Asahi’s Modern Japanese Approach to Its Rugby World Cup Partnership

Jonathan> The partnership has played a really key role for the brand. It's the first time we've ventured into such a space and on such a big, global sporting property. The audience numbers are there for everyone to see. It's about 850 million rugby fans across the world. We know within the UK how big and how important rugby is across the home nations. I'm sure there'll be a little bit of banter going back and forth over the coming weeks. 

For us and for our brand we've got a huge ambition. We're currently Japan's number one beer brand. But our ambition is certainly bigger than that and global as well. And what a partnership such as the Rugby World Cup enables us to do is talk to many more people globally. But specifically for us in the UK, it provides us with a really compelling platform, and one that really does link through to the trade, through experiences, which we know is paramount to consumers. It's what they're looking for, and it's where they place value.

Jonathan> France is a factor. Obviously close proximity to us. I think the closer it is, the more power it presents for certain people in the market. 

But I think rugby in itself, if we think about our business and the headquarters of that being in Japan, it's a game that has really come to the forefront of the nation within Japan. It's driven a huge amount of excitement. 

I also think as a platform and as a sporting moment, it's going through a huge period of growth. More and more people around the world are interested or excited by it. You've got more and more nations competing and competing to a very high level. We've seen the emergence of countries such as Argentina over recent years, more closely, Italy as well. So it is a growing sport, a growing fan base and something that for us as a brand gives us a perfect opportunity to drive awareness of the brand outside of its home market. And importantly for us within the UK and Ireland.

Jonathan> Our objectives are twofold. I think quite clearly, as a growing brand with big ambition, we need more people to be familiar with the brand, more people to trial the brand. This platform enables us to do that. 

But from a positioning perspective, we present ourselves as modern Japan. It allows us to create difference in an established global platform. Our aim is to really broaden the reach of the Rugby World Cup beyond the real true rugby fans and followers, but maybe to those more casual fans. We want to make it inclusive, we want to make it diverse. And we think it's an experience that everyone wants to enjoy, wants to be part of and wants to feel the excitement of.

Jonathan> We have a communications platform at the moment, which is almost a call to action to go ‘Beyond Expected’. Asahi Super Dry is a brand that isn't as old as other beer brands. So where there are brands that talk about heritage of hundreds of years (some of which we have in our portfolio like Pilsner Urquell), actually Asahi Super Dry was born in 1987. By coincidence or otherwise, that's also when the first Rugby World Cup was. So there is a synergy there as well. In context, we're not as old a beer brand or liquid as others might be. I think through that we always look to change the environment, the context that we walk into, because we want to be able to offer more, something different to the drinkers. 'Beyond Expected' does exactly that. It's a call to action, it's a challenge to go beyond what your normal choice would be and to choose something that is slightly different. We believe what Super Dry offers is something that is more refreshing than anything else that's out there on the market. So both mentally but also functionally, what we want to do is offer drinkers something new - a new experience and a new product.

Jonathan> We've talked about ambition. This is a really important moment for us as a brand within the UK and Ireland. I think it's a bit of a defining moment for us in terms of driving that really broad awareness for us. And we've done that in a number of ways. We've made a commitment in terms of our investment behind that, which is over £1.3 million pounds into the market. And that will cover the full mix. We've invested quite a lot in our above-the-line space as well. Some good examples of that across a national outdoor campaign. We've also heightened the impact with a domination at London Bridge station, which is in very close proximity to our fanzone at The Scoop. For us it's really important, of course being a beer, you want people to experience the moment and have a fantastic moment in time with friends old and new, supporting the teams and supporting the tournament in general. 

The fanzone will be there for seven weeks, which is quite a commitment, I think, but we deliberately chose that location because it was in central London. It gives more and more people the opportunity to visit it to watch some rugby and become engaged in the sport. 

We've got some really big plans for it. As I said we want to invite everyone into this rather than hardcore rugby fans and in order to do that, we've got to create an experience that everyone can enjoy. So in our own particular way, we've got a fantastic food offering bringing Japanese culture to that occasion. We've got live DJs appearing at moments and at various games throughout the tournament. And we're working really closely with our brand ambassador Jason Robinson, of 2003 World Cup fame. 

So it's going to be exciting. It's a really important commitment that we made throughout the tournament, rather than just a point in time. And with any partnership, I think on both sides of the fence, that's exactly what you want to see and what you want to feel.

Jonathan> And that's what we want to bring to the overall partnership - a sense of something different, a sense of something that feels a bit more modern, but also something that everyone can enjoy. And that's exactly why we have 0% Asahi Super Dry there as well because not everyone wants to be drinking alcohol. There are those that want to moderate. I'm biassed, obviously, but we've done a lot of research into it, and it is, when you look at the profile and the delivery of the product, pretty much a match for Asahi Super Dry.

Jonathan> Since taking on the brand five years ago, pretty much, we have seen year-on-year growth throughout and I think a lot of that is more people becoming aware of it and being intrigued by it. But once they try it, they are coming back, which is, as you well know, vitally important. 

But I think we're seeing that through our customer base as well. Our distribution is growing significantly, both within the trade but also with consumers. They're looking for something a little bit different: a brand and a proposition that offers something that you probably can't get elsewhere in the market. And I think that's where the modern Japan proposition comes to the fore. People want to find out about it, want to know about Japan. Few people will get the opportunity to visit Japan. But there's this kind of intrigue that sits around the brand that people want to experience. That's really where the investment in the fanzone comes from because we know people value experiences more than things. And in giving them that impactful and enriching experience, we hope that they will then come back to us in the future.