If you somehow thought that Anheuser-Busch wasn’t everywhere, just check the USA Rock Paper Scissors League, whose title sponsor is none other than Bud Light. As if there were any doubt.
Continued partnerships with the NBA, the English Premier League and the PGA Tour.
Showed flexibility and change in direction in deal with NASCAR’s Kasey Kahne and Gillett Evernham Motorsports.
If there’s a competition with a winner and a loser involved, chances are that Anheuser-Busch has something to do with it. A-B and its muscle-flexing marquee brands are the enforcers of the sports marketing world, often spending more on advertising than any other sponsor and creating a presence in practically every sport.
And where the company didn’t previously have a presence in 2007, even in nontraditional properties like the Ultimate Fighting Championships, it does now as the official beer.
While A-B’s brands, particularly Budweiser, have established lengthy relationships in several sports, 2007 was a year of profound change for the company. Bud ended its reign as NASCAR’s official beer, ceding that position to Coors. Dale Earnhardt Jr., perhaps A-B’s top pitchman, changed race teams and left Budweiser, even though Bud had hoped to follow him to Hendrick Motorsports.
But there was also plenty about A-B that didn’t change. Tony Ponturo, A-B’s vice president of global media and sports marketing, was again recognized as one of the most influential figures in sports business and the company’s brands continued to wield that clout globally.
A-B also continued its enormous portfolio of relationships with the majority of NFL and MLB teams, as well as MLB’s official beer and exclusive malt-based beverage sponsor of the Super Bowl.
A-B extended its deal with the English Premier League through the 2010 season and included all of the company’s brands as part of the renewal. The deal includes rights to Premiership marks, access to player imagery, hospitality and match tickets. Its Bud brand will continue to be the league’s official online partner and support the fantasy competition.
Additionally in 2007, A-B struck a four-year deal for its Bud brand that covered Soccer United Marketing’s entire portfolio, which includes Major League Soccer, the U.S. and Mexican national teams, and other soccer competitions.
“Budweiser made it clear that they wanted it all,” said Doug Quinn, president of Soccer United Marketing. “They wanted to own soccer in America.”
The Bud and Bud Light brands also extended their deal with the NBA to be the league’s official beer sponsor.
Ponturo’s biggest decision of 2007 likely was how to replace Earnhardt. Staying in NASCAR as a team sponsor was always the strategy, and A-B landed at Gillett Evernham Motorsports, making Kasey Kahne the 10th “Bud Man” in NASCAR in the last 25 years.
“Everyone was very engaged and understood the value and the responsibility that partnering with the top sports marketer in the country meant,” said David Jessey, vice president of sales and marketing at Gillett Evernham Motorsports. “We have a great list of partners, but that said, we knew a partnership with Budweiser would put us on another level in terms of visibility and authenticity as a leader in our sport.
“From a straight business perspective, I believe that Budweiser’s belief in this team helped us to land several other big deals.”
