By: Irina Skaya
The Anheuser-Busch presentation at the Annual Conference was *bleeping* awesome! *Bleep* wine, *bleep* hard liquor, Beer is NOT dead! In fact, alcohol is a multi-billion dollar industry with beer being America’s number one choice and Anheuser-Busch racking up almost 50% of the market share.
SOCIABILITY AND MODERATION - two benefits Anheuser-Busch pushed to reinvigorate the image of beer. Surely, casual drinkers appreciate this kind of justification to drink in moderation. With a beer-and-food-plan and film on the history of beer, drinking beer cannot be more convincing. From the clacking glasses for “Cheers” in different foreign languages to the ability of drinking beer with anyone a consumer desires, Budweiser's creativity not only promoted sociability, but created a personal connection between the product and the consumer.
For companies that want to reinvent their brand, Anheuser-Busch advised them to:
- Focus on QUALITY - No Shortcuts (with the brewing process)
- Keep the brand image relevant
- Take risks
- Lead with innovation
- Ad personality to their ads
Bob Lachky, EVP Anheuser-Busch had more advice for the advertisers: “Don’t let the celebrity overtake the message” - his statement could not be more accurate. Often times, consumers can only recall a commercial because it featured a famous actor or athlete, but they often do not remember the message. Budweiser not only featured celebrities like Cedric, The Entertainer, but also created a humorous message that made Bud Light the largest selling brand in the world.
All of the commercials shown to the conference attendees blew them away, but the one I refer to in the first couple of sentences of this blog is the Bud Light “Swear Jar” commercial, which became a YouTube phenomenon.
Check it out!
Irina:
Curious to get your thoughts on the above post. I'm sure Bud is a fine company and they certainly spend a fair share on their marketing. Your rave review begs a few follow up questions.
1. Focus on quality: how does this square with the rise of micro-breweries who have solely focused on quality? Boston Beer Co's "Take Pride in Your Beer" seems to be aimed squarely at Bud and Co.
2. Keep the brand relevant: if I recall correctly, Bud's current ad campaign centers on "Don't Hold Back," which doesn't necessarily scream 'relevance.' How are they defining relevance and how is it showing up?
3. Take risks: can you provide an example of Bud taking a risk in marketing (as SABMiller repeatedly has, for better or worse) or product development?
Before we give all the credit to the Clydesdales, I'm wondering how much of their 50% share is a function of channel and distribution strength.
What do you think?
Posted by: Stephen Denny | October 13, 2007 at 05:26 PM