Beer

Budweiser parent company AB InBev has overcome decades of opposition to the use of athletes in beer commercials, after signing two new marketing deals with the NBA and MLB players associations.

This article looks at three activation campaigns run by national team sponsors throughout the 2018 Fifa World Cup.

Premium beer brand Budweiser has overcome fierce competition in the Football Association’s beer category to become the sole beer partner, taking all three key assets in the portfolio.

PROJECT DETAILS Sponsorship title: Uefa Champions League Trophy Tour presented by Heineken Duration of sponsorship: Uefa Champions League Exclusive Beer Sponsor since 2005 Entered by: Edelman

PROJECT DETAILS Sponsorship title: Stella Artois, Official Beer of The Championships, Wimbledon Duration of Sponsorship: 2014 to 2018 Entered by: Octagon Worldwide Limited

Belgian UCI WorldTour cycling team Quick-Step Floors has signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with brewery Alken-Maes. The brewery’s alcohol-free brand, Maes 0.0

Budweiser Budweiser is the official beer of the FIFA World Cup following its parent company Anheuser-Busch's deal until after the 2022 World Cup, worth around $22.

Catalan beer brand Estrella Damm has almost doubled its fee for the Official Beer rights of LaLiga club Barcelona, as it upgrades to the club’s new Global Partner level from 2018-19 to 2021-22.

Dutch premium beer brand Heineken will pay around €5m ($5.7m) per year to return as title sponsor of the European Rugby Champions Cup, from 2018-19 to 2021-22, after four seasons in the role of Official Beer Partner. 

The Scottish Rugby national governing body has renewed its partnership with Tennent’s Lager.

Major League Baseball team the Chicago White Sox has agreed a sponsorship deal with US beer brand Budweiser.

German Bundesliga football club Hertha Berlin has entered into a partnership with beer brand Berliner Kindl.

Portuguese Primeira Liga football club FC Porto has renewed its partnership with beer brand Super Bock.

Spanish LaLiga football club Celta Vigo has named financial services company Abanca as its new stadium naming rights partner, while it has also extended its shirt sponsorship deal with Spanish brewery Hijos de Rivera.

Dutch brewing company Heineken has returned to back European rugby union’s top club competition with the announcement that it will become the headline sponsor of the Champions Cup.

English Premier League football club Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium will feature its own microbrewery through a partnership between the team and Beavertown Brewery.

AB InBev’s activation spend on its official beer sponsorship of the upcoming Fifa World Cup in Russia will be the beer group’s biggest yet – commensurate with the importance of the event as a showcase of the Budweiser brand.

Catalan beer brand Estrella Damm has upgraded its association with Barcelona by becoming a global partner of the Spanish LaLiga football club.