Prof.Samuel

Social Media Marketing

Company Analysis

July 25, 2016

Milade Handal & Tyler Nixon

BudLight

I. Introduction of Company (TYLER NIXON)

Anheuser Busch started after Eberhard Anheuser, who left Germany in 1843, settled in St. Louis. “He trained as a soap manufacturer, he eventually went on to own the largest soap and candle company in St. Louis. Although he had no brewing experience, he became part owner of the Bavarian Brewery, which had first opened its doors in 1852. By 1860, Anheuser had bought out the other investors and the brewery’s name was changed to E. Anheuser & Co.

Adolphus Busch was born in 1839, the second youngest of 22 children. At age 18, he made his way to St. Louis via New Orleans and the Mississippi River. Adolphus began working as a clerk on the riverfront and by the time he was 21, he had a partnership in a brewing supply business.

It was through this enterprise that Adolphus Busch met Eberhard Anheuser, and soon Adolphus was introduced to Eberhard’s daughter, Lilly. In 1861, Adolphus Busch and Lilly Anheuser were married, and shortly after that, Adolphus went to work for his father-in-law. He later purchased half ownership in the brewery, becoming a partner.

At that time, most beer in the United States was sold in the community in which it was brewed. Adolphus was determined to create a brand that would transcend the tradition of local brews and appeal to the tastes of many different people. In 1876, he and his friend, Carl Conrad, created an American-style lager beer that succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations. Adolphus coined the label “Budweiser”, a name that would appeal to German immigrants like himself, yet could be easily pronounced by Americans. Budweiser was a success and eventually, became the company’s flagship brand.

In the early 1870s, Adolphus Busch became the first American brewer to use pasteurization, which allowed beer to be shipped long distances without spoiling. By the mid-1870s and early 1880s, he introduced artificial refrigeration, refrigerated railcars and rail-side icehouses. These technological innovations allowed the company to grow – now, it could distribute beer across the country. Budweiser was the first national beer brand, introduced in 1876. Twenty years later, Busch introduced Michelob, America’s first specialty beer. To market his beers, Busch used traditional, proven selling methods but in a far more organized and deliberate manner than his competitors. He pioneered the use of giveaways and premiums, and used his brewery as a showplace for the public to visit.

In 1879, the company was renamed the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association to recognize Adolphus’ efforts. The following year, upon the death of Eberhard Anheuser, Adolphus became president of the brewery. In 1901, the company broke the 1 million barrels of beer sales mark for the first time, making it one of the nation’s leading breweries. Adolphus Busch died in 1913 and was succeeded by his son, August A. Busch, Sr., who became president of the brewery in 1913.

Following the war, America and Anheuser-Busch experienced an era of growth and prosperity throughout the 1950s and 1960s. In 1946, August A. Busch, Jr. became president of the company following the death of his brother, Adolphus III. Beginning with the opening of the Newark, N.J. facility in 1951, August Jr. created a national network of nine breweries.

Under his leadership, beer sales increased from 3 million barrels to more than 34 million barrels, and corporate diversification was extended to include family entertainment, industrial products, real estate and can manufacturing. In 1957, Anheuser-Busch became the leading U.S. brewer, a position it retains today.

August A. Busch III was elected president of Anheuser-Busch, Inc. in 1974, and the next year succeeded his father, August Jr., as chief executive officer, becoming the fourth generation of the family to lead Anheuser-Busch. August III led the company to build four additional breweries, expand the family entertainment business, and significantly strengthen the company’s horizontal and vertical integration.

In 1982, the company introduced Bud Light nationally, which grew quickly in popularity and today is one of the world’s best selling beer brands.” (Anheuser-Busch 2016)

II. Target Markets (MILADE HANDAL)

The target customers are youngster’s audience who like liquor featured in the brand's holiday ads this year, choosing instead to give the beer a youthful feel (Alati, 2016). The Ads highlighting bearded 20-somethings and quirky cheer have appeared as Christmas advertisements ramp up. Bud Light had 7.6 percent of the market last year, down from 14.4 percent a decade ago as a result of the growing popularity of light and craft beers.

The current strategy looks beautiful as it targets a youthful audience. The whole campaign of ‘Up for Whatever’ works very well with the target market, figuring that the overall campaign should not end. The target loves to be natural and does something interesting associated with buying a beer while out with friends. The message is well defined and strategically sounds.

