For the last five years, Fullers’ communication strategy for their flagship beer brand, ‘London Pride’ has focused on supporting England at international sporting events. London Pride drinkers love rugby nearly as much as their beer and they don’t come much bigger than the Rugby World Cup. We had to make sure London Pride was inextricably linked to England’s 2003 campaign.

The campaign worked on all levels. Seven perfectly placed spots delivered 43% of ABC1 men in London. The final was shown to 2,000 cheering fans at the Odeon Leicester Square beating Odeon’s previous non-movie best (and this was at 9am). From a sales perspective London Pride achieved its highest ever sales and brand share.

Media placement and creative execution worked harmoniously to enhance the campaign’s impact. The TV ads were only shown in England games and ran last in break in order to connect with the viewer at the optimum moment. Going one step further, our TV spots appeared with one key difference – using new technology we typed the latest scores and motivational messages on the end frame – Live! This enhanced immediacy and relevance and built further empathy with our audience.

We developed a fully integrated communications campaign comprising: product sampling, topical and tactical press ads in London’s Evening Standard newspaper, a tournament (and pub) guide, uplifting outdoor and the biggest World Cup Party outside Oz at the Odeon cinema in Leicester Square. We subsequently managed to inextricably link London Pride with England’s greatest sporting success since 1966 and secured the brand’s status as THE source of information and entertainment for London throughout the World Cup.

Our research showed that whilst many beer brands have achieved some association with sport, many of the communication routes had failed to reflect the huge emotional surge the fans feel before, after and, most importantly, during the match. This insight led our drive to maximise the emotional bonding with our target by occupying the key points of passion for London’s England Rugby fans over the World Cup period. We wanted to become a friend communicating and empathising with fans in London … as they watched. This was going to be hard as the action was taking place 10,000 miles away.