• by Erik Oster , August 28, 2023

If you’re a beer brand, football season is serious business. But  the nature of official sponsorships and brand partnerships means there’s only so much room on the NFL roster. One approach is to focus instead on the college game, which is the route Modelo took last year with its campaign celebrating the unique devotion of the game’s most die-hard fans.

Modelo is turning to the same playback this year with a continuation of the “Full-Time Fans” campaign, representing the brand’s largest-ever marketing investment, running across networks and all major NCAA Football conferences. This year’s campaign features new broadcast ads, digital and social content, media partners, and retail promotions.

Touting its continuing role as the “Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff,” and a new positioning as the “Official Overtime Beer Sponsor of ESPN College Football,” Modelo launched the campaign today. Two spots position the beer as the perfect reward for fans who go all out, with a third slated for later in the season.

"The evolution of Full-Time Fans is a testament to the amazing passion from fans everywhere,” Modelo Vice President of Marketing Greg Gallagher said in a statement.

The campaign also features partnerships with Disney Advertising and ESPN, with Modelo slated to be featured in the final TV spot of commercial breaks following the end of the fourth quarter in games that go into overtime -- as well as in-stadium billboard segments.

Modelo is also going big on the continuation of its “Modelo Full-Time Fan Contest,” offering fans who demonstrate their committed fandom a chance to win a $100,000 grand prize and a trip to the College Football Playoff National Championship in Houston -- and, in collaboration with CashApp, to offer fans the chance to win weekly cash prizes.

Modelo’s big football season drive comes as the brand seeks to cement an unlikely lead on its biggest rival. Following a sales boost in recent months – due in part to an orchestrated boycott effort against Bud Light by far-right extremists -- Modelo Especial overtook Bud Light as top beer brand in year-to-date retail sales this month, according to recent NIQ data originally cited by CNN. With the clock running down on the year, Modelo’s investment in “Full-Time Fans” will go up against Bud Light’s Official NFL Sponsorship as the underdog brand seeks to hold on to that lead.