-By Della de Lafuente

Tecate this week kicked off an advertising push centered on Mexican Independence Day (Diez y Seis de Septiembre), touting three major boxing bouts the cerveza is promoting in Houston, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Tecate's marketing and promotional effort is aimed at Mexican consumers who are living in U.S. Hispanic-dominant cities that will be observing the Mexican holiday and also serving as venues for its boxing events. Mexican Independence Day commemorates the day in 1810 when Roman Catholic priest Father Miguel Hidalgo issued a battle cry for freedom from Spanish rule. Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821.

"We understand the importance of this day among Tecate's consumers and we are excited to present a boxing program that reflects the brand's authenticity, character and boldness," Carlos Boughton, Tecate's brand director, said in a statement.

Special events and promos surrounding the boxing matches include key restaurant and bar accounts, ticket giveaways via local radio partners, thematic POP, mail-in rebates for HBO Pay-per-View events (where available), and autograph sessions with boxing talent. The outreach is planned through the end of September. Adrenalina, New York, handled creative duties and MediaVest, New York/Los Angeles, was responsible for media.

All of the fights feature boxers from Golden Boy Promotions, which is owned by Oscar De La Hoya, including Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz, Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley.

Tecate will serve as the primary sponsor of the Juan Diaz vs. Michael Katsidis lightweight bout, scheduled for Sept. 6 at Houston's Toyota Center. The beer brand is offering a 50-ticket giveaway via a promotional partnership with Liberman Broadcasting Corp.'s KTJM "La Raza." Thematic POP displays touting the boxing event will go on view this week in retail outlets, with special events planned at local restaurants and bars throughout August. The fights will be televised live on HBO's Boxing After Dark.

For the Sept. 13 championship fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, featuring Joel "El Cepillo" Casamayor vs. Juan Manuel Marquez, Tecate is rolling out a regional marketing push targeting boxing aficionados in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico. Consumers in those states will receive a $20 mail-in-rebate coupon for the HBO Pay-per-View event with the purchase of a Tecate 12-pack.

POP and customized out-of-home advertising will promote fight details in key markets. Tickets to the Casamayor vs. Marquez event will be available to the public through a radio sweepstakes, per Tecate.

Tecate will serve as the secondary sponsor of the third fight on Sept. 27 between "Sugar" Shane Mosley and Ricardo Mayorga at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles. As part of a two-state promotion, some 250 retailers in Southern California and Nevada will display POP cards and posters to promote the beer brand and the boxing event. Radio partnerships and grassroots promotions will also support.

Tecate's ad spending on Hispanic network and cable TV has reached $6 million through June of this year. Media spending on Hispanic TV totaled $13.5 million last year, down from $14 million in 2006, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus.