An Article Featuring an E&I Contract Partner, JMI Sports

Guinness and Notre Dame are in year 3 of a seven-year deal, with Guinness as the official beer of Notre Dame athletics. With one of the most loyal fan bases in college sports, the teaming of the two Irish legends instantly connected Guinness with 40 million alums and fans. In this deal, the millions of Notre Dame fans in select markets like Indiana, NY, Boston, and Chicago, can find special-edition Notre Dame eight-packs of Guinness Draught cans, and see Joe Montana in Guinness TV spots, social media ads, and promotional activities. The partnership was originally initiated before the 2020 pandemic, but then advertising was put on hold. Given the deep Irish roots of the Guinness brand and the "Fighting Irish," this partnership was perfect. The advertising teams at Notre Dame Global Partnerships and Guinness sought to create a partnership that inspired an authentic celebration. The teams aimed to collaboratively build new shared traditions throughout the Notre Dame Alumni and Fan ecosystem. With Notre Dame, Guinness hopes to better penetrate the North American market. Guinness has always put more money behind European sports, mostly soccer, so this was a new venture. The national partnership includes media, licensing and retail, on-site amplification, and business-to-business efforts. Supporting media assets included NBC broadcast integration, national radio, digital and social media.  

The Results?
After 2023, Guinness announced it had its best fiscal year ever. It recorded growth in all regions, and boasted high single-digit growth in North America. A major highlight of the 2023 football season was the Notre Dame vs. Navy game in Dublin, Ireland.

This partnership was initiated by an E&I contract partner, JMI Sports. With your institution's E&I membership you have a procurement contract with JMI Sports. See your contract with JMI Sports.