20-Oct-2015 to 15-Nov-2015
As seen in 10/16/2015 edition of NACS Daily:
ST. LOUIS – While the long rumored merger of Anheuser-Busch and SABMiller is being finalized, the U.S. brands have turned their concentration on reviving sagging sales of their core beverages, Advertising Age reports. The last several years have seen craft brewers and spirits take bigger pieces of the alcohol pie, something Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller want to change.
To that end, the brewing companies will be debuting new marketing campaigns for the two largest American beers: Bud Light and Coors Light, both of which have taken hits in recent years.
The biggest change will be for Bud Light, which is scrapping its emphasis on Millennials to a broader audience. “Bud Light as a brand appeals to everybody. And everybody who is young at heart should be attracted to Bud Light, not just [young adults],” said Jorn Socquet, U.S. vice president of marketing for Anheuser-Busch InBev. “We’ve gone back to the values that are meaningful today. … It’s all about youthful mindset. It’s about enjoying life and it’s about being curious.”
Meanwhile, Bud Light will also receive new packaging to showcase the beer. Coors Light will have a more aggressive tone to its “Rocky Mountain Cold Refreshment” positioning. Plans are underway to link “it to that cohesive grit and mindset about what it means to be born in the Rockies,” said David Kroll, chief marketing officer for MillerCoors. The company indicated said that it would not be changing tactics because of the merger.
