As part of its three-year sponsorship deal with ranchera icon Vicente Fernández, Budweiser will, for the third consecutive year, sponsor the singer’s U.S. Tour. The Budweiser-Fernández deal, reported by Billboard in 2010 (Billbord.biz, July 1, 2010) comes with a twist this year: Fernandez has announced that this will be his farewell tour, so the singer’s 21-city U.S. visit may provide the last chance for fans in the U.S. to see him live.
Budweiser, Vicente Fernandez In Sponsorship Deal
As originally reported by Billboard, the Fernández/Budweiser deal is a major sponsorship that included national TV, print, outdoor, radio and point-of-sale campaign for Budweiser featuring Fernandez. In addition to the concert tour, Fernández is appearing in Budweiser’s Spanish-language marketing campaign, which includes outdoor, interactive and point-of-sale materials. Consumers also will have a chance to win concert tickets, autographed CDs and signed guitars through a national sweepstakes that will be available later this year to U.S. consumers 21 years of age and older (except in California) via Budweiser’s Latino Facebook page.
Cardenas Marketing Network (CMN) facilitated the signing of the direct deal between Anheuser-Busch and Fernández in 2010, and will continue to provide all the local activations for Budweiser. The concert tour is produced by Ralph Hauser Promotions and kicks off May 11 in Ontario, Calif, continuing through major markets, including New York City, Chicago and Houston through November.
As part of the partnership, Budweiser, the Anheuser-Busch Foundation and Fernández will also partner to benefit the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), with a local Latino student getting a university scholarship before each concert.
Since 2010, Fernández, Budweiser and the Anheuser-Busch Foundation have awarded 49 scholarships and contributed $200,000 to the HSF. They expect to award 23 additional scholarships this year.