Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/884376
october 2017 / the tasting panel / 81 T his season, Dos Equis has teamed up with the College Football Playoff to launch a multi-year campaign celebrating fans who "choose game day over everything." "The most passionate college football fan bases happen to be in our key markets, and college football is the second most popular sport in the country. Fifty million people attend a college football game every year; this is a huge and engaged audience," says Karla Flores, Brand Director for Dos Equis. "Both Dos Equis and college football have seen tremendous growth over the past decade, and this sponsorship provides the perfect forum for Dos Equis to encourage fans to 'Stay Thirsty' during one of the biggest sports moments in the United States." Flores and the team at Dos Equis found a match made in heaven when the fabled Mexican import officially sponsored the College Football Playoff for the first time earlier this year. The 2017 seven-game suite, featuring the "New Year's Six" bowl games and championship game, saw a 15 percent increase in viewership on ESPN over the previous year—from an average of just over 14 million Jeremiah Reagan is the Director of Marketing for JJM Group, which owns Varsity Tavern in Fort Worth, Texas, where the bar reaches full capacity early and often on game days. BEADS OF CONDENSATION GATHER ON EMERALD GREEN BOTTLES—THE ENERGY IN THE AIR IS CONTAGIOUS. IT'S GAME DAY. "We pretty much sell Dos Equis all night long . . . [it's] just a Texas thing."