Son Heung-Min scores Tiger Beer partnership

The beer brand kicks off its 90th year anniversary with the latest partnership.

Singapore-based beer brand Tiger Beer has roped in South Korean footballer Son Heung-Min as its brand ambassador as the brand kicks off its 90th anniversary celebrations.

Son’s partnership with the brand kicks off with the ‘Year of Your Tiger’ marketing campaign, built around the Year of the Tiger. Through its partnership with the Tottenham Hotspur star, Tiger Beer will be encouraging its customers to go bold and set aside their fears.

The ‘Year of Your Tiger’ campaign has been in the works for almost a year and was born from the Publics One Team Tiger in Singapore. The message of not giving up in the face of adversity and overcoming every hurdle in your way to success will be perfectly endorsed by Son, who himself has overcome multiple hurdles to reach the pinnacle of world football.

Sean O’Donnell, Global Brand Director, Tiger Beer, commented:

“Tiger Beer was born from defying the odds with a bold and courageous spirit. Brewing beer in the tropics was thought to be impossible until we did it. Son is a global icon who perfectly embodies this spirit of Tiger Beer – he is courageous, confident and unstoppable. We believe that we are all born with a Tiger inside us – a version of ourselves that knows no limits to what is possible – but few of us are able to uncage it.

“We wanted to make sure that we launched at the start of the new year, where people are starting to make their resolutions for the year. I think people are probably reflecting a lot on what’s happened over the last 24 months and starting to think, ‘What does my future hold?’ And so we thought it was a perfect time to share what Tiger believes in and really try to inspire consumers to step forward and take that next step to chase their big dreams for next year. But our brewers defied the odds, and we liken that story to that of Son. I mean, there have been Asian footballers who have played in the top leagues in Europe before, but no one’s had the impact that Son has had. He truly has transformed how football fans perceive Asian footballers. Our focus for Tiger is in Asia Pacific, but we’re also growing outside of Asia Pacific. We’ve got good growth in Africa and the Middle East, and we launched in 2021 into the Americas, in Brazil, which is one of the world biggest beer markets, and into Peru.

“Our consumers are what we call the new progressives. They are the 20- to 30-year-olds across Asia who have big ambitions, but currently feel like there are a number of barriers holding them back from being successful. That could be financial, that could be family or tradition. That could be just fear of failure. The majority of our competitors in our key markets are mainstream local beer brands, and they’re thinking very locally. And also, if I’m honest, the creativity is just OK. We’re one of the few beer brands that sits across a number of markets. We have this aspirational premium positioning. And our consumers are looking for more. So we have a great opportunity to connect with them. The brand’s already done that really well in a number of markets. So for me, the Year of the Tiger is coming at the perfect time. And from what we can see so far, even from Son just posting on his Instagram, the engagement has been significant, so it’s super exciting.

“We are delighted to be working with Son to inspire people everywhere to use the Year of the Tiger as the catalyst to realise their true selves.”

Son Heung-Min himself added:

“Tigers are strong in the face of adversity and never back down from a challenge, they’re always bold and determined. I’ve always tried to have the courage to never give up on my dreams – even in the most difficult times. The Year of the Tiger is the perfect opportunity for all of us to dream big and focus on uncaging our true selves. I’m delighted to partner with Tiger Beer in this movement to inspire people everywhere to own the year by embodying the spirit of the Tiger.”

The Year of the Tiger will start from February 1, 2022, when the Lunar New Year gets underway.