Busch Light paints fan faces on NASCAR car

Brief:

Busch Light is celebrating this week's return of NASCAR racing with a contest that gives Twitter users a chance to see their faces painted on the stock car sponsored by the beer brand, per an announcement shared with Mobile Marketer. The Anheuser-Busch brand unveiled the challenge on its @BuschBeer account, which has 104,000 followers.
To enter, Twitter users need to post a picture of themselves drinking Busch Light with the #YourFaceHere and #BuschContest hashtags in the caption, along with its @BuschBeer handle. The brand will select 10 people whose pictures will be featured on the No. 4 Busch Light stock car driven by Kevin Harvick.
The contest started on May 13 and will run through May 17, and Busch Light will unveil the car's new paint scheme with the faces of winners at the NASCAR Cup Series Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in South Carolina on May 27, per its announcement.

Insight:

Busch Light's contest is a novel way to engage its most ardent fans as the brand participates in the return of NASCAR races. The stock-car racing organization's return is significant for brands that sponsor the events, and for fans who have been starved for live sports programming during the coronavirus pandemic. The events will be hosted at raceways without attendees, and are likely to herald the return of live sports in settings that can be televised in empty arenas.

The promotion comes as beer brands develop campaigns to connect with homebound consumers on social media. Sister brand Busch Beer in March began livestreaming a trivia game show on Facebook to entertain fans while also raising money for bartenders facing financial hardship during the pandemic. The brand also gave couples that have had to change their wedding plans due to the pandemic a chance to win a year's worth of Busch.

Social media campaigns had become a key part of the marketing efforts for beer brands even before the pandemic changed consumer habits. Before the pandemic, Busch highlighted its NASCAR sponsorship in campaigns such as a sweepstakes on Twitter that gave fans a chance to win free beer for a year by tweeting about driver Kevin Harvick. As many regions lift lockdowns, beer brands are likely to respond with new campaigns that reflect the gradual reopening of important sales channels like restaurants and bars.

Busch Light's latest promotion is among its efforts that have helped to drive a surge in revenue during the pandemic. With many consumers stuck at home and concerned about their personal health and finances, lower-priced light beers have tended to outperform. Busch Light's sales jumped 44% from March 1 to April 17, ahead of the 14% to 17% gains for other brands such as Miller Lite, Michelob Ultra and Natural Light, per data from market researcher InMarket cited by CNN.