NEW YORK (AP) - The King of Beers is closer to becoming the Coke
of beers.
Anheuser-Busch InBev said Wednesday its Budweiser brand is
closer to becoming a global icon because of the success of the
company's World Cup marketing program.
The quadrennial soccer tournament - which crowned Spain the
winner this month in South Africa - marked Budweiser's seventh turn
as the official World Cup beer. But it was the first time under the
company's new structure and increased focus on growing Budweiser
around the world.
Belgian brewer InBev bought U.S. brewer Anheuser-Busch in 2008,
saying then it wanted to spread the Budweiser brand around the
world, similar to Coca-Cola.
So this year's World Cup, which involved teams from 32
countries, provided that chance. Chief Marketing Officer Chris
Burggraeve said millions of people from dozens of countries were
touched by the company's World Cup marketing campaign. The effort
included a reality show online featuring fans from each country
living in the same house, a Facebook campaign that garnered a
million fans, local six-on-six soccer tournaments, and some 1.5
million people participating in online voting to choose a "Man of
the Match" - the best performing player in each game.
"I need to believe at this moment that this will be conducive,
and positively reflecting on Bud's potential to really become the
Coke of beer," he said.
Beer, unlike soft drinks, is a regional product. Different
brands tend to dominate markets in different countries.
So linking the brand to so many countries and so many people at
once likely will help push it into new markets more quickly. The
company declined to offer sales figures, saying it would provide
more during its quarterly results next month. It also declined to
say what the campaign cost.
In all, AB-InBev took its message to more than 50 markets around
the world with World Cup-related marketing. In countries where
Budweiser is not a leader, the company marketed some of its leading
local brands instead, such as Brahma in Brazil, Harbin in China and
Jupiler in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Burggraeve said six out of 10 people drank Budweiser in the
stadium, where it was the only beer available. So perhaps people
will return home with a taste for the beer.
Sales of Budweiser outpaced bottled water, sports and soft
drinks combined. The company had to anticipate how countries would
advance throughout the tournament to determine how much Budweiser
it needed at concession stands and in beer gardens around the
stadiums. American and British fans, he noted, drank more than
other countries such as Algeria.
This was all done in a country where AB-InBev is not a dominant
player. The next World Cup - in Brazil - will be even better for
the brand, he said, because the company already has a stronghold
there.


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