Carlsberg picks Fold7 to lead UEFA sponsorship advertising
Carlsberg has appointed Fold7 to lead a four-year creative brief tied to its UEFA national team football sponsorship as the brewer targets renewed relevance with fans across priority growth markets.
Carlsberg has appointed Fold7 as lead creative agency for its UEFA national team football sponsorship, handing the shop a four-year brief spanning strategy and campaign delivery across the federation’s biggest international competitions.The appointment follows a competitive five-way pitch involving Uncommon, VML, Ogilvy and 72andSunny, with Fold7 tasked with building an overarching platform and a full ecosystem of through-the-line content.Carlsberg Group global brand director Lynsey Woods said: “Fold7 has been a trusted partner to Carlsberg for many years, so extending that relationship as we enter this next chapter with UEFA feels entirely right. Football is a core growth pillar for our brand and a major focus for us in the years ahead.“Together with Fold7, our ambition is clear. To put Carlsberg back at the heart of football fan culture and deliver on our brand promise by giving fans access to the very best of the game, across the biggest moments and competitions in UEFA National Team football.”The scope is designed to drive “fame and relevance” in priority markets including the UK, China, India, Malaysia, Vietnam and Germany, with an emphasis on culturally native and community-led work supported by earned media.Fold7 managing director James Joice said: “The Carlsberg brand has seen 5 years of accelerated growth and we will ensure this continues. Hugely proud of the Fold7 team from strategy through to social and all our global players on the field for bringing home this win. The hard work starts now.”Carlsberg’s UEFA sponsorship, signed in March 2025, marks a return to a platform it held continuously from 1988 until 2016, bringing the brewer back into the top tier of European national team football inventory.The rights package includes the UEFA Nations League Finals, UEFA Women’s Nations League, men’s and women’s European qualifiers, UEFA Futsal EURO, UEFA EURO 2028 and UEFA Women’s EURO 2029, creating a long runway of tentpole moments for activation.Fold7’s remit is not limited to match windows, with the agency expected to build a consistent creative system that can flex across markets, formats and audiences while maintaining a single global brand idea.This is an increasingly common demand from sports sponsors seeking to convert major rights fees into year-round outcomes, with campaigns expected to travel across social, creators and community channels rather than relying on traditional media weight alone.Carlsberg will use the UEFA platform to strengthen its link with football culture and to broaden how fans experience the sport beyond live viewing, while Fold7’s challenge will be to deliver distinctive work that cuts through in markets where betting, fintech and consumer brands are competing aggressively for football attention.