A rise in sales of Budweiser in the first months of 2012 has prompted the parent company AB InBev to credit its sponsorship association with the FA Cup as the main driver and to hint at a greater role for sporting sponsorship in its overall marketing strategy.
Sales of the brand were up by 1.8% throughout Britain during a period when there has been significant activity around the FA Cup sponsorship.  Last year the tournament produced the first soccer match to be broadcast live and free to air through facebook and in the FA Cup Final later this month between Chelsea and Liverpool, fans will vote live through mobile to declare the official Man of the Match.
This will also be a first for the competition though man of the match voting is more common in other sports and events.
20 per cent of the total spend on marketing Budweiser is now invested in social media and that figure is likely to rise.  Sport’s attraction of fans and opinion makes it a perfect association with which to engage the new media audience once it is done with imagination.