The UK’s largest beer brand Carling has switched the focus of its marketing strategy from football to music – a move that will help it pull away from football and its ‘laddish’ connotations. By designing its own events, the brand is also forging strong bonds with its target group.


The Carling beer brand, owned by Coors Brewers, has found an innovative event marketing strategy to connect with its 18-24 year old target audience. The company has been staging a series of “Carling Homecoming” gigs for established music artists to play at their town of origin. The gigs are intimate affairs limited to about 300 people with free entry and free beer.


The real coup for the beer brand was securing a deal with terrestrial TV network Channel 4. It screens the gigs as documentaries – thus spreading the brand association to a mass audience.


More CPG companies are using event marketing as a way to cut across fragmenting media modes and reach a specific group of like-minded individuals. However, innovative self-staged events, such as the Homecoming gigs by Carling, are likely to be increasingly popular methods of event marketing. Simple sponsorship often fails to provide brands with significant results and do not always guarantee increased brand awareness.


Creating your own events, rather than hijacking others’ events, enables brands to build stronger emotional bonds with consumers by being the source of the entertainment and benefit provided to the consumer. Self-designed events also enable brands to select the customer profile the event attracts and to be the sole sponsor.

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Carling’s event marketing strategy has shifted from football to music, and the Homecoming gigs are just one part of its new focus. This shift in emphasis reportedly followed its decision to cease sponsoring the Premier Football League after the rights increased from £36m to £40m. Although this was undoubtedly a factor, beer companies are seeking to attract a wider audience as beer sales stagnate. Music has broad appeal, both for men and women, and this may have driven the Carling move. On the other hand, football attracts a predominantly male crowd and often has a ‘laddish’ image that brewers are increasingly seeking to move away from.