Davis ThinkingThe upshot: By next year A-B will be the official beer sponsor of the nation's top four team sports, the NFL (as well as its Super Bowl broadcast and 28 of its 32 teams), the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, as well as the PGA, LPGA, Major League Soccer, UFC, the AVP Tour and the U.S. Olympic Committee. And, as if that weren't enough, parent Anheuser-Busch InBev is the official beer sponsor of this summer's World Cup, an event that will be viewed by half the world's population.
It's not news that sporting events have become increasingly branded over the years. We've come to expect a bombardment of advertisements and sponsorships at auto racing events and basketball, football, and baseball games--sports that are now modern-day billboards for advertisers like Nike, Fila, Budweiser, McDonald's, UPS, MasterCard, and Sprint, to name just a few.
Let me start off by saying I don’t play golf, but I do watch and I am a big fan of the sport. Over the past decade, I’ve watched as Tiger Woods has become the face of golf around the world. He is unbelievably important to the game, and that has to change.
Copyright © 2009 Davis Brand Capital. All Rights Reserved.