One other great strategy they’ve employed is first to ask for every Like and then ask their new fans to join their email list. Once you click their Like key, the custom tab turns, and one sees the option to sign up for their email list and associate with their products. By waiting until after the follower clicks the Like key, Budlight Company is proving they care about building relationships with their fans first.

Also, Budlight uses a policy often called “fans-only content” where they reveal content only after someone has become a fan and is of the required age, such as the fashion images. Once you tick the Like button, you get instant access to exclusive content, videos and unique advertisements.

III. Analysis of Company website (TYLER NIXON)

The Budlight website put simply is clean cut and to the point. It bears that nationally recognized Budlight blue and white stars on every page of the website. It is socially responsible because you have to show that you are at least 21 before you can enter. Then once you get into the site you are able to shop for merchandise, enter contests, and even track events that are coming up in multiple cities across the country.

The placement of social media is prevalent because on the bottom of each page there are click through links where you can follow Budlight on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, & Twitter. There is a strong following on the social media pages with over 135k followers in Instagram and Youtube videos with over 1 million views.

The items on the Bud Light are shareable, and you can even sign up to be on the emailing list to receive other offers and promotions. After viewing the website on different platforms we came to the conclusion that the site is search engine optimized. That is a good thing because throughout all devices interface is the same. Bud Light is solid in the area of user interface across multiple devices.

IV. Current Social Media Platforms (TYLER NIXON)

Bud Light is using just about every social media platform you can think of. They are one of the largest beer giants in the world so they definitely have to stay connected with consumers in order to keep up with the changing demands. Currently, Bud Light is utilizing Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Snapchat & Instagram. These are the top platforms in the world of social media right now.

They are using Facebook to promote events and post commercials about their beer products. They also use it as a blog post facts about drinking and being responsible as well as getting feedback from consumers. Youtube is being used as a video stream to play commercials, currently Bud Light is getting millions of views on Youtube. Twitter is being used as the voice of the company. They use it to communicate with affiliates and respond to consumers questions and concerns. Snapchat & Instagram are being used to entertain consumers and promote products. There are a lot of visuals and advertisements that portrayed on the two platforms.

All of the platforms that Bud Light uses are integrated. The website has links to all the social media sites, then the sites have links to the website in the bio section. Then the different social media platforms have click throughs that take you to a corresponding platform. All of the video content on the Facebook pages are Youtube videos so each of the sites are getting hits.

Bud Light is creating engagement by putting content on their pages that is exciting and are open ended. Consumers feel compelled to respond and reach out to the brand. They have also released the “Up for Whatever” campaign which features projects like an EDM party with Steve Aoki, the most epic uber ride ever, & Whateverville, USA. These are all trending events that engage the consumers. Then they are very active with responding to followers promptly.

As far as engagement levels, Bud Light is performing at a high level. They have over 155k followers on Twitter. Due to the high rate of feedback that they give, their tweets can become overwhelming and lead to less engagement by fans. The good part is that those who do follow are truly dedicated followers. On the other hand, Their Instagram has about 138k followers and they are getting close to 10k views on videos and a couple thousand likes per picture. Youtube and Facebook are the most efficient platforms used by Bud Light. They receive the most amount of views on videos posted on these two platforms as well as engagement levels the have the most amount of reposts and comments.

V. Social Sites not Being Utilized (MILADE HANDAL)

The social sites are the most attractive place for any company to use, the social platform is very broad indeed, some of the sites which have not found an eye on Bud Light Company include Google+ social site which is linked to Google Company. WhatsApp also has not been featured in this company. LinkedIn is another social site full of all class of people with different profession all over the word.

VI. Company in the news (MILADE HANDAL)

Bud Light Company has press kit where news release is done including approved photos among others in the media kit. They respond to news frequently; the updates are recent events. Most people have expressed their views on the news that they love, and they always find the correct information they want from Bud Light Company. The result from a contentious label some say it alluded to sexual onslaught led Anheuser-Busch to pull a slogan printed on Bud Light bottles, the other flap in recent days encompassing the company’s new “Up for Whatever” campaign. The company is long known for its advertisements highlighting Clydesdale horses, trying to target new, younger customers with the campaign. The latest controversy focuses on a new label that says the beer is perfect for “removing ‘no’ from your diction for the night.” The slogan, which came at a time when colleges nationwide are dealing with high-profile sexual assault and binge drinking issues, triggered uproar. Anheuser-Busch quickly pulled the label. Vice President Alexander Lambrecht said in a statement. “We would never condone the disrespectful or irresponsible behavior.”

