Brief

How do we leverage the sponsorship with City Football Group (including Manchester City FC) to drive global fame for Asahi Super Dry and break away from the perceptions of being a beer for consumption in Japanese restaurants?

Approach

Asahi Super Dry and City Football Group are committed to innovation and progression. Typically brands will leverage a sponsorship by championing the qualities that bring them together, but often forget the most important element; why should fans care?

We built a fan-centric model for our sponsorship and took the elements that bind the brands to establish a joint mission to create the most progressive football fan experiences the world has ever seen, through the vibrancy of modern Japan.

In its simplest form this sponsorship now asks the question, how can Japan's number 1 beer, innovate the beautiful game for the world's most innovative fans.

In its first year this mission has led to some of the most talked about elements within the game.

From installing robotic pouring machines in the bars at the Etihad Stadium, through to hiding a secret karaoke room in one of the premium boxes that was then discovered by the first team and to elevating the Manchester City FC highlights reels with the inclusion of Manga.

Results

This fan-centric model is in its infancy at the moment. Still, it has already established Asahi Super Dry as a beer for Man City's 317m global fans, including Man City super-fan Noel Gallagher announcing on Sky Sports that he now drinks Asahi Super Dry whilst watching the match.

We have seen this translate directly into stadium sales as well. When Amstel and Heineken were sold at the stadium, premium beer sales were in a minority of 1 Heineken sold for every 3 Amstel sold. We’ve completely changed the experience with premium beer now selling 3 times as much as the mainstream offer, which equates to 20,000 more pints per game than Heineken ever sold.  

What Makes It Trouble Maker?

We refused to accept this as a badging exercise, instead finding a way to leverage the sponsorship to hero Asahi Super Dry by building on what fans wanted as well as what they loved about modern Japan.