Picture this: It’s Wimbledon Finals weekend in London, and Tom Holland—yes, Spiderman Tom Holland—is behind the bar at a pop-up in Covent Garden. But he’s not mixing cocktails or promoting the tournament’s official sponsors. He’s serving non-alcoholic beer. His own.
This unexpected celebrity sighting wasn’t part of an official Wimbledon partnership. In fact, none of what happened that weekend was. And that was exactly the point.
Without big-budget brand access or sponsorship deals, BERO, the non-alcoholic beer brand co-founded by Holland, turned one of Britain’s most iconic sporting events into a marketing win. Powered by authenticity, speed, and Shopify’s infrastructure, the campaign proved that you don’t need a multimillion-pound activation to own a cultural moment—you just need the right mix of timing, storytelling, and scrappiness.
Why Wimbledon, why now?
BERO’s goal from the start was to promote mindful drinking and a refined experience—one that reflected a sense of British heritage to align with the brand.
With that in mind, the team began brainstorming sporting events that embodied that ethos. “It was really more about etiquette sports, country club sports, or sports with a sense of history,” explains John Herman, BERO’s CEO.
Wimbledon quickly rose to the top of the list. It stood apart from typical sporting events—not just in scale, but in tone and aesthetic. “Wimbledon is bigger than being an event that happens in the UK—it’s something that is a global cultural moment,” John says.
It also happens to be near where Holland was born. “Tom is also from Kingston, which is right next to Wimbledon. It was really a natural place for us to kick off a meaningful moment that tied into the British heritage we want the brand to have."
The strategy: From scrappy idea to cultural takeover
From the beginning, the team at BERO set out to make a bold impression on a startup budget, relying on scrappy, guerrilla-style marketing tactics designed to turn heads and spark conversation. “We said early on, ‘Let’s come away with a headline that said BERO took over Wimbledon,’” John says.
Rather than compete directly with the official sponsors, BERO set up experiences surrounding the tournament that engaged attendees both online and in person. First came a stream of faux out-of-home content—digitally rendered creative that looked like billboards or transit ads, designed to tease an upcoming brand presence without actually requiring physical placements. These assets were optimized for social media and built anticipation across BERO’s growing audience.
Next was an on-the-ground sampling stunt near Tower Bridge. It was designed to get the product into people’s hands in a high-visibility location, spark curiosity among passersby, and generate shareable moments—all hallmarks of a high-return grassroots activation.
Finally, the crown jewel of the campaign: a pop-up experience in Covent Garden. This temporary space was minimal, sleek, and full of surprises. Fans who stopped by could try BERO, pick up limited-edition merch, and, if they timed it right, be served by Tom Holland himself.
"Tom was involved because these are things that he’s excited about."
“Tom was involved because these are things that he’s excited about,” John says. “As we were coming up with creative concepts, we were bouncing them off him. He was giving us real-time feedback. He just wanted to make it…again, that original idea of ‘How do we take over Wimbledon with a scrappy budget?’ He wanted to come up with a solution for that.”
Shopify’s role: Powering the moment
While the public-facing moments of the campaign played out across London, it was BERO’s use of Shopify’s powerful commerce infrastructure that made the entire activation seamless from behind the scenes and made it possible to directly connect the campaign to direct sales.
“Our UK presence specifically is very much limited right now to really a Shopify presence,” John says. “Direct to consumer was an easy way that we could launch out the gate and really fulfill customer demand.”
By tapping into Shopify’s scalable and flexible platform, BERO was able to move fast and meet the demands of a high-profile launch. The tech handled sudden spikes in online traffic, enabled timed merchandise drops to coincide with in-person selling using Shopify POS, and allowed the team to unify the digital and physical experience into one cohesive story. It’s a prime example of how Shopify’s tools can empower merchants to execute at any scale.
“Beyond just sampling, we were able to have limited-edition merchandise there as well that gave people another reason to show up,” John says. “We were able to have this beautiful experience that felt very branded and elevated. … If you were a fan of the brand, you could come and get some exclusive merch. If you had never tried the product, you could come and try it. You wanted to meet Tom? You could.”
The campaign also fed BERO’s social media presence, with a steady stream of content captured throughout the week fueling brand storytelling far beyond the moment itself. “It was able to make it have more of a holistic approach,” John adds.
What worked: Real-time buzz, real results
By the end of the weekend, BERO had done what most new brands only dream of: carved out cultural relevance without a formal invitation.
“At that point in time, we were only in-market for eight months really, but the brand felt so grown up and so established,” John says.
The campaign led to a surge in engagement across platforms, with BERO seeing substantial increases in social following and interaction—including more than 20,000 new followers across Instagram and TikTok, and over 10 million views across videos on the same platforms (with an estimated reach of more than 100 million).
Site traffic spiked, including from US-based users—demonstrating the reach of the campaign even beyond the UK. There was a 92% lift in UK orders week over week (WOW), and an 18% lift in US orders WOW. Earned media flowed in from both press and influencer circles, with more than 750 million impressions in earned media coverage and 400 pieces of user-generated content posted, offering validation without the need for paid placement. Most importantly, it created an awareness moment that couldn’t have been manufactured through traditional performance marketing.
“The results were tremendous,” John says. “Social following, engagement, site traffic … sometimes that can feel like a soft metric, but the reality is we’re a brand, so we need awareness.”
Takeaways for founders: Make the moment yours
For other founders watching from the sidelines, BERO’s success offers key lessons on how to punch above your weight—especially in a world where brand presence can be won, not just bought.
First, you don’t need an official sponsorship to take part in a cultural moment. If your product and story fit the audience, the absence of your logo won’t matter as much. That was BERO’s entire bet, and it paid off.
Second, founder presence is a trust-builder. Tom Holland behind the bar wasn’t a celebrity stunt—it was an extension of the brand’s values. His authenticity created buzz because it felt real.
Third, don’t overcomplicate it. The simplicity of BERO’s strategy—from samples at Tower Bridge to a single pop-up—was part of its power. When done thoughtfully, simple experiences can drive deep connections.
"Starting out with a strong vision upfront helps—but being agile matters."
Fourth, agility matters. “We had a lot of ideas we were recreating really far down the path,” John says. “Starting out with a strong vision upfront helps—but being agile matters.” A small brand with a nimble team can outpace a larger one with slower approval chains.
Finally, use platforms that let you move fast and scale smart. Shopify allowed BERO to handle everything from quick-turn merch drops to high-traffic conversion. It gave the team the flexibility to meet the moment and the reliability to grow from it.
What’s next for BERO?
With Wimbledon now a key brand moment, BERO is already thinking about how to build on this success. “We’re going to continue to drill into what feels like bigger global moments,” John shares. “Wimbledon will remain a staple…but is it the Ryder Cup or the US Open next?”
With one cultural moment successfully executed, BERO now has the blueprint for turning lifestyle aspirations into tangible brand action. And thanks to a platform that scales with it, there’s plenty of room to grow.
