Anheuser-Busch InBev VP/Experiential Eelco van der Noll and MSG Exec VP/Marketing Partnerships Ron Skotarczak discussed the recent renewal of A-B's sponsorship of MSG during a look “Behind the Deal” on Day 1 of the ’17 Intersport Brand Engagement Summit. Van der Noll and Skotarczak emphasized how different the new deal is from the previous agreement, which ran from ’08-16. The emphasis of the ’16 renewal was clear for both companies. “We want to make sure that we enhance the experience of the people going to music concerts, going to the Rangers, going to the Knicks,” van der Noll said. “What that means is, for instance, we created the Bud Light District. It’s a free floor for the fans and there’s a specific area called the Bud Light Loft where we have VR experiences and social media experiences.” Skotarczak said that despite the strength of the relationship between MSG and A-B, he wanted to make sure both parties avoided keeping the deal the same as before. “There’s a quote that somebody from Eelco’s team shared with us when we began to talk about what the relationship could be going forward,” Skotarczak said. “The quote was, ‘If it’s not broken, break it.’ A lot of properties tend to get a little comfortable, especially with their long-term partners. That quote really resonated to us. It actually led its way into what we have fun doing, which is, ‘Challenge us.’ Challenge us as a property and as brands to come up with new ways to drive our partner’s businesses.”
MEASURED TO FIT: As for how the partnership will be evaluated in the years to come, Skotarczak said that A-B's success as a whole will be a big consideration. “I would say that it’s A-B selling more beer,” he said. “At the end of the day, when you talk about measurement, we’re measuring a lot of things, not just for A-B, but for all of our partners. We’re measuring how many fans they’re interacting with through all these experiences. We’re still measuring all the CPM-based types of measurements as it relates to the media that we’re running for them. We’re measuring usage of the hospitality.”
