BUSCH
Busch Beer will become the official beer of NASCAR and sponsor of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series pole award as part of a multiyear deal. Financial terms are not being disclosed, but a source valued the deal in the low seven figures annually. The deal is believed to be set up to expire concurrently with the beer maker’s pact with Stewart-Haas Racing. Busch replaces Coors Light, which had been the sponsor from ’08-17 in a deal originally valued at $4M annually. Busch will have retail, digital and social components related to the pole sponsorship. A-B is only picking up the pole sponsorship for NASCAR’s premier series. A-B VP/Value & Beyond-Beer Brands Chelsea Phillips said that A-B found the pole award sponsorship alluring because it is typically awarded on Friday nights, a prime time to advertise beer. NASCAR VP/Partnership Marketing Lou Garate said the sanctioning body talked to a handful of different companies once the category opened up but quickly settled on Busch. Busch originally sponsored the pole award in NASCAR in '78 and was the official beer of NASCAR from ’88-’97.
PAYING OFF: Phillips said that the switch back to Busch in NASCAR has proven beneficial for the company. A-B pointed as proof to data from IRI that showed that Busch and Busch Light were up 9.3% in the Daytona area this year in the four weeks around the Daytona 500. She added, “We had statistical improvements in all our brand attributes when it comes to people (being) more aware of the brand, considering it much more than the past, and the brand affinity has gone up -- so everything that drives people to choosing a brand is increasing. It’s timed both with the introduction of us coming back into NASCAR and the emphasis we put on the Super Bowl last year, and more robust trade programming.”
