on Sky and because a lot of people still don't have it, nearby pubs should be championing these teams and whipping up local support."

Also in rugby, Brains recently became the official ale of the Welsh team, to complement its ongoing shirt sponsorship. And to coincide with the World Cup, the Welsh brewer is to launch Legends Ale, a golden-coloured ale created in partnership with legends of the game. Available to all Brains licensees, 5p from every pint is donated to Wooden Spoon, a rugby charity supporting mentally and physically-disadvantaged children.

"Don't forget the Six Nations rugby as well, which starts next February," says Brains' sales and marketing director Richard Davies.

"During the tournament we'll be encouraging outlets to think about a 'weekend of rugby' rather than a single match. We're producing posters advertising all the fixtures as a way of keeping customers in pubs."

Brains isn't the only brand with a keen interest in the Six Nations.

Guinness announced a partnership agreement to become the competition's official beer partner at the start of the year. It also has partnership deals with the English, Scottish and Welsh rugby-union sides, and a tie-up with Premiership Rugby.

Carlsberg-owned Tetley's, meanwhile, has long-established links with the game and will be producing 'Match a Minute' posters for RWC.

The lager picture​

Whereas ale brands dominate in rugby, football is all about lager. Now Budweiser has taken on sponsorship of the FA Cup, four lager brands dominate the scene, the other three being Carling, sponsor of the League Cup; Heineken, Champions League sponsor; and Carlsberg, partner of the FA and official beer of the England team.

Hinksman says Heineken will be on "TV all the time" during the weeks when Champions League games, which are on both ITV and Sky, are played. Brand presence in pubs, however, is a little less conspicuous.

"While straightforward fixture lists work well, having banners strewn across bars isn't particularly effective," explains Hinksman.

"It's much more about getting draught Heineken behind the bar, bottled Heineken in the fridge, and telling people that football is going to be on."

Come the Champions League final, however, and Heineken, quite literally, paints the town green.

"For the Wembley final in May, we blitzed 300 outlets in and around the area as part of our Paint London Green initiative," says Hinksman.

"We had outdoor areas with parasols and windbreaks, and significantly invested in PoS. The initial sales figures were fantastic."

The Champions League final will return to Wembley in May 2013. The domestic cup finals, however, will, of course, be with us again next spring.

Molson Coors hasn't yet announced details of forthcoming activity for the Carling Cup, but last year it offered free advertising space to local pubs on-site at the grounds of those clubs playing in the competition.

And in June it ran a direct mail campaign that targeted two million households, offering each one a free pint.

Meanwhile, Budweiser says the FA Cup gives it the perfect opportunity to connect with football fans around the world.

Said to be a first for the competition, the brand is giving fans the opportunity to vote on the man-of-the-match after each game.

"This is an approach we also took for the first time at the 2010 World Cup, with thousands of fans around the world weighing in with their choices," claims Budweiser's European marketing director Iain Newell.

"It's a way of bringing fans closer to the game they love."

For last year's World Cup, Budweiser distributed 16,000 PoS kits to pubs, including branded tournament wallcharts, posters and tent cards.

Newell says the focus was on driving sales of bottles and a range of branded items, such as chillers and ice bins, were also made available to help retailers improve speed of service.

"Beer-branded items improve the speed of serve," he suggests. "Having a cash-only bar on big matchdays can help as well."

While bottles will still clearly be popular with licensees, Newell says there will be a bigger focus on draught at key sports-viewing occasions this time around.

"Our recent relaunch of draught with a lower 4.3% ABV means there will be wider formats to suit a variety of occasions," he adds.

Enjoying a pint while watching a match at the pub is one of life's pleasures, claims Carlsberg UK director of customer marketing David Scott.

Carlsberg has recently become Sky Sports' first-ever channel partner. In a one-year, £1.5m partnership deal, Carlsberg ads appear every hour on all Sky Sports channels.

In pubs, customers will see tailored messages featuring the recently-launched That Calls for a Carlsberg tagline, reinforced by the message that 'beer tastes better when you've earned it'.

In addition, the lager has had a long-established relationship with the England football team, and has been a sponsor of the European Football Championship for