Budweiser’s target segment is young adults, ages 21-27. These adults are believed to be the most opportunistic market because of an active social life, limited family responsibility, disposable income, and savvy in regards to new, cool and exciting adult happenings.
This marketing plan will further prepare Budweiser to integrate with an on-demand world, and a new economy where the corporation is expected to consistently give back and listen to its community. Budweiser will seek to reignite market share in North America by blurring the lines of virtual reality and the everyday grind, transitioning Budweiser from a can of beer to a digital assistant. A campaign will launch to re-acquaint customers to Budweiser through a subscription membership via smart device, ultimately seeking a revenue increase by $500 million.
● Budweiser seeks to bring people together and create meaningful experiences (ABInBev)
● Budweiser’s potential customers are the general population of adults, with a variety of products to attract younger customers, male and female.
● Budweiser seeks to pursue the following segments:
Value: Exercising competitive advantage of price
Craft: Younger customers prefer gourmet beer
Hard seltzer: Hot trend in adult beverages
Budweiser is one of the oldest and largest brands in its industry, alcoholic beverages. Budweiser makes a variety of beverages. They are classic Budweiser beer, Bud Light, which is the best-selling beer worldwide, and new products Bud Light Platinum and Bud Light Seltzer.
Budweiser seeks to bring people together to create memorable experiences, and offers beverages in the culture of recreation and celebration. The brand is strongest in regard to value and consistency, and is convenient to purchase in all places where beer is sold.
● Company Name: Budweiser
● Industry: Alcoholic Beverages
● Headquarters (city, state, country): St. Louis, Missouri USA
● Year founded: 1876
● The number of employees: 17,000 (Macrotrends)
● Annual revenue (estimated): $13.8B
● Major products and/or services: Beer
● Target customers: General adult market
● Distribution channel(s): Retailers, bar-owners, wholesalers, distributors
● Key competitors: Diageo, Heineken, Molson-Coors
● Link to website: https://www.budweiser.com/
● Link to Yahoo! Finance information page (for public companies): https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BUD
While growth in China is strong, growth in North America where Budweiser has operated for nearly 150 years is stagnated. This plan seeks to recharge the future for the brand. Budweiser’s competitive advantage begins with being one of the largest and oldest brands in America. With an omnipresent distribution network, Budweiser is not only the most convenient brand to find in its industry, but it is the most cost-competitive. Budweiser also spends a great deal of money in research and development and maintains an efficient worldwide supply chain as well as data collection operations.
Budweiser is the largest beer brand in the world, valued at $28.9 billion[i] (Budweiser). A corporate behemoth with an international supply chain spanning 6 continents, Budweiser uses cutting-edge data collection and can afford to invest heavily in worldwide R&D strategies, including $2.2 billion on advertising and distribution[ii] (Corporate Strategies). Some of these include using blockchain technology to facilitate currency exchanges with African farmers[iii] (Insights). Combined with an ever-improving supply chain efficiency, Budweiser can continue to dominate distribution and cost-competitiveness worldwide, particularly in the value segment[iv] (AB InBev Annual Report 2019). Budweiser uses their competitive advantage to occupy prime space in stores, usually middle-shelf and eye-level.
Budweiser markets itself as beer that is proud of being American. Budweiser’s cans are the colors of the American flag – red, white and blue, and Budweiser does not change their patriotic identity internationally, as worldwide customers take to the American product positively. Budweiser’s patriotic approach is a salute, not to American history but to instead its target segment, the working-class citizen. Budweiser’s value proposition, as well as pride in working-class people, many of whom believe that they are turning the gears of society, are the foundation of its niche and American branding.
Interestingly in 2016, Budweiser removed their name from their beer cans and replaced it with “America”. This was coupled with a commercial titled “Born the Hard Way”, which was featured during the Super Bowl. This strategy was strongly criticized by many in the media[v] (Matyszczyk), as well as negatively politicized. However, the campaign was a hit[vi] (Atkinson), and the criticism made the point about the brilliance of the concept. Media critics are the anti-working class: they hold graduate degrees and write from their expensive apartment in a trendy part of town – who may have a personality profile that describes elitist, turning their nose up at everything but the most exclusive craft beer and gourmet eateries. The media is not supposed to like Budweiser, and if they do, then perhaps Budweiser is abandoning their target-segment.