VII. Crowdsourcing and customer created content (TYLER NIXON)

“SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2016

Bud Light Is All That Is Wrong With The World

The Superbowl is maybe the most depressing event in the American liturgical calendar. A hundred steroid inflated men attempt to give each other brain damage while chasing a football around a field for sixty minutes. That wouldn't be so bad if television didn't somehow drag those sixty minutes out for three hours. Einstein said that times slows down the closer you get to the speed of light, yet at the Superbowl time slows down immediately anything speedy or interesting happens on the field. As soon as you begin to have a passing fascination with the dynamics of the game itself the television cuts to ads. And this is the real reason why those poor men are running around getting head trauma. The goddamn ads. I grew up in Northern Ireland where everybody hated television ads. Ads were mocked, ridiculed or turned off. What kind of fucking idiots did these ad men think we were that we would fall for their deluded pitches? Yet in America there seems to be no shame at all shilling for some horrible product that will burn a hole in your pocket and give you no satisfaction whatsoever. Advertisers are in the business of fooling you and when you are fooled they laugh at your gullibility. Which is why the Superbowl is so horrific. The Superbowl is a great festival of new American advertising and some people are so brainwashed that they actually tune in "just to watch the ads." The "best ads" are praised in respectable publications and on social media and replayed over and over again while the creepy men on Madison Avenue rub their satanic claws with glee.

...

The worst ads are always by the most evil corporations and Budweiser is one of the most evil corporations in the world. If you want to know how evil Budweiser is think on this - until only a couple of years ago it used to own SeaWorld. Come on, it doesn't get much worse than that.

...

As some of you might know I love beer. In fact I'm a bit of a beer geek. Which is why, as a beer lover, I know that Anheuser Busch hates America. They hate America and they hate Americans. No one who loved America would dare sell the filth they sell and call it beer. They employ more marketing men than brewers for a reason because they know they are selling a substandard product to schlemiels. Which brings me to Seth Rogen and Amy Schumer's Superbowl Bud Light commercial. Let me never hear again any complaints from those two about unfair treatment in the media. Let them never say again that they are artists. To paraphrase Bill Hicks you are exiled forever from the artistic community when you decide to shill for Budweiser.

...

Bud Light of course is losing the wider war. Budweiser's market share has been plummeting for years and the only people who drink it now are 15 year old boys and virtually at gun point, John Oliver. Craft beer sales are going through the roof as people discover what real beer tastes like. It's April 1945 and Budweiser is falling back to the bunker to blow its brains out. Seth Rogen & Amy Schumer's ad will not prevent our inevitable triumph over this once mighty evil empire.” (McKinty 2016)

“Bud Light has partnered with Ellen DeGeneres to launch a new ad today in support of gay marriage. "Gay weddings, they are just like any wedding," Seth Rogen says in the spot, which shows a wedding between two males. The ad also features Amy Schumer. The two comedians have been starring in the politically themed "Bud Light Party" campaign that broke earlier this year.

The spot, by Wieden & Kennedy, will run on broadcast TV tonight in California and New York, where it will also get paid digital support. The biggest boost will likely come from Ms. DeGeneres, who tweeted it today to her more than 60 million followers as part of a paid integration.

Her Facebook page has more than 24.7 million likes. The "Ellen DeGeneres Show" posted the spot on its YouTube channel this morning, where it already had 70 comments as of 11 a.m. ET.

Bud Light NYC Billboard Credit: Bud Light

Bud Light has also erected rainbow-lit billboards in New York and California. The brand's media agency is MediaCom.

The spot, called "Weddings," was released in conjunction with the June 1 start of LGBT Pride month. June also marks the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court decision on June 26 that legalized gay marriage nationally. The brand also chose to release the spot in June because it is a big month for weddings of all kinds. Bud Light previewed the spot with gay rights group GLAAD, with which it has a longtime partnership, according to a spokeswoman.

"The 'Bud Light Party' champions inclusivity among modern beer drinkers and bringing people together—for fun—over a beer," Alex Lambrecht, U.S. VP for Bud Light at Anheuser-Busch InBev, said in a statement. "By featuring Seth and Amy at a same-sex wedding, we're showing how all weddings – regardless of who is getting married – share many similarities and moments to celebrate. We created this spot because equality for all Americans is a concept that unites many Bud Light drinkers."

