Baseball and beer go together like peas and carrots, peanut butter & jelly, and Cubs fans and agony. While watching the Cubs game come to an end yesterday, Coors Light sponsored a reader email question on the air. It got me thinking how the great domestic beer brands try to reach fans at all sporting events, and particularly here in Chicago at Wrigley Field. Budweiser and Bud Light are by far the most prominent brands inside and around Wrigley, due to some sponsorship agreements. Miller Lite has a large billboard on one of the right field rooftops, but is otherwise silent at Wrigley. And with the inclusion of a Coors Light sponsored segment of the on-air broadcast, all three major domestic brands are presented to consumers and fans of the Chicago Cubs. There will no doubt be advertising clutter, but how the brands use their promotions and placements will result in either engaged customers or wasted ad spending.
For me, I like customized marketing initiatives. For example, the custom Budweiser neon sign that resembles the historic front sign of Wrigley Field. Budweiser went beyond typical, corporate signage and customized that sign to appeal to Cubs fans. As a consumer, this shows me a higher level of fan acknowledgment and even brings a sense of closeness to such a large brewer like Budweiser.
To take this even further, the Miller Lite billboard that sits atop a right field rooftop changes nearly every home series to highlight rivalries or interesting aspects of the visiting team.