Rockshore

Getting male beer drinkers onside with the League of Ireland sponsorship.

Challenge

Seven years after its successful launch, Rockshore was in trouble. Market share had been falling and the brand was far from the most favourable beer in Ireland. The root cause was a lack of 'social proof': in a category where your choice of drink signals your identity, male beer drinkers — who drive 80% of sales — didn’t identify as Rockshore drinkers. The challenge was clear: urgently restore Rockshore’s sales by making Rockshore a brand men were proud to choose.

Insight

Rockshore found its unlikely partner in the League of Ireland. With its proudly grassroots fanbase, fans would have seen straight through a cynical brand badging exercise.

Two insights fuelled the launch of this sponsorship. First, we had to build credibility as fans will only get behind a brand as committed as they are. Second, brand growth meant growing the appeal of LOI, which meant winning over 1.6 million Irish football fans devoted to the English Premier League with zero interest in local football.

Strategy

One sponsorship, two jobs. To build credibility with existing LOI fans, Rockshore would champion and elevate the League itself by raising its status, expanding its coverage, and platforming the authentic voices fans already trusted. To drive growth, Rockshore would target EPL fans at the precise moment the Premier League season ends and they're left looking for their next football fix — converting them into LOI fans, and Rockshore drinkers, in one move.

Campaign

Creditibility among fans: The credibility play went big. A hero TVC featuring Roy Keane set the tone and connected with hearts and minds while geo-targeted out-of-home advertising surrounded match days. A season-long Off the Ball podcast partnership and match-day coverage expanded the audience, while a bespoke Balls.ie docuseries put authentic LOI fan voices front and centre.

Grow the fanbase: The growth play was more surgical. Huge billboards caught returning EPL fans at Dublin Airport and Rosslare Port. Red-top sports sections intercepted them online. Sports sub-Reddits were dominated end-to-end. Real-time digital out-of-home screens played match highlights to drive FOMO and connected them to nearby pubs with branded fan zones so they could catch the match down their local.

Results

The strategy worked on every measure that mattered.

"Proud to choose" — the key ‘social proof’ metric increased by 50%, driven by male beer drinkers. Total trade volume grew significantly, returning Rockshore to market share gain.

The Off the Ball and Balls.ie smashed KPIs on reach and engagement while brand social mentions soared, with positive sentiment up +196%.

Awards

🏆 Gold for Best Large Campaign - Media Awards 2026