Dive Brief:
- AB InBev’s Budweiser and Bud Light will stay on as the NBA’s official beer sponsor after the organizations inked an extension for four more years.
- The new deal includes a content element where videos will be created and hosted on NBA properties and shared on AB InBev properties.
- Last month AB InBev extended Bud Light’s sponsorship as the official beer of the NFL through 2022 with new access to active player game footage for use in ad spots.
Dive Insight:
AB InBev has professional basketball and football wrapped up for a while with the extension of its NBA sponsorship, coming soon after extending its NFL deal. The new NBA sponsorship makes both Budweiser and Bud Light the official beers of the league, and includes a content element of shared video between the NBA and the global brewery.
Similar to its NFL deal, AB InBev also received “enhanced packaging and marketing rights” that lets it use NBA logos on packaging, including cans and bottles, as well as in ad campaigns, as well the team logos for the 22 teams that it has individual sponsorship deals with.
In a statement, Lucas Herscovici, A-B InBev's U.S. VP of consumer connections, said, "We've expanded this longstanding partnership in key areas that matter to our consumers, like content, packaging and our new affiliation with USA Basketball.”
AB InBev didn't specify on what exactly the new content will be used for, but a spokesperson told Ad Age there are plans to launch a series around the All-Star game.
"Everyone is a digital publisher and wants content to publish, and I think it's a smart move on A-B's part to secure rights to footage like they did with the NFL deal," Jim Andrews, senior VP-content strategy at sponsorship consultancy IEG, told Ad Age.
