Budweiser, the US beer brand, is marking its fourth year as the official sponsor of the England Woman’s football team with a celebratory off-trade campaign.
The campaign – set to be Budweiser’s largest ever in the UK, surpassing even the promotion for FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar last year – is aiming to generate a buzz among consumers, from raising awareness to influencing their purchasing decisions.
Both the official sponsor of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the England Football team, the AB InBev-owned brand’s campaign will be showcased across out-of-home (OOH) ads, video on home (VOD) and social media.
As part of the campaign, the beer brand will aim to bring consumers closer to the Lionesses. Budweiser will feature the England players in OOH and front-of-store displays and work with iconic footballers including Beth Mead and Karen Carney.
Alongside the campaign, Budweiser has launched several consumer competitions and limited-edition merchandise, which will be available in major grocers such as Asda, Co-op and Tesco.
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In addition, the beer company will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sales of Tesco’s 15x300ml pack to the FA Football Delivery funds, supporting adult women’s football.
Budweiser’s promotional push follows the success of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, which saw an 18% increase in sales in the beer category on average for the year – equating to an additional 1.4 million shoppers.
The beer brand hopes that the promotional activities will tap into the excitement surrounding the tournament to help boost sales throughout the competition, similar to its success in Russia.
“With not long to go until this first match of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 tournament, excitement is already high,” said Budweiser Brewing Group off-trade sales director Mark Wingfield-Digby.
“At Budweiser, we’re big believers in the power of football to bring people together which is why we’re excited to launch our new limited-edition packs which will help shoppers get behind the Lionesses throughout the tournament.”
