• by Karl Greenberg , November 10, 2009

Mexican cerveza Tecate has an ongoing relationship with Golden Boy Promotions around professional boxing. But the company is doing its largest campaign to date, involving both Mexico and the U.S., with another promoter, Top Rank. The effort, which includes ads, promotions, point-of-purchase and grassroots events, supports this weekend's mega-fight between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto in Los Vegas. The fight will be broadcast on HBO Pay-Per-View.

The program, via Mexico-based Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, a business unit of Tecate's parent FEMSA: FEMSA Cerveza, includes TV, radio, out-of-home, retail and promotions. In-store elements include mass displays and commemorative 24-oz. cans featuring the pugilists.

As the brand has done in the past, Tecate will offer a $25 mail-in discount for the HBO PPV event with the purchase of an 18-pack of Tecate or Tecate Light in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

Daniel Cuellar, sponsorship and media director for Tecate in Mexico, says the on-packaging offer of a discount on the PPV fee has been a hit. "We have been having great results. And every time we have those promotions in different markets, we found retail sales go up 20% or 30%," he says.

"We decided some years ago to build our association with boxing both in Mexico and the U.S.," says Cuellar, adding that traditionally, the company works with Top Rank for its promotional activities in its home country and with Golden Boy for U.S.-market activity.

"It has been working well for the brand but the relevance of the fight is huge in both countries, so we decided to activate it on a national, regional and local basis in the U.S." He says that in Mexico, Tecate will sponsor the fight broadcast, and is doing "a huge promotion" in which some consumers will get a chance to come to the fight. "I could say it is the biggest campaign we have done around boxing," he says.

The TV ads show two fighters going at it in the ring, in slow motion, with super and voiceover saying "Tecate esta en la pelea" (Tecate is in the game) and "Descubre como ganarde" (discover how to win...a trip to Las Vegas) and has a "Cotto Versus Pacquaio" super.

Per Cuellar, Tecate is supporting the sponsorship by tailoring existing campaigns to include information about the fight. He says communications support Tecate's "Con Caracter" positioning as well as the fight game. "It aligns the character of the best boxers with our corporate image."

Leading up to the fight, Tecate will have fans meet-and-greet with fighters, and a "Tecate Mobile Boxing Ring" in Las Vegas. And during fight weekend, Tecate is offering fans seat upgrades and the chance to get a seat next to celebrities. The company is also doing remote radio shows for different stations this week, and will bring some well-known pro fighters to sign autographs on Thursday and Friday.