Carling sponsorship out of tune?

After a nine year association the market leading lager brand will no longer sponsor the Carling Weekend festivals at Reading and Leeds.

Music has been increasingly central to the brand’s marketing platform in recent years, but this development implies that a change of strategy could be on the cards.

The brand has been heavily involved in live music since it lost the rights to sponsor football’s Premier League in 2000. As well as the Weekend festivals – which draw a combined crowd of over 100,000 – Carling also sponsors ten mid-sized venues across the country as part of the Carling Academy campaign.

Melvin Benn of the festival organising company, Festival Republic, says “it was by mutual agreement that both parties felt the time was right to pursue new opportunities”. A spokesperson for Carling was not available for comment.

Ben Grant, 28/11/07