Dos Equis®, in partnership with Intersport, has announced the date and location of the third annual Dos Equis® 3X3U National Championship. The contest is a groundbreaking 3-on-3 college basketball tournament bringing together the country’s best collegiate seniors to compete one last time in Atlanta, GA, host city for college basketball’s national championship, April 3-5. The 3X3U tournament will be broadcast on ESPN2 and live streamed on Twitter. The field comprises 32 teams representing each Division I conference with 64 games played over three days and a prize pool totaling over $150,000. Retailers can leverage the action with a February-March multi-channel promotion featuring local activation, disruptive in-store merchandising, PR & media, and locally relevant influencers.
“We’re leveraging the energy and enthusiasm of college basketball’s peak moment to provide a broader platform for Dos Equis® and to drive store traffic to sell more of our products,” says Reggie Gustave, Dos Equis Brand Manager. “We’re strengthening our connection to college sports to reach younger Millennials who are highly engaged with their college teams during this cultural moment and crucial ‘Just Hanging Out’ consumption occasion,” continues Gustave. “Dos Equis® is the most interesting beer out there and is all about bringing more interesting things to our consumers. We will stand out from the crowd and interrupt the regularly scheduled championship with an interesting, exclusive and fast-paced tournament within THE tournament in Atlanta.”
The integrated retail activation around the 3X3U tournament includes a text-to-win sweepstakes for a chance at a VIP basketball experience in Atlanta and cross-merchandising partnerships to drive trail and loyalty. In a separate “Perfect Bracket” promotion, consumers can enter their bracket predictions on a Dos Equis® custom microsite where one Grand Prize winner will collect $2 million if they correctly predict the winners of all 63 games. Together, the promotions are aimed at engaging consumers in unparalleled basketball action and strengthening the Dos Equis® commitment to college basketball.