“To the worker, Budweiser is the only beer that delivers the highest quality ingredients because since 1876, we’ve grown to be the largest and greatest brewer in the world, thanks to people like you, our own, who we salute by bringing together to love, to reunite, and to create the next great experience.”
[i] “Budweiser.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, www.forbes.com/companies/budweiser/?sh=457df6941613.
[ii] Corporate Strategies, Catawba College, faculty.catawba.edu/jbgreen2/Student_Projects/anheuser_bush/new_page_7.htm.
[iii] Insights, Ledger. “Budweiser Brewer AB InBev Banks on Blockchain for Supply Chain Traceability.” Ledger Insights - Enterprise Blockchain, 22 Jan. 2020, www.ledgerinsights.com/budweiser-ab-inbev-blockchain-banqu/.
[iv] “AB InBev Annual Report 2019.” 2019 Annual Report, AB InBev, 2020, pp. 65, 66, annualreport.ab-inbev.com/2019/assets/reports/AB-INBEV-2019-Annual-Report-EN.pdf.
[v] Matyszczyk, Chris. “Budweiser Is Changing Its Name. Is This the Worst Idea Ever?” Inc.com, Inc., 10 May 2016, www.inc.com/chris-matyszczyk/budweiser-is-changing-its-name-to-what-is-this-the-worst-idea-ever.html.
[vi] Atkinson, Claire. “Budweiser's Super Bowl Ad Was the Most-Watched Online.” New York Post, New York Post, 29 Jan. 2018, nypost.com/2017/02/07/budweisers-super-bowl-ad-was-the-most-watched-online/.
How can Budweiser break stagnant growth in North America, and capture the young adult market by breaking into the innovative trend of local, exclusive craft beverages?
· What makes young people want to buy?
· Who are the most successful companies in respect to craft alcoholic beverages and local community engagement?
· How can Budweiser integrate the positive experiences of the exclusive craft beverage consumer to all beer drinkers?
Budweiser will likely need to design a competitive intelligence strategy to identity who are the fastest growing companies in the trend of craft alcoholic beverages and why: how do these companies engage with their customers and community? Budweiser would then determine how to apply these small-company strategies on their national scale.
Primary research ideas for Budweiser would focus less on product research and more on buyer psychology. Starting with a profile of why the buyer purchases craft beer over Budweiser, and ultimately giving that experience to potential Budweiser customers. Budweiser should beware of investing resources into attracting a segment that does not wish to be their patrons. For example, a fast-food chain can only take their healthy-themed menu so far; a health fanatic will never be a regular customer.
It is recommended that secondary research strategies for Budweiser include hiring consultants; somebody like Gary Vaynerchuk. Mr. Vaynerchuk is an entrepreneur who made his national breakthrough by bringing the formerly exclusive world of fine wines to regular people.[i] (Ross) He connected with a niche segment of people who always wanted to get into fine wines but were intimidated and insecure by the perceived exclusivity of the product. This is important for Budweiser because if they can disrupt craft beer by de-mystifying the experience, then they can bring it to their general public segment of people who are not experts on beer; and create a more enjoyable experience for customers.
Budweiser and Bud Light are the top selling beers in the world, with Bud Light nearly outselling its nearest competitor by a ratio of almost 2:1[ii](Andrews). Budweiser sells to both the end consumer and businesses who cater to social gatherings. Budweiser seeks to bring people together and create meaningful experiences, according to their official statements[iii] (AB Inbev). Their potential customers are the general population of adults, with a variety of products to attract younger customers, male and female. These offerings have the competitive advantage of being inexpensive, convenient, and abundant with a dominant network of distributors. As such, Budweiser focuses on bringing value to the customer while maintaining a quality experience with its variety of offerings from light beer to hard seltzer or “craft” beer.
The alcoholic beverage customer identifies a need as a host, a guest, or a participant in a social setting. The target market could also identify beer with reflection and solitude. The Budweiser target segment encompasses people who are the heads of the household. They want Budweiser handy to offer alcoholic beverages to guests. The target segment will also bring alcoholic beverages as gifts to gatherings. Alcoholic beverages are socially regarded as necessities where adults get together, at concerts and sporting events.
The Budweiser demographic consists of middle-class adults, from a wide range of ages. These people are mostly new college graduates to younger middle-aged people. Budweiser’s prices are in the value range.
