Greene King signs rugby deal

Greene King has struck its largest ever sponsorship deal by becoming the official beer of the England rugby team.

In a four-year agreement, Greene King's IPA product will be the only beer to be branded on the Twickenham pitch and stands.

The stadium, which plays host to all England home games, will also feature a dedicated "Greene King IPA pub", which will serve the firm's cask ales.

The financial details of the deal were not disclosed, although Greene King confirmed it was a "multimillion-pound" agreement.

Greene King will use the link-up with in-pub promotions throughout its network of hostelries during the rugby season and for every England match.

The brewer said that it will run various competitions, allowing IPA drinkers the chance to play at Twickenham, win signed merchandise and train with the England team.

The deal also includes Greene King branding in England match programmes and newsletters distributed to rugby clubs by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the governing body of English rugby.

Greene King's sponsorship comes ahead of England's winter internationals with New Zealand and South Africa, with both games expected to sell out the 75,000-capacity Twickenham.

The deal will also include next year's World Cup, to be played in France.

By Oliver Milman

This article originally appeared on mad.co.uk, the website which delivers business insight to professionals in marketing, media, new media, advertising and design.To subscribe to mad.co.uk and receive full access to their database of articles on these industries, click here.

Source: mad.co.uk

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