ESPN and Tecate beer announced the renewal of their boxing sponsorship agreement that aligns the company with ESPN’s Spanish and English-language boxing content on TV, online and on radio; highlighted by the title sponsorship of the Tecate Friday Night Fights Studio within weekly Friday Night Fights telecasts on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.
“Since 2007, boxing has embodied Tecate’s con caracter brand experience through the sponsorship of various marquee events. The extended relationship with ESPN Deportes will give us continuity in the sport and presence in key markets,” said Felix Palau, vice president of marketing for Tecate Equity. “We are confident that Tecate Friday Night Fights Studio paired with ESPN’s media support will help anchor the brand as the leading boxing sponsor.”
“Tecate is the leading brand in boxing today and we are thrilled to once again partner with them and their agency, MV42, on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights series and our boxing programming across ESPN platforms,” said John Fitzgerald, vice president, multimedia sales, ESPN Deportes, ESPN Audio. “This deal reinforces ESPN’s unique position in reaching Hispanic sports fans in English and Spanish.”
Tecate’s sponsorship comes back as a fully integrated alliance across multiple platforms. As part of the agreement, Tecate will continue airing ads on ESPN Deportes’ original production of Viernes de Combates. In addition, Tecate will also be running 30 second ads in Spanish during all of ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights, a milestone for the company as they do not typically advertise in the general market. ESPN will tie in the Tecate concept of “Con Carácter” (With Character) by integrating the brand into both networks’ Friday Night Fights telecasts as well as on ESPN Deportes Radio’s afternoon program Zona ESPN.
As part of the agreement, Tecate will also continue as presenting sponsors of ESPN Deportes’ Golpe a Golpe, the network’s weekly boxing studio show co-hosted by boxing legend Marco Antonio Barrera and Jorge Eduardo Sánchez. New elements of the deal include local activations in key U.S. Hispanic markets. As part of the deal, Golpe a Golpe presented by Tecate will embark on a road tour that will bring a full production of the program to two markets. Additional activations include experiential Golpe a Golpe show segments taped in local markets, back dropped with Tecate in Dallas, San Antonio, Brownsville, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and San Diego.
The deal also includes co-branded Out-of-Home, digital viral video campaign, e-newsletters and mobile & SMS tune-ins for consumer 21 and older. The cerveza brand will also sponsor boxing updates on ESPN Deportes’ SportsCenter. In addition, online components on ESPNdeportes.com will bring Tecate to life.
