Carling offers free ad hoardings to local pubs

Carling is giving away the ad hoarding space around four grounds hosting matches this evening and tomorrow night.

The brand said the move was made out of concern for the high number of pubs currently closing their doors.

According to the British Beer and Pub Association's figures released earlier this year, around six pubs are shutting every day. 

The games are Manchester City vs Fulham, Bolton vs West Ham United, Nottingham Forrest vs Blackburn and Aston Villa vs Blackburn.

Pubs to be advertised include Henighans in Bolton and King Edward VII in Bolton. The advertising will be seen on TV as all of the matches will be televised.

Carling brand director Martin Coyle said: "The local pub is a great place to meet your mates and is a key part of the country’s social fabric.

"As we sponsor the Carling Cup it seemed a perfect opportunity for us to help local pubs at a practical level.

"Amazingly, 22% of people have never visited their local so there's never been a better time to give it a try."

It is not unusual for brands to hand over advertising space to charities and alternative advertisers. In March, Refuge, the charity which campaigns against domestic abuse, secured £500,000 worth of free media space to support a marketing push.

Last month Cadbury gave away free outdoor media space as part of its Wispa campaign. The campaign for Wispa Gold offered consumers the opportunity to insert their own messages into poster sites around the country.

This article was first published on brandrepublic.com