Virgin Radio Secures Carlsberg For Euro Promotion
Virgin Radio has secured Carlsberg in a six-figure promotion of Euro 2004 during the Pete & Geoff breakfast show, broadcasting live from Lisbon throughout Euro 2004 and offering listeners the chance to join the action in Portugal.
Carlsberg will be promoted as the official beer of the England football team in a deal that marks a new direction for the brand, which has never before invested in radio advertising as part of its communications strategy.
The sponsorship will give listeners a once in a lifetime chance to fly to Portugal to join Pete & Geoff watching England play in the championships. Winners could potentially spend the entire three weeks of the tournament abroad, but will have to play everyday for their right to stay.
The initial activity will be supported by a range of on-air promotions and live reads referring to the Euro 2004 tournament. A Carlsberg-branded microsite has also been created to drive listeners to the promotion, as well as giving them the chance to win a range of football-related prizes.
Commenting on the deal, Brian Commins, sponsorship and promotions director at Virgin Radio, said: “The thought that every day Monday to Friday, right up to the final we will be giving listeners the chance to drop everything, head for the airport and be right in the thick of it in Lisbon is going to be compulsive radio.”
The latest RAJAR figures for the three months to March reveal a less than impressive performance for Total Virgin Radio, which saw its weekly reach fall by 8.1% year on year to 2,486,000. The station, which broadcasts on FM in London and AM across the rest of the country, saw an increase in FM listenership, rising by 6.5% to 951,000 in the same period, while listener levels for AM broadcasts dipped by 12.3% to 1,832,000.
Virgin Radio: 020 7434 1215 www.virginradio.co.uk
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