Putting the T in Tournament: How Tennent’s EURO 2024 Activation Brewed Success

‘The Original Supporters of Scottish Football.’

Tennent's Lager is no stranger to supporting some of the UK’s largest teams and events across the sporting and cultural landscape from ‘T in the Park’ to Glasgow footballing giants Celtic and Rangers. With a wealth of experience in highly successful activation and marketing, it’s perhaps no surprise that once again this summer the team behind the iconic brew has been front and centre during Scotland’s campaign at the EURO’s.

Through their brilliant blend of experiential and digital marketing, Tennent’s has once again cemented their famed ‘T’ branding as the nation's most recognised drinks brand, providing a brilliant example of how businesses can harness the buzz and excitement of major events to create truly memorable campaigns.

The Journey

In any good story, the build-up is as important as the main event and Tennent’s delivered a strong opening to whet the appetite of fans in the lead-up to the tournament.

Taking the long way to Germany, Tennent’s teased early tournament excitement with their 5 part ‘Get to Germany’ series with a host of fans competing to reach Munich for Scotland’s opening game against the hosts. Racing across a number of iconic locations and competing in challenges against fellow fans, the teams fought tooth and nail to win special EURO experience prizes for the tournament.?

Mirroring the fan journey, albeit in a slightly more dramatic fashion, the pre-tournament competition tapped into the national excitement and helped build a sense of anticipation ahead of fans making their own odyssey to Germany. The team also cleverly brought in a host of Scottish celeb’s including national team players to adding to the excitement and linking themselves further with Scotland’s cultural icons.?

This, coupled with further digital marketing across their social channels in the build-up set the stage well for when the real show came to town.?

The Main Event

Tennent’s followed up their strong start with a colourful showing in the homeland of beer.

Soaking up the tournament atmosphere alongside the thousands of fans who travelled over to cheer on Scotland the Tennent's team shone with their experiential activation.?

Whether it was Munich, Cologne or Stuttgart Tennent’s were front and centre with the Tartan Army, providing drinks, merch and adding to the feel-good factor. The team also brought over their special 1885 German-style pilsner, highlighting their founding links to Germany and creating another layer of depth in their German story.

With a strong focus on the fan experience, the team supported the supporters, giving them a taste of home in Germany and reiterating their links with the beautiful game and the national team.

This was also supported by their efforts across social media where they shared images of the fans soaking up the German atmosphere, with their Tennent’s point of view or ‘TOV’ posts.

Homeward

For those not lucky enough to grab tickets to Germany, Tennent’s also ensured that they got a taste of the tournament fervour a little closer to home.

Setting up fan zones across Scotland the team brought EURO 2024 to Scotland, allowing fans to gather and cheer on their favourite players and teams in their own tournament atmosphere.

The hundreds of pubs aligned with Tennent’s also enjoyed a tournament makeover with Tennent’s supplying special German style beer steins and Tennent’s Scotland supporters tops for staff uniforms so that fans could enjoy a taste of Germany from the comfort of their local.

This local activation brilliantly positions the famous red ‘T’ in the hearts and minds of football fans, tapping into the national consciousness and creating strong positive associations, much in the same way that Irish brewing giants Guinness have created a lasting connection with rugby fans through the Six Nations.?

Sport is a superb vehicle to invoke emotions and no team more so than Scotland provides supporters with the highs and lows on their journey. Supporting these moments both good and bad creates a deep bond with fans and can lead brands to become synonymous with their chosen medium.

The Return

Of course, the cost of activation such as this is not cheap. But as Tennent’s have proven, harnessing this huge potential can reap enormous sustained benefits. With Guinness now moving into the football market with their partnership with the English Premier League, this trend looks set to continue.??

Utilising their position as a market leader, Tennent’s have effectively capitalised on their advantage, brewing engaging storytelling and delivering a memorable campaign that connects with fans and supports their emotional journey throughout the tournament. This is something large businesses should all look towards as a guide in how to activate.?

For small businesses too, it highlights how effective experiential marketing can create strong connections with customers and provide inspiration and guidance of how to go about it, albeit on a smaller scale.

The Next Chapter

Sadly for Scotland and Tennent’s, their story has ended prematurely this tournament as defeat in the final group game dashed hopes of a knockout run and dreams of glory.?

As the Tartan Army begin their journey home it won’t be too long before attentions turn to the 2026 World Cup and the chance to dream again. Tennent’s too will no doubt be right alongside the Scot’s once more for the adventure.?

As with all great stories, the next chapter awaits.

Interested in learning how your business can benefit from experiential marketing? Reach out to our team of experts today at [email protected]!