Budweiser has several offerings, but its two most popular are the standard Budweiser beer and Bud Light. Here are two personality profiles that fit each:
Budweiser proper is for the working man who enjoys sports on TV, or maybe golf on the weekend. This guy has responsibilities at home like family and bills but loves to have his Budweiser handy for his brief decompression time on the weekend or at the end of the day before taking care of things again. This is a guy who loves his “bros” and is into male-bonding culture and Budweiser wishes to be there to bring the guys together for a fishing trip or a backyard barbecue[iv] (YouTube).
Bud Light is for the younger crowd who prefers to socialize in public settings like a bar or concert. Bud Platinum is a spin-off of Bud Light with higher alcohol content and lower calories than Bud Light. Bud Platinum’s slogan is “Made for the Night”[v] (Bud Light Platinum). Traditional Bud Light is most palatable and popular with a more diverse population, as well as Budweiser’s best seller.
Budweiser is heavily reliant on situational scenarios. For example, Budweiser’s adult beverages are a popular option for any gathering occasion. These include family celebrations, friends meeting on a weekend in the backyard, private social parties, public gatherings, concerts and sporting events, or corporate functions. Budweiser uses images of Clydesdale horses as a brand staple to link the customer’s mind to days before the automobile when their beer was transported by horse and carriage[vi] (Budweiser). This creates a sense of nostalgia and also links quality to the customer since Budweiser has lasted this long.
Budweiser depends on advertising to link their brand to amplifying fun at gatherings. Budweiser’s media press is felt at all professional sporting events, and at bars where they usually offer a promotion as incentive for a sale. Budweiser also promotes heavily at concerts and sponsors superstar artists like Post Malone, who recently appeared in their Super Bowl commercial[vii] (YouTube). Budweiser should continue to sponsor young adults with star power, especially because they struggle with losing young customers to craft beer offerings, and celebrity endorsements would keep young adults from drinking boutique brands to feel cool.
A stroke of brilliance from Budweiser’s competitor, Coors, was to market their brand of light beer directly to working women. The highly relatable commercial shows a young woman enjoying a beer while removing her bra (not shown) to relax at the end of the day. It would behoove Budweiser to model this approach.[viii] (YouTube)
[i] Ross, Christopher. “The Guy Who Broke Wine.” PUNCH, 16 May 2019, punchdrink.com/articles/guy-who-broke-wine-gary-vee-vaynerchuk/.
[ii] Andrews, Colman. “Most Popular Beer Brands in America Dominated by Anheuser-Busch, Molson Coors.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 18 Mar. 2020, www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/03/18/the-most-popular-beer-brands-in-america/111416118/.
[iii] “AB InBev Annual Report 2019.” 2019 Annual Report, AB InBev, 2020, annualreport.ab-inbev.com/2019/assets/reports/AB-INBEV-2019-Annual-Report-EN.pdf.
[iv] officialbudlight. “Bud Light Legends - Fishing Trip.” YouTube, YouTube, 15 Jan. 2021, www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWQ2FA9rXZk.
[v] “Bud Light Platinum: Light Beer Brewed for the Night.” Bud Light Platinum | Light Beer Brewed for the Night, www.budlight.com/en/our-beers/platinum-beer.html.
[vi] “Horse-Story In the Making: The Budweiser Clydesdales.” Home, www.anheuser-busch.com/about/clydesdale.html.
[vii] “Budweiser | #PostyStore with Post Malone | Super Bowl Commercials 2020.” YouTube, YouTube, 5 Feb. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEgTFZfyZyc.
[viii] coorslightcanada. “The Official Beer of Being Done Wearing a Bra. | Coors Light Canada.” YouTube, YouTube, 9 July 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PN05Bha-DE.
Looking ahead, Budweiser may want to organize an on-demand service throughout the United States, where product is home-delivered. This has had some success internationally[i] (Joseph). Budweiser should test launch it in their founding home state of Missouri, where they have a relationship with local legislators[ii] (Hauswirth) and could more easily figure a modification to the three-tier system. A successful state run could start a nationwide program.
[i] Joseph, Seb. “Inside Anheuser-Busch InBev's $1b a Year DTC Business.” Digiday, 28 Feb. 2020, digiday.com/marketing/inside-anheuser-busch-inbevs-1b-year-dtc-business/.
[ii] Hauswirth, Brian. “Missouri Lawmakers Consider Airport Alcohol Bill; Anheuser-Busch Backs Legislation, Which Would Apply to Lambert and KCI.” Missourinet, 20 Mar. 2017, www.missourinet.com/2017/03/20/missouri-lawmakers-consider-airport-alcohol-bill-anheuser-busch-backs-legislation-which-would-apply-to-lambert-and-kci/.
