Do you think an alcoholic brand is the right sponsor for a major, high profile sporting event?

The role of sports sponsorship – and our marketing campaign in general!!!  -  is to strengthen brand loyalty and encourage brand switching not to encourage increased consumption.

Carlsberg has successfully supported football consistently through major sponsorships since the early 1980’ies. We wish to create excitement, bring people together and add to the enjoyment of life for the fans of football.

At the same time we encourage responsible consumption and our marketing activities, advertising and sponsorships are conducted under our Code of Marketing Practice, which prescribes that our marketing activities:

o         targeted at adults only,

o         that our sales and marketing activities shall comply with national and international legal boundaries,

o         and that compliance audit processes are in place.

 

We support campaigns and other activities that discourage underage drinking and irresponsible drinking.

We partner with UEFA to ensure a safe and attractive event.

Does a sponsorship like this help encourage young people to drink more?

No, we do not believe so.

 

How would you react to the accusation that Carlsberg is exploiting and commercialising European football still further?

Top football is a commercial enterprise today, worth billions of Euros, and the money that sponsorships such as ours inject into the sport does not only benefit the Carlsberg brand, but ultimately benefits the football fans, who can continue to enjoy an ever more sophisticated and exciting game.

At the UEFA EURO 2004 in Portugal, the revenue from commercial rights, including all sponsorships, accounted for 21% of the total turnover of EUR 839.7m – that is EUR 178.6m – so sponsorships are a necessary component of a EURO tournament. A huge event like UEFA EURO 2008™ would not be economically possible without sponsorships.

Furthermore, the benefits of sponsorships ultimately filter down to the grass roots support level of the sport. One way is UEFA’s HatTrick solidarity programme, which support grassroots football with some of the proceeds from the European Championships – presently with a budget of EUR 314m until 2008.

Will Carlsberg beer be sold at each match?

Yes, Carlsberg wishes to create excitement, bring people together and add to the enjoyment of life for the fans of football, so fans will be able to enjoy the matches with a good cup of beer, Carlsberg being Part of the Game.

However, in accordance with the wishes of UEFA and the local authorities, we will only offer low-alcoholic beer at premises, just like we did at the UEFA EURO 2000 and 2004. This is similar to what we see at many high profile European games.

 

How does sport and alcohol go together?

 

Alcohol and athletes do not combine in sports, whereas many fans like to enjoy beer around sport events. We support fair play on and off the pitch and encourage fans to be responsible and drink accordingly.