Beer sales likely to be up 6% over World Cup, says SAB

While SAB is not formally linked with the event, its anticipated boost — an increase of up to 6% on sales over the same five week period last year — will come from sponsorship of the national team, says Alastair Hewitt, marketing manager for Castle Lager.

“We are not a sponsor (of the World Cup),” Hewitt said yesterday, 1 March 2020. “We can only continue to work behind Bafana Bafana as our platform.”

SAB's strategy highlights the work that companies not linked to the World Cup have to keep selling, even for an event taking place in their own backyard.

The restrictions on non-rights holders are severe. They cannot, for example, advertise within a 1km radius of a stadium from two weeks before the 11 June kick-off until two weeks after the final whistle a month later.

Similar restrictions apply on advertising within airports such as OR Tambo, Johannesburg's Park Station and in the central business district. Advertising is also banned on the routes linking the airport with the CBD and the train station with stadiums in the vicinity.

SAB rival Anheuser-Busch (maker of Budweiser) is organising body FIFA's World Cup beer sponsor and has the exclusive right to sell its beers at FIFA sites. Outside those, however, the game is open. SAB — along with co-sponsor Absa — can ride on Bafana's back all the way to the cash register, as long as it claims no affiliation with FIFA or the World Cup. The brewer is also planning to target bars, clubs and taverns with promotions.

“We would be targeting (the expected 450000) foreigners with Castle Lager — it's the beer of SA,” Hewitt said.

SAB's other rivals are fully aware of the opportunities. Brandhouse, a local distributor of spirits such as Johnnie Walker and beers like Heineken, plans to work these brands for all they are worth.

“People coming from Europe, the UK and Americas ... are very familiar with Heineken,” brandhouse spokeswoman Priscilla Singh said yesterday. “In addition to wanting to sample local beer, fans will be looking to satisfy home tastes and traditions. Heineken is synonymous with the UEFA Champions League, the biggest European football competition outside the UK Premier League.”

Brandhouse, which primarily sells spirits, was anticipating extra production in the order of “tens of thousands of hectolitres” of beer, Singh said.

A boost for SAB, however, will come from a likely agreement it will reach with FIFA to serve beer at the 10 official fan parks around the country. Anheuser will not supply Budweiser to the parks, built to cater for a combined 280000 people a day.

Some reports claim the company simply does not have the infrastructure to meet the extra demand.

Source: Business Day