· Celebrated Sustainability Week through the Better World Champions initiative by cleaning streets, repairing roads, planting trees, recycling, and coaching youth in Nigeria.[i] (ABInBev)
· Completed the first “zero-emission” beer delivery in the United States in our hometown of St. Louis by affiliating with Nikola Motor Company.[ii] (2019)
· Led Global Be(er) Responsible Day by enlisting 66,000 colleagues to promote safe drinking.[iii] (CSRWire)
· Routinely collaborates with Uber and Lyft to donate free rides during the holiday season[iv] (2017)
[i] ABInBev. “Highlights of the Year.” ABInBev, annualreport.ab-inbev.com/2019/2019-at-glance/highlights-of-the-year/.
[ii] “Anheuser-Busch Completes First Zero-Emission Beer Delivery.” Home, www.anheuser-busch.com/newsroom/2019/11/anheuser-busch-completes-first-zero-emission-beer-delivery-.html.
[iii] “Anheuser-Busch InBev Celebrates Global Be(Er) Responsible Day.” CSRWire, www.csrwire.com/press_releases/30560-anheuser-busch-inbev-celebrates-global-be-er-responsible-day.
[iv] “Budweiser Expands Give A Damn Safe Rides Campaign to Offer 150,000 Round-Trip Lyft Rides to Prevent Drunk Driving.” Home, www.anheuser-busch.com/newsroom/2017/09/budweiser-expands-give-a-damn-safe-rides-campaign-to-offer-150-0.html.
Budweiser has several strategies for Integrated Marketing Communication [IMC], but they do not all sit equally in the promotional mix. Foremost, Budweiser uses television advertising to engage with the consumer, but the television campaign will boost the other elements of the comprehensive plan. While IMC has many dimensions, Budweiser does not need to excel everywhere but instead be the best at one area and proficient at others. The IMC campaign will focus on three general questions:
• What promotional strategy is Budweiser the greatest?
• What are their best supporting ideas?
• What is next?
The Super Bowl is a feature concentration for Budweiser. Because of its status as a top-level television advertiser, Budweiser is not only practically required to participate in the event, but they are expected to make a splash by both consumers and professional peers. In the recent past Budweiser has won prestigious awards for their television campaigns (Clio) and achieved the most-watched ad during the Super Bowl. This success makes it much easier for Budweiser to transpose the TV ads into more interactive campaigns like shareable media, website interaction and face-to-face marketing.
An example of a hit TV ad creating website traffic is the iconic “Whassup?” campaign during the turn of the millennium. While directed towards the target segment of 21–27-year-old demographic, the commercial became a mass hit and was widely spoofed and parodied much like the viral video of ten years ago, or the Tik Tok sensation of today. Budweiser’s website traffic tripled from 400,000 visitors per month to 1.2 million (blogspot). Users could learn how to say “Whassup?” in 36 languages.
The “Whassup?” campaign was brilliant because it was so naturally inclusive and shareable. Budweiser would have another shareable hit in 2014 with “Puppy Love”, released exclusively on YouTube six days before the Super Bowl. The company used the commercial to launch the #bestbuds campaign for social media, and was rated the no.1 brand for the month on the YouTube Ads Leaderboard (Musafir). “Puppy Love” was the most shared Super Bowl commercial that year (Owens).
Currently Budweiser is running a medieval themed campaign. The slogan “Dilly Dilly” became the cry of a fictitious world where Budweiser is sacred (Wiedin+Kennedy). Consumers can engage with this world and its characters, and Dilly Dilly swag has created a buzz. Even now while the slogan is being phased out, the interactive world of medieval Budweiser thrives, like an online video game. A knight is the advertising mascot for Budweiser’s new product, Bud Light Platinum.
The medieval theme has also created guerilla marketing opportunities for Budweiser. In a move unconventional by even guerilla standards, Budweiser used a medieval theme to deliver a seize and desist letter to a brewery who was infringing on copyrights (McAteer). By sending a messenger dressed in royal garb and unveiling a scroll, the brewery was informed that while the king is flattered, they must stop making Dilly Dilly beer. Budweiser offered a throne chair to the founders as a peace offering, and Budweiser received created positive news buzz.
Goal
● Audience: Young adults who are in the age range of 21-27.
● Engage with the target segment on a personal level. Create a Budweiser subscription service and reach 50,000 new subscribers within 12 months.
