Selling German Beer in China with the Bundesliga Team Borussia Dortmund

Overview

Wurenbacher worked with SportQuake to overhaul their football strategy, aligning with world-renowned Borussia Dortmund IP to authenticate their brand and promotions and drive growth in the world’s largest beer market.

The Challenge

Having tested seen the benefits of football sponsorship as a means to drive brand awareness and increase sales in China, Wurenbacher wanted to reassess and improve their football sponsorship strategy in order to achieve even greater impact and growth.

The Solution

Following an extensive analysis of Wurenbacher’s previous sponsorship activity, SportQuake worked with Wurenbacher to develop a regional partnership with Borussia Dortmund for three key reasons:

World Renowned German IP – Wurenbacher could integrate Dortmund’s premium, globally recognised German IP throughout their marketing promotions, carving a unique identity in an import market worth £750m+ per year.

Immediate Brand Awareness – As Germany’s most famous club after Bayern Munich, partnering with Dortmund would drive immediate brand awareness and authenticity among China’s 300m+ football fans.

Unique Activation For Mainstream Engagement – With Dortmund visiting China for the 2017 ICC, a series of ‘money can’t buy’ player-focused activation events would kick-off consumer engagement in beer consumption hot spots, including Shanghai & Guangzhou.

The Result

The partnership launched in June 2017 ahead of Dortmund’s pre-season China tour. Wurenbacher revamped their product design, integrating the German club’s iconic branding into their award-winning Helles Lager to emphasise the authenticity of their brand.

The partnership proved massively successful as Wurenbacher rose up the rankings to become the 3^rd most popular import beer in China by March 2019. Dortmund experienced similar benefit from the deal, with brand TVCs and online video content driving massive awareness in the club’s key Chinese growth market.

Find Out More

To find out more about Wurenbacher’s partnership with Borussia Dortmund, contact Pat McColgan at [email protected]