Kingsford fires up fall with football and fan experiences
By Kyle Whitaker, Brand Experience Associate Director — Kingsford, and Sydney Taylor, Social & Influencer SME — Kingsford
This fall, Kingsford is firing up the season with a series of football and experiential activations, connecting with fans from the Pinehurst Barbecue Festival over Labor Day weekend through college football and NFL matchups. The lineup builds on successful programs from past years, while expanding into food, barbecue and community events that help us reach new audiences and drive deeper household penetration. The excitement extends across Kingsford’s social media channels through event highlights and influencer activations already underway.
The fall event activations continue through late October with a Cowboys-Eagles tailgate wedding, building on Kingsford’s partnership with Jason Kelce and his Garage Beer company.
By the numbers
- 7 activations from early September through late October
- 6 states: North Carolina, Texas, Arkansas, Georgia, California and Pennsylvania
- 3 football matchups, plus a barbecue festival, a food showcase, an Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) homecoming and a tailgate wedding
The calendar
- Sept. 4-6, Pinehurst, North Carolina: Pinehurst Barbecue Festival, with Grillmaster Ron Simmons leading the Q-School Grilling Class.
- Sept. 12, Austin, Texas: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Texas, featuring Grillmaster Jess Pryles and former Texas All-American Brian Orakpo.
- Sept. 25-27, Arkansas: Bite Northwest Arkansas, a major sponsorship for us, with Grillmaster David Olson and the Live Fire Republic Team.
- Sept. 26, Athens, Georgia: No. 10 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Georgia, featuring World Champion Chris Lilly and former Georgia QB Jake Fromm.
- Oct. 4, Santa Clara, California: Denver Broncos vs. San Francisco 49ers, with grilled food, games and branded giveaways.
- Oct. 10, Atlanta, Georgia: Morehouse Homecoming vs. Savannah State, a key part of our HBCU efforts, featuring Chef Way and Kingsford-sponsored cooling stations.
- Oct. 26, Philadelphia: Cowboys-Eagles tailgate wedding, catered by Grillmaster Matt Groark and made possible through Garage Beer, building on Kingsford’s partnership with Jason Kelce.
What’s different
The calendar continues to lean into football while broadening the mix in ways that create more opportunities to reach new households. Events like the Pinehurst Barbecue Festival, Bite Northwest Arkansas and Morehouse Homecoming help Kingsford show up with different groups of people and in moments where grilling, food and community are already part of the experience.
How we’re extending reach
We’re supporting the calendar with social media activation that will help carry event moments beyond the people on-site, giving us more ways to engage consumers throughout the season and reinforce our role in fall grilling occasions.
You can follow along on Kingsford’s Instagram and TikTok for a look at pir event and influencer activations. We’re capturing real-time event coverage across social, along with additional video content that will be posted following the events to sustain the momentum. We’re also partnering with influencers to attend these events, helping generate excitement.