● Call to action: Friend us. Subscribe today.
1) Primary Message: The Budweiser app connects like-minded people who welcome beer as a component in their personal rituals of growth, making memories and making the world better.
2) Message Pillar: Being a subscriber will connect you to like-minded people.
a) Proof Point: An individual who subscribes to a Budweiser app most likely appreciates beer and socializing around beer, and the app will feature Reddit-like social forums.
3) Message Pillar: Subscribers will enhance their daily experiences through the app.
a) Proof Point: The app will feature great food and recipe ideas to pair with beer, as well as a free drink on their birthday and promotional opportunities.
4) Message Pillar: Subscribers are a force for good.
a) Proof Point: Subscribers will have the opportunity to enter contests by donating to charity. Prizes would be themes like free rides home or Budweiser swag. Subscribers will be able to spread awareness about their favorite charity and have the option to donate the cash value of their free birthday drink to their favorite charity.
5) Call to Action: Friend us. Subscribe today.
In the future, Budweiser will need to continue to be champions of the Super Bowl and television advertising, but they will also need to find ways to engage with the customer on a personal level and blur the lines between virtual reality and the physical world. It might be a good idea for Budweiser to design a subscription service. While it is obvious that beer is an adults-only product and there is legislation to hurdle (Anheuser-Busch is big enough to take on the task), selling more beer to the customer is actually the least important dimension of a subscription service. The way Budweiser communicates that key point will determine the success of the campaign. It will be digitally marketed through a smartphone app and promoted by all major social media channels as well as television advertising where Budweiser is a veritable giant.
A subscription service to Budweiser would not be about simply drinking beer. It would be about engaging with like-minded people about rituals, art and being a force for good. Whether your ritual is social therapy or individual reflection, Budweiser wants to be a part of that personal connection. If your ritual is game night Bud wants to amplify that. If you like to pair food with beer as a personal hobby, Budweiser wants to help you enjoy that. A subscription service would help this kind of interaction because the consumer can personalize it. Customers can get a free beer on their birthday, a drawing can be made for merchandise or free rides home, and even better customers can buy drawing entries in an effort to raise money for charity. Subscribers can vote for which charity to support that month. Anything that identifies Budweiser as a personal friend should be considered.
Budweiser belongs to AB InBev, the largest brewer in the world, and has the competitive advantage of matching price with anyone. The most alike competitor to Budweiser is Coors, and they are priced about the same.
Budweiser created an interesting tactic to link more value in the customer’s mind with the innovation of the 25oz. beer can. Traditionally beer is offered in 24oz. cans, but the larger container reinforces a feeling of receiving more value for money to the buyer (Wilkerson).
• Customers are sensitive to price. This is because Budweiser’s product has many substitutes. Alcoholic beverages in general can crossover to each other in respect to elasticity. Meaning that, while Budweiser’s product is beer and seltzer, wine and hard liquor can qualify as substitutes. For the purposes of this report, it can be assumed that Budweiser’s product is elastic because customers have many choices of beer and seltzer.
• Budweiser is one brand under the umbrella of the largest brewing corporation in the world, AB InBev. Worldwide, AB InBev posted $16,098M in operating costs, while selling 561,427M hectoliters of product. This breaks down to a cost of less than a penny per ounce of product ($0.0085) to cover their operating costs if Budweiser sells the same volume of product (AB InBev).
• Budweiser is a product marketed to the value-segment. The customer is not interested in prestige or exclusivity from Budweiser, but does expect a standard of quality. That having been said Budweiser is not “too cheap” as to make the customer feel that there is a lack of refinement, nor to make the customer self-conscious in social settings. For comparison, some of the brands on the sub-value level are Natural Light, Busch and Milwaukee’s Best (Patterson). Ultimately the customer believes Budweiser to be an inexpensive, consistent, and likeable product that is particularly useful to have ready for gatherings because of its convenience and price.
Overall, Budweiser needs to press its competitive advantage of price point and value comparison to its market segment and continue to hold onto market share.
Budweiser’s distribution strategy is decided by the three-tier system, which was enacted after the repeal of prohibition. This law prevents alcohol from being sold directly to retailers, and requires a distributor/wholesaler as a middleman (NYSBWA). While there are some modifications to this law and it can vary from state to state, but essentially Budweiser cannot sell directly to consumer, and must pursue the following distribution strategy:
Breweries
↓
Wholesale Distributors
↓
Retailers
↓
Consumers
The three-tier system is under scrutiny by lobbyists who seek to preserve or bust its legislation (Kukuljan). Purely from Budweiser’s perspective, the law is not advantageous to the company, as distribution companies need to be paid for a job that Budweiser is capable of doing themselves.
