Injecting Bud Light into NFL fandom in a big way was our motivation, and we knew engaging the Eagles community would generate buzz. Tweeting Lane Johnson to let him know that “the party was on us” if the underdog Eagles won, allowed the brand to capture the attention of Eagles’ fans, media and Bud Light drinkers nationwide.

Odds were on our side, and the likelihood we’d have to provide beer to all of Philadelphia was low. But fate stepped in, and our idea turned into something bigger. The Eagles started winning and enthusiastic fans adopted “Philly Philly” as a rallying cry based on our viral medieval “Dilly Dilly” campaign — so we started planning. After backup quarterback Nick Foles drove the Eagles to Super Bowl victory for the first time ever, we created a celebration that would take over from street to sky, delivering on our promise.

Stemming from a strategic tweet, Bud Light leveraged a cultural moment to pull off one of the biggest stunts on or off the field this season. Amplified by our creative, we coined a rallying cry, dominated conversation and legally delivered beer to an entire city.

In the final weeks, we safely and flawlessly executed “Philly Philly” Day:

-Placed full-page ad in the Philadelphia Inquirer, congratulating the Eagles

-Created “Philly Philly” Day with Mayor’s Office

-Delivered enough beer to serve Philadelphia (30 bars on parade route + mail-in rebate)

-Designed a process to legally and safely distribute free beer to fans

-Engaged Lane Johnson for parade-day support

-Sponsored Eagles’ Victory Parade with mascots Bud Knight and Dilly Dilly Guy in tow

-Sent Town Crier to proclaim victory at local taverns

-Wrote “Dilly Dilly Philly Philly” in the sky to encourage social media sharing

Our engagement with fans for 27 weeks paved the way to unprecedented success in Philadelphia and next-level engagement throughout the NFL season. We reaffirmed Bud Light’s place as the Official Beer of the NFL during a tumultuous season.

In addition we:

-Increased sales by 20% in Philadelphia

-Boosted sales by 47% with Penn Beer, reinvigorating our partnership with this key wholesaler

-Secured 869MM earned media impressions through 3,727 stories

-Top-tier coverage on the Today Show as well as USA Today, ESPN, Esquire, Washington Post, Food + Wine, Daily Mail

-Legally distributed nearly 100,000 free Bud Lights

-Generated 34,654 Tweets @Bud Light on Philly Philly Parade Day

-Increased consideration in Philadelphia market by 31.1%

-Increased share of voice versus competitors by 14% from 2/5 - 2/9

When Bud Light made a pre-season bet with Philadelphia Eagles player Lane Johnson to provide free beer to the city if the team won the Super Bowl, no one thought they’d have to pay up (50 to 1 odds). Five months later, the underdog Eagles stood triumphant. With four days to plan the celebration, the brand moved mountains to make good on its promise — hosting an epic “Philly Philly” celebration and a free beer to everyone who wanted one. The result? Bud Light was on the tip of every Philadelphian’s tongue and sales in Philly were up 20 percent.

Our initial objective was to reach Lane Johnson’s Philadelphia Eagles fan base via Twitter, but our ultimate goal was to reach Bud Light’s target audience — male and female NFL fans aged 21-34. We engaged the national audience via our buzzworthy “Dilly Dilly”, and also by intertwining ourselves with the Eagles’ 2017 Cinderella story. As fans changed “Dilly Dilly” to “Philly Philly,” they made our campaign their own. We captured fans’ attention nationwide and expanded our base within Philadelphia, a key, low-penetration market for Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch in the Northeast.

Through a relentless media and social strategy we generated consistent consumer and media interest over 27 weeks, leveraging the viral “Dilly Dilly” to engage fans as the Eagles continued to advance. Our season-long approach also included:

-Engagement w/Lane Johnson’s team

-Coordination w/Philadelphia Eagles

-Partnership w/City of Philadelphia Mayor’s Office

-Constant communication w/regional wholesaler, Penn Beer

Bud Light thrives on pop-culture to drive brand relevance. Our goal is to find moments to hijack social conversations, ensuring the brand is top-of-mind for fans — and in particular, throughout football season. After all, Bud Light is the #1 beer in America and the Official Beer of the NFL-fans have high expectations.

So when Philadelphia Eagles player Lane Johnson declared that if his team won the Super Bowl, he would buy the entire city a beer, Bud Light saw a unique opportunity. A particularly intriguing one in a market where Bud Light splits share with top competitor Miller Lite.

After weighing the long-shot odds, and the potential for driving conversation and brand awareness for an entire season — and beyond — Bud Light extended a friendly bet that rallied support for the underdog Philadelphia Eagles and ultimately, won the hearts and minds of fans in Philadelphia and nationwide.