Modelo is deepening a brand positioning as the “Cerveza for Fútbol” with a campaign timed to this summer’s World Cup, per details shared with Marketing Dive. The effort builds on an over three decade legacy of activating around soccer and represents the brand’s largest media investment in the sport to date. It also lands at a time when Modelo Especial remains the top beer in the U.S. in dollar sales.

“We can put this huge investment behind soccer and reach a ton of people. It’s not a niche sport — it’s obviously the most popular sport in the world — but in the U.S., it is becoming such a meaningful sport with such a huge fan base,” said Logan Jensen, vice president of brand marketing at Modelo. “As the biggest beer brand, we’ve now got the platform to really celebrate that in a big way. Those two things coming together are leading to us going all in.”

Along with its soccer ads, Modelo is making a seven-figure investment in U.S. pro soccer, a 125% increase over last season. The brand has become a founding partner of Miami Freedom Park and serves as the official cerveza of Inter Miami CF, as well as the exclusive import beer of Atlanta United FC and LAFC.

The new “Best Seat in the House” campaign includes a series of 30-second ads, in English and Spanish, that show how the best seats in the house aren't in a luxury box, but are at home, at on-premise locations and in unusual places. The effort also includes media partnerships, out-of-home ads and social and digital content.

Modelo will sponsor every pre-game World Cup broadcast on Telemundo and will have a presence before, during and after all 104 Spanish-language matches. While Modelo is not an official sponsor of the World Cup, the brand has long celebrated passionate fútbol fans, especially those in Hispanic communities.

“What’s unique about ‘Best Seat in the House’ is that these are the fans that recognize that it’s not always about the experience of being in the stadium,” Jensen said. “It’s not always about these exclusive access experiences — it’s about being with your people, having your beer and experiencing football the way it was meant to be experienced.”

Connecting with culture 

The “Best Seat in the House” campaign sees Modelo partner with five players — Edson Álvarez and Raúl Jiménez of Mexico, Diego Luna of the U.S., David Ospina of Colombia and Raphinha of Brazil — all of whom share their love of the game through interviews that come to life in social content.

“There’s a country of origin excitement, but there’s also a pan-Latin excitement,” Jensen said. “Our talent strategy was to get a good representation of some of that really exciting talent from across some of those countries.”

To tap into the culture of soccer, Modelo has teamed with Italian sportswear company Kappa for a limited-edition capsule collection that includes updated kits, outerwear and accessories. The beer marketer also partnered with designer Jon-Paul Wheatley to create a custom ball that celebrates Latino fútbol fandom, which will be available for sale and featured on select packaging that also includes a QR code-powered sweepstakes. In addition, the brand will activate at participating on-premise locations, including bars, airports and hotels nationwide, with games, a Modelo Michelada cart, giveaways and more. 

“We want to show up everywhere the fan is… It’s not just about slapping our logo on just any partnership, but really finding those that are meaningful to fans, that bring a lot of history and heritage,” Jensen said. “Having been in this space for so long, we feel very comfortable with the landscape, and it’s exciting to find those partners that can really do something creative and interesting that’s a little bit beyond maybe what you might see from other brands.”

For Modelo, the campaign comes during a tough economic time for consumers and for CPG categories like beer. Despite pressure on consumer spending, parent Constellation Brands returned to growth during the fourth quarter. Along with keeping its top position, Modelo Especial was the No. 4 dollar share gainer during the period, per executive commentary around its earnings. 

Constellation expects beer marketing spend to be approximately 9.5% of net sales this year. The “Best Seat in the House” campaign is part of its efforts to make the beer feel accessible to fans, whether in price point, packaging or partnerships, and overcome economic anxiety. 

“Showing up and being part of the consumer journey, even as that consumer journey might change, is really an important part of our marketing playbook,” Jensen said.