Budweiser’s strategy to lower the cost of distribution consists of the following
• Striking exclusivity deals with independent distributors
• Acquiring distributors
• Efficiently locating distribution hubs
Anheuser-Busch will offer incentive programs to independent distributors, in exchange for dropping competitive brands from their inventory. Distributors who work solely with Anheuser-Busch are rewarded with financial support, with AB picking up a large portion of promotional costs for the distributor (Mickle).
Although the three-tier law requires that alcoholic brewers and distillers hire a distributor before the product moves to a retailer, the three-tier law does not prevent corporations from owning both a distributor and brewery. In light of this, Anheuser-Busch strategically acquires distribution companies. Since distributors take around $4 a case (Tlogan), Budweiser retains operational costs by using AB-owned distributors.
It is most beneficial for Budweiser to have their product on AB-owned distribution channels, which carry only AB products, in centrally located areas where relationships with retailers and the community can be cultivated and fostered. That being said there is no indication that the three-tier law will be widely repealed. On the contrary, Kentucky closed the loophole that allows Budweiser to own their distributor, and there are some antitrust suits filed against AB for leveraging competitive advantage with distribution (Loosemore). Overall this is not a concern as Budweiser retains a vastly superior distribution network.
During the global pandemic, many bars were forced to close limiting Budweiser’s opportunity to serve them as well as wholesalers and distributors. In more normal times, Budweiser is the market leader and has a strong presence with businesses as well as consumers. Consumers enjoy the value for quality exchange that Budweiser offers them.
As customers continue to socialize with each other through technological advances, Budweiser seeks to use technology to engage with customers. This will also be key as Budweiser continues to grow in expanding worldwide markets. Parent company InBev affords the luxury of a dominant budget toward data collection. Budweiser is also excited to stay on top of technical breakthroughs that create a more efficient and eco-friendlier product, whether it is through execution of the supply chain or digital printing technology that eliminates the need for paper or plastic labels by branding directly branding the container.[i] (ABInBev)
Budweiser is the market leader and needs to consistently scan the alcoholic-beverage market for innovations and trends. Currently, craft beer and hard seltzer are trendy choices. Budweiser offers quality craft and seltzer alternatives in the value segment.
Budweiser’s key competitors are Coors Light, Miller Lite, Sam Adams and Heineken. While Corona is owned by Budweiser parent company AB-Inbev, Budweiser offers a style of lime infused Bud Light beer, for example, to stay relevant with trends.
While some international markets make it necessary to change the recipe of varying products, Budweiser is relatively unaffected by political environment. For example, it needs not to only source products from a particular region of the world that could be subject to a sudden upheaval.
[i] “AB InBev Annual Report 2019.” 2019 Annual Report, p. 9, AB InBev, 2020, annualreport.ab-inbev.com/2019/assets/reports/AB-INBEV-2019-Annual-Report-EN.pdf.
Budweiser will measure success by through the following KPI:
Impressions – Budweiser recently launched a packaging campaign to boost lagging sales. In short, the appearance of the product was transformed to represent Budweiser as representing America. Success was measured through social media by impressions, which are the number of times they were mentioned in someone’s news feed or timeline (for example via Twitter). The campaign was deemed very successful, as it earned more views by this measure than Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercials (Jones Knowles Ritchie). This campaign totaled 1.6 billion worldwide impressions.
Quality Efficiency – Impeccable consistency is a major part of the brand identity. Budweiser has many coded KPI at its breweries to keep their products the same throughout the country, from cleanliness to taste. Several KPI were on display at a recent investor conference (Kraemer), including Quality Efficiency, and Consumer Complaints about bottles and cans, which was well below the benchmark of 954. A consistent, quality product is something that Budweiser needs to be able to proudly prove to maintain their integrity.
Share of Innovation – This KPI was embraced by Anheuser-Busch to measure the success of new product launches, by revenue generated from their new product divided by revenue generated by all new product launches in the industry (Davidson and Troch). As previously mentioned, Budweiser’s new product, Bud Light Seltzer, took precedence as their flagship during the Super Bowl. New product launches are critical strategies for growth at Budweiser, and a KPI at over 20% would be successful.