Bud Light is relying on fan-centric marketing to support the second year of its NFL leaguewide sponsorship. In addition to the massive fantasy football promotion announced last month that will be carried on nearly 1 billion bottles and cans of America’s top selling beer brand, A-B has new fan-centered ads and a series of packing and promotional initiatives kicking off with the season. Last season, brand measures and awareness of the sponsorship were up dramatically and A-B wholesalers ordered enough NFL-themed POS to make it the most supported retail program ever. Still, Bud Light VP Mike Sundet said there was an additional opportunity to use NFL rights to bond with fans by showing an understanding of what NFL fans experience. “Frankly, we struggled to integrate Bud Light into the [NFL on-field] action in a fun sort of way. … By creating our own fantasy football league we think (it is) an opportunity to better connect fans and Bud Light drinkers.” Sundet cited a new ad from AOR Translation highlighting a myriad of fan superstition, from rubbing a rabbit’s foot, to wearing lucky socks, arranging beer cans in a certain pattern in the refrigerator and averting eyes from a crucial play-at least until it is executed successfully. “Every fan has rituals, we’re just trying to be part of that," said Sundet. NFL packaging is also a huge initiative. More than 250 SKUs of Bud Light have been converted to NFL-themed packaging, with team-specific packaging in 20 markets and the NFL shield in the other 12 markets. A sweepstakes supported by POS, radio and digital media offers a top prize of two regular-season tickets to an NFL team's games for life.
