AB InBev beer brand Budweiser has signed new major partnerships with Spain’s LaLiga and the English Premier League.
Under the multi-year deals, Budweiser will get an extensive suite of rights to activate globally, including LED perimeter boards, collective image rights, on-package branding rights, and exclusive content rights.
Speaking exclusively to SportBusiness Sponsorship, Eelco van der Noll, head of partnerships at AB InBev, described the deals as the “missing piece in the puzzle” for Budweiser’s sponsorship programme in between World Cups.
“The World Cup is a massive opportunity,” said van der Noll, “but it’s very condensed in time, whereas the Premier League and LaLiga are ongoing. Every year and every weekend, week in and week out, we will have an opportunity to engage.
“This is the missing piece in the puzzle. What we are trying to do is to create a World Cup-level campaign every year through the Premier League and LaLiga.”
Van der Noll said the “cornerstone” of both deals will be on-package branding rights, which will see LaLiga and Premier League players, logos and trophies pictured on Budweiser’s primary and secondary packaging.
“We will have player imagery on our secondary packaging – which is what you will see on the shelf. And then on the bottles and cans themselves, we will have images of the very recognisable trophies of both leagues,” said Van der Noll.
In each collective image, Budweiser has to use at least four Premier League players, each representing different clubs, and seven LaLiga players, also representing different clubs.
The rights in the two deals are broadly similar, but there are some differences when it comes to content rights and LED rights.
At LaLiga, Budweiser will get 3-4 minutes’ LED time per game at every fixture except Barcelona and Real Madrid home games.
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Under the Premier League deal, which was exclusively revealed by SportBusiness Sponsorship in November last year, Budweiser will also get a smaller share of Premier League LED rights, which it has purchased through an agreement with a third-party provider.
Also speaking exclusively to SportBusiness Sponsorship, LaLiga international development director Óscar Mayo said the deal shows how far LaLiga has come as a sponsorship platform in the last few years.
“We are really happy that Budweiser is putting LaLiga and the Premier League on the same level, and that both leagues are seen as very important for Budweiser’s future strategy.
“It shows the increasing strength of LaLiga, as six or eight years ago, it was impossible to think that a brand like Budweiser would be closing a global deal with LaLiga on the same level as the Premier League.
“LaLiga now has local and regional sponsors in more than 70 countries, we have Global Partners such as Santander, Unilever, LiveScore, and now Budweiser, and we are building a strong pool of sponsors that show just how attractive LaLiga has become, and how much we have grown in the last year.”
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