It used to be that any thoughts of cider during the summer instantly invoked memories of the Strongbow Rooms (in all its guises throughout its long history) at most of the festivals that mattered.
Well, it looks like that reign has well and truly come to an end.
Gaymers Cider, part of the Constellation portfolio, has been busy snapping up rights to pretty much all the festivals in the UK (thanks to some good work by Oceans Events) with a couple of exceptions - Brothers (having lost Glastonbury to Gaymers) will be at Bestival and Strongbow is clinging on to V.
But I think we’ll see a new ‘cider of music’ emerge over the next 3 years, as Gaymers has sponsorship and pouring rights at events including Reading and Leeds, Download, O2 Wireless, Lovebox, Rockness as well as the venue portfolios of Live Nation and Mama Group.
Its interesting to see that Strongbow seem to have given up the ghost in a category that is causing traditional music brands such as Carling to worry, as it would be fair to cite the Strongbow Rooms as one of the top 3 examples of festival sponsorship.
I’ll be keeping an eye on this one to see if the potential is fulfilled. For more info, check the new website that is due to launch soon.