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Bud Light takes concert tour to college towns

Bud Light is taking its party to college football for the first time with an 11-stop mobile marketing tour that will hit college towns throughout the Southeast.

Saying that “Saturdays are just better down South,” Bud Light has created a 53-foot-long doublewide trailer that converts into a musical stage, which will be the centerpiece of the Down South Tailgate Tour activation. Bud Light has musical acts scheduled for each of the 11 stops. Some will be local acts, but Colleen Kelly, a regional marketing director for Anheuser-Busch, said they have talent that will be a surprise as well.

The tour kicked off at the Battle at Bristol.
Photo: COURTESY OF ANHEUSER-BUSCH
In addition to the Sept. 10 Battle at Bristol, which kicked off the tailgate tour, the brand will go to Knoxville, Tenn.; Columbia, S.C.; Gainesville, Fla.; Clemson, S.C.; Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Raleigh, N.C.; Starkville, Miss.; and Tallahassee, Fla. The Jacksonville game is the Florida-Georgia showdown. The tour will culminate on Dec. 3 in Atlanta with the SEC championship game.

“This is definitely the most extensive and immersive experience we’ve brought to the college football fan,” Kelly said. “We really want to connect with college football fans down South, so this is our first foray into such a tour. Our wholesale partners have done stuff before on their own, but really this is the first time we’ve pooled all of our resources like this to bring Bud Light in a much bigger way to the college football experience.”

In some cases, sites were chosen based on relationships between Bud Light and the school. Bud Light has sponsorships at Florida, Florida State and Mississippi State, as well as Alabama’s Crimson Tide Sports Network. Learfield is the rights holder for Alabama and Mississippi State, while IMG College represents the Gators and Seminoles.

Bud Light
Down South Tailgate Tour

Sept. 10    Bristol, Tenn.
                  Virginia Tech vs. Tennessee

Sept. 24    Knoxville, Tenn.
                  Florida vs. Tennessee

Oct. 1    Columbia, S.C.

              Texas A&M vs. South Carolina

Oct. 8    Gainesville, Fla.

              LSU vs. Florida

Oct. 15    Clemson, S.C.

                N.C. State vs. Clemson

Oct. 22    Tuscaloosa, Ala.

                Texas A&M vs. Alabama

Oct. 29    Jacksonville, Fla.

                Florida vs. Georgia

Nov. 5    Raleigh, N.C.

              Florida State vs. N.C. State

Nov. 19    Starkville, Miss.

                Arkansas vs. Mississippi State

Nov. 26    Tallahassee, Fla.

                 Florida vs. Florida State

Dec. 3    Atlanta

              SEC championship game

The tailgate tour and the new college sponsorships represent another significant step into college athletics by a beer sponsor. Miller/Coors was the first beer to put together a national buy in 2011 when it partnered with more than 20 schools. Heineken and its Dos Equis brand became a College Football Playoff official sponsor through a deal with ESPN last year.

Bud Light will consider additional schools to sponsor in the future as the brand looks to grow its presence in the college space. Much of Bud Light’s marketing, like most beer sponsorships on campus, will be focused on its responsibility messaging.

For the tailgate tour, Bud Light will create a footprint near campus in a high-traffic area. Within the footprint will be Bud Light’s stage, a branded sports bar with TVs serving Bud Light and other A-B brands, local food trucks and picnic areas, and other tailgate activities.

Engine Shop is Bud Light’s agency for the activation. Nick Hines, an Engine Shop executive vice president, oversees the Bud Light business for the agency. Kelly and her team, including Courtney Baker, a senior brand manager for A-B in the Southeast, work with Engine Shop and local wholesalers in the market to determine the best destinations for the tailgate tour.

The second stop, this past Saturday in Knoxville for the Tennessee-Florida game, was positioned in front of Fieldhouse Social, a restaurant/bar just a mile away from Neyland Stadium.

“Our wholesale partners are the real experts in the area,” Kelly said. “We work with them to find establishments in a centrally located, high-traffic area.”

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