As college basketball fans gear up for March Madness, beverage brands are using their marketing power to bring other hoop dreams to life.
To add excitement to the tournament-watching experience, Heineken USA’s Newcastle brand is using its March Madness promotion to encourage fans at on-premise locations to support their favorite underdogs. Thirty-one percent of Newcastle drinkers watch championship basketball, and 34 percent of these fans watch tournament play at their favorite bar, according to the brand. To interact with these consumers, the “unofficial beer of the underdog” will stage on-premise point-of-sale elements, including “Unofficial Beer of the Underdog” posters, bracket posters and table tents, to encourage tournament fans to tweet the hashtag #UnofficialUnderdog and their comments about tournament play for a chance to win prizes. At the end of each game, participating tweeters will randomly be awarded prizes. Other participants will be rewarded with mail-in rebate coupons, where legal, all tournament long.