Two days before the kick-off of the World Cup, Budweiser was banned from selling beer to fans around the stadiums. With that, Bud was left with a warehouse full of beer that could not be sold. That was when we decided to make the most of the tricky situation: we announced we'd give away all the Budweiser to whoever won the World Cup.
We started a movement called #BringHomeTheBud. It all began with a tweet announcing our bold move 24 hours after the ban was announced. And within a couple of days, we pivoted our entire media plan to evolve at the speed of the tournament. When teams won, we showed up overnight, dropping beer crates to tease fans that the Buds could be theirs. Our beer crates featured our “Bring Home The Bud” messaging and were dropped in iconic locations across cities like New York, Buenos Aires, London, and Rio de Janeiro. We also created field boards, OOHs, and social content. In 10 days, we had already executed the campaign in 8 markets. And immediately after Argentina's victory, we gave away all the World Cup beer, via a strong DTC strategy, with parties all over the country.
The power of #BringHomeTheBud is undeniable. Budweiser was not only the number one most talked about brand during the World Cup, but the brand also received 255B impressions, $400M in Earned Media Value, 97K media placements, and over 1MM mentions. And it all culminated in 1M Buds being distributed in Argentina!
