Industry Shorts: Budweiser, Lions, Rlwc2021

Pubs from Leicester and the west London area around Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge will be given advertising space at the Emirates FA Cup Final as part of a new campaign from Budweiser to promote the return of indoor hospitality.

The Official Beer of the Emirates FA Cup is handing over its advertising space to share a message of support for local pubs, with a campaign entitled ‘support your club; support your pub’. 

According to the brand, even as lockdown and social distancing restrictions ease, pubs will still face difficulties. With no indoor capacity permitted until after the 15th May FA Cup final – which is traditionally a big day for pubs around the country – many will miss out on revenue. Former Chelsea favourite Joe Cole and Leicester City legend Emile Heskey (both pictured above) will support the campaign featuring a selection of pubs that ‘play a crucial role in each clubs’ culture’.

Channel 4 will screen live free-to-air coverage of the British & Irish Lions for the first time in almost 30 years after picking up the rights to the representative team’s Vodafone Lions 1888 Cup match against Japan.

The match will mark the first time the Lions have played on home soil since 2005, and will serve as a warm-up for the Tour which is set to take place in South Africa.

Channel 4 will broadcast the game – set to take place in front of fans at BT Murrayfield in Edinburgh on 26th June – but will also show highlights of all three Castle Lager Lions Series Tour Tests against South Africa later in the summer. Highlights will also be shown on-demand on All4. READ MORE

The National Lottery has agreed a deal to become an Official Partner of the Rugby League World Cup 2021, as well as an Official Partner of the competition’s social impact initiative, the CreatedBy Capital Grants Programme.

Delivered in partnership with DCMS and Sport England, the CreatedBy Capital Grants Programme will invest in facilities and equipment for rugby league, providing ‘accessible and welcoming environments’.

As part of the wider partnership, The National Lottery will also receive branding at all 61 matches during the tournament, as well as tickets, player appearances, social media assets, and ‘unique experiences’ such as The National Lottery ‘coin toss’ before each game, and becoming the sponsor of the tournament’s volunteer workforce, ‘The Power Squad’.

According to the RLWC2021, the money for this initiative is coming from a National Lottery promotional fund. It is not being funded by money allocated for National Lottery Good Causes or by Camelot. The news follows similar Official Partnerships between The National Lottery and The RFL, as well as Team GB and ParalympicsGB in recent weeks.

The BBC has announced a new deal with World Athletics to screen every Wanda Diamond League event until 2024.

The new four-year deal will begin with live coverage from the opening event in Gateshead on 23rd May, and will take in 14 meetings in total in 2021 – all available live on the BBC across either network TV or BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio and BBC Red Button.

The deal adds to the BBC’s existing athletics portfolio which will see it screen the Olympic Games this summer as well as the World Athletics Championships, European Championships and the Commonwealth Games. 

The RFU has extended its long-term partnership with Guinness for a further four years, bringing the partnership over the ten-year mark.

The Diageo-owned brand has been the Official Beer Partner of England Rugby since 2013, and will continue in the role until August 2025, supporting both the men’s and women’s teams, as well as maintaining its rights as Exclusive Stout at Twickenham Stadium for RFU-controlled events. 

The beer brand will also continue its promotion of responsible drinking as part of the extension, continuing as Official Responsible Drinking Partner of England Rugby.

W Series has announced a new partnership with Puma Motorsport which will see the brand create a female-first racewear design to be worn by competitors in the 2021 campaign.

Race suits for female racing drivers have traditionally been redesigned versions of those initially made for their male counterparts, but this year’s W Series drivers will compete in racewear specifically designed for women.

W Series will stage eight races in partnership with Formula 1 and on the F1 undercard this year, with the opening race to take place at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France on 26th June.

Motorsport Network has appointed Simon Danker as CEO of its new OTT platform Motorsport.

Danker takes up the role having previously worked with the NFL and Overtier to roll out the commercial growth strategy for NFL Game Pass. He was also Head of Eurosport Player in the UK and Germany for Discovery, as well as launching the BBC’s global partnerships with Netflix, Apple, and YouTube during his time with the British broadcaster.   

At Motorsport Network, he will lead the Motorsport.tv team, overseeing the platform as well as the recently launched live motorsport news channel, Motorsport.tv Live, unveiled in April 2021 as the first dedicated rolling news channel for the sport.

Wellness technology brand Therabody has announced a new partnership with Sir Mo Farah, who will join its team of athlete ambassadors.

Farah’s daily training and recovery routine now incorporates the use of Therabody’s Theragun PRO and RecoveryAir pneumatic compression boots. 

He will join a number of top athletes across a host of sports as an ambassador for the brand, including golf major winner Collin Morikawa, Liverpool footballer Trent Alexander-Arnold, and top teams such as Premier League champions Manchester City. 

Silverstone has appointed motorsport sustainable transformation specialist Stephane Bazire as its new Head of Business Sustainability. 

Bazire joins the British race circuit having most recently worked on the Circuit de Barcelona’s strategic plan for 2025, which will see it embrace environmental, social, and business policies that ‘meet the demands of our changing society’.

At Silverstone, Bazire will be tasked with leading the venue’s plans for a sustainable future, ‘environmentally, economically, and operationally’, focusing on bringing in responsible new revenue streams and developing a new sustainability strategy. 

Burnley has partnered with stadium engagement specialist and fellow Lancashire-based company ADI to install a new suite of digital signage at the club’s Turf Moor ground in a bid to create one of the ‘most digitally-connected’ stadiums in English football.

The club plans to install two curved LED big screens in the North East and South East corners of Turf Moor, giving fans the benefit of high-definition replays, matchday updates and additional entertainment. 

New digital signage will also be installed across all four sides of the stadium, allowing the club to share real-time news, information, and updates with supporters, which will include safety information, travel updates and other practical advice where appropriate.