Uganda Breweries, owned by the global alcohol company Diageo, recently launched another massive alcohol marketing campaign in the country. Targeting sports fans – a group that contains many children and adolescents – Uganda Breweries launched an “activation campaign” where they bring tanker trucks filled with beer to the screening of games in the English Premier League.
The alcohol company has also announced a competition where beer buyers have the chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to the United Kingdom to watch their favourite Premier League team.
“For us, it’s all about the fans. We’re not stopping in Kampala—we’re taking Guinness Matchday on the road to ensure that every football fan, in every corner of Uganda, gets to experience the same excitement and magic. We’re putting Guinness Matchday on wheels and bringing it to you”, says Matilda Babuleka, United Breweries Head of Beer.
Not long ago Diageo via Ugandan Breweries announced another marketing campaign exploiting the great interest in sports in the country. The alcohol company have formed partnerships with the three largest rugby clubs in Uganda, spending 400 million Ugandan shilling for marketing beer towards the rugby audience. Part of the campaign is issuing special edition jerseys for a “Guinness Fun Rugby” event.
Uganda has the second youngest population in the world with over 50% of the 45 million strong population being below 18 years of age. Sports, and especially the English Premier League, has a strong position among the young, as reported by Ugandan media:
“Premiership fever has taken hold of Uganda’s capital and other towns in the East African country, attracting supporters across the board: everyone from cart pushers to those who notch up frequent flyer miles have embraced the league. It no longer comes as a surprise to find a group of primary school children passionately and authoritatively discussing who scored what goal in last night’s match, in which minute — or who is getting transferred to which team, at what cost. As likely as not, a five-year-old girl in a rural area will have the names of Liverpool players at her fingertips.”
Promotion, or any marketing strategies, is Big Alcohol’s activity to drive alcohol availability and acceptability, to perpetuate the alcohol norm, and to place alcohol at the center of people’s thoughts and preferences, communities’ practices, and societies’ customs. The focus of this DUBIOUS FIVE strategy is the people and their beliefs about alcohol products, the public and their attitudes about and behaviour around alcohol products, and the consumers and how much, how often they buy and consume alcohol brands.
Sources:
- https://softpower.ug/guinness-truck-delivers-cold-beer-for-epl-fans-in-uganda/
- https://kawowo.com/2024/08/17/guinness-uganda-to-fly-football-fans-to-uk-to-watch-premier-league-games-in-exciting-new-campaign/
- https://kawowo.com/2024/03/29/guinness-uganda-rugby-sponsorship/
- https://mg.co.za/article/2005-09-29-uganda-the-home-of-english-footballs-most-ardent-fans/
- https://observer.ug/index.php/news/headlines/81785-census-can-nrm-war-rhetoric-appeal-to-uganda-s-30-million-under-30s