Case Study: How Asahi developed the best in class Official Global Bar Finder with World Rugby

Client: Asahi Global

Brand: Asahi Super Dry

Sponsorship Asset: Rugby World Cup 2023

What was the client’s business problem?

Asahi Super Dry had taken on a new sponsorship for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Inspired by the enormous success of the 2019 tournament in their native Japan, they moved into the world of global sport for the very first time.

In the UK, Ireland and France, however, Asahi Super Dry was not a mainstream product in the on-trade. Despite significant growth in recent years, their distribution in pubs and bars was still limited.

What were they looking for?

A digital partner that could help them grow awareness of Asahi Super Dry and a specific association with rugby union by driving fans into venues that stock their beer to watch games live.

What concerns did we need to overcome?

Would this drive the value they wanted to see? Whilst Asahi had never tried a bar finder before, World Rugby had with a previous sponsor.

What operational challenges did we need to consider?

Integrating with any official rights holder platform is fraught with potential technical difficulties. In this instance, however, the quality of our API meant the job was done in seconds.

What was FANZO’s solution?

Our solution was two-fold:

1 - Host an Asahi Super Dry bar finder on World Rugby platforms - showing users where they can watch any game at the tournament across the globe - giving Asahi serious legitimacy and advantage over brands as something only they could do as official beer of the tournament

2 - Promote it across FANZO - the place people go to find bars showing sport - helping to drive footfall for the Rugby World Cup whilst also raising awareness more broadly.

Has it been successful?

Following 2023, Asahi renewed their sponsorship for the next 3 world tournaments with FANZO contracted to provide an Asahi sponsored bar finder on World Rugby platforms for each championship