Live from Pilot Pen: Michelob Cross Promotes Local Venues
NEW HAVEN, CT—Michelob ULTRA capitalized this week on its sponsorship ties by cross promoting two events held within one hour of each other in Connecticut.
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| Anne Worcester |
When the Professional Golf Association decided to move its Buick Championship men’s tournament tour dates in Cromwell to Aug. 23-29, overlapping the Pilot Pen’s Aug. 20-29 dates at Yale University in New Haven, Michelob ULTRA took action. The beer, both the presenting sponsor of the tennis tournament and the official beer of the PGA, put together a ticket package and a sweepstakes to draw sports fans to both events to protect its investments.
Anyone purchasing tickets to the finals of both tournaments was automatically entered for a chance to win the Michelob ULTRA Sports Experience: an afternoon of tennis on the Stadium Court at the Connecticut Tennis Center and a round of golf at the TPC at River Highlands in Cromwell.
“We wanted to make it clear that it was possible to attend both events,” said Anne Worcester, director of Pilot Pen Tennis presented by Michelob ULTRA, a U.S. Open Series Event. “The package offers a 33% savings compared to buying the tickets separate, and typically, tournaments never offer discounts to their championships.”
The contest was promoted with P-O-P at more than 400 package and grocery stores that sell Michelob ULTRA in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Billboards along Interstate 95 in the three signs also promoted the contest.
Despite the competition up the road, Worcester said Pilot Pen’s sponsorships exceeded its revenue goals and have grown for a seventh consecutive year. Sponsors also renewed for the 2004 tournament at an 85% renewal rate from 2003.