The "Bud Light Party" ads are part of a broader campaign called "Raise One to Right Now" in which Bud Light is seeking to inject itself into timely cultural moments. Forthcoming spots this summer are expected to play on themes such as equal pay for women.” (Schultz 2016)

VIII. Current Season’s promotional campaigns (TYLER NIXON)

Bud Light’s Up for whatever’ campaign is intended to entreat feelings of a carefree, automatic, fun night out with friends. However, in yet the different instance of marketing gone astray, some BudLight now have the slogan, “The perfect beer for removing ‘no’ from your vocabulary for the night.”

At a time when a “no means no” policy is being replaced by “yes means yes” which is advocating for passionate consent between adults and this line speaks less to spontaneous followers and more to hungry rape culture.

The image of a beer bottle which labeled with the tone-deaf line was first posted on Reddit on Monday night and was covered by Consumerist earlier. Bud Light apologized for the message and said it would no longer use it in its campaign, which contains 140 different words in total. “It’ is clear that this the message missed the mark, and we regret We would never condone the disrespectful or irresponsible behavior,” said Alexander Lambrecht.

Bud Light has put together a campaign that embodies a number of different outlets. They use mobile activations, email, newsletters, & social media. They have done a phenomenal job at cultivating a community that follow their campaign and take them on a ride through exhilarating commercials, outrageous parties live streamed online, & email blasts that inform the community of what is happening in their local area.

Campaign Analysis

Give your customers the palpable experience they crave.

Bring your clients into your world by giving them a real experience they’ll remember and share for years to come. Bud Light’s “Up for Whatever” campaign achieved this when it took over the town of Crested Butte, Colo., painting its trademark blue all over the main street and branding its lampposts and benches.

The solution to making physical experiences work for a brand is to provide plenty of opportunities for attendees to share as they go and to collect memorabilia that encourage them to keep sharing long after the event ends.

Maximize your share ability.

You can maximize the result of a marketing campaign is by adapting original communication and making it achieve for other channels. Bud Light made this with it “Up for whatever” campaign, by combining social life, gamified and gratified marketing. The Bud Light’s content was inherently shareable because it was fun, addictive and easy to digest. Plus, it tapped into consumers’ “fear of missing out.” Bud Light also made its message multiply by capturing the results of its activities and events so participants would keep sharing through social media.

IX. Social Media Strengths (TYLER NIXON)

Bud Light's strength in social media comes from its consistency and use of several platforms. There is a level of uniformity, trendiness and the message to consumers is informative and fun. That's what keep consumers engaged. Having multiple campaigns going on at one time enables Bud Light to have fresh content to talk about and that also helps their social media campaign. Just knowing what the consumers want is a way that the campaign stays strong. Also targeting the right demographic and knowing how to communicate to them is a strength of Bud Light’s social media strategy.

X. Social Media Weaknesses 
 (MILADE HANDAL)

Weaknesses of Bud Light’s social media campaign is that it mainly is only attractive to current users. Customer acquisition is one of the most important facets of business, and when you are promoting via social media you’re mainly speaking to your current customer base opposed to new customers. If there were a way that Bud Light could promote their product like they do in person by giving out free drinks and swag then it could be an easier process. If they were to hire social media brand ambassadors to do outreach this would drastically help their bottom line.

XI. 4-week promotional campaign (MILADE HANDAL) Comment by Milade Handal: RE-DO COMPLETELY

[MAKE UP COMPLETELY]

a. Campaign Goal and theme 


The fresh Bud Light campaign, Up for whatever, won millennial over by throwing the old AIDA model out the window and instead focusing on creating a brand that is alive and thriving. Enter: the Brand Atom Model.

Breaking down each component of the model we understand better how the orbits interact with other and how Bud Light put this model to work on the Up for Whatever campaign.

The Energy surrounding the campaign spread like wildfire. Talking about energy is the nucleus of the entire model. Creating energy for a brand is about generating positive word-of-mouth and word-of-mouse – getting people to talk about, share content and spread awareness. Ultimately, it does not matter what people say about your brand; it matters what one say about the brand to friends and network. That is the idea that Budlight Company is using.

b. Platforms to utilize 


Bud Light is covering interstitial advertisements. Lucas Herscovici, A-B InBev's VP of customer connections said the seconds-long promos are designed specifically for the platform. For example, one ad shows a beer bottle moving in slow motion. A glass overflows with the beer in a different spot.

Per Snapchat, the advertisements are age-gated so that only consumers who are 21 years or older will see them. That information is pulled from the birth date that is required to set up an account ("Bud Light Will Test Snapchat's Age-Gated Ads as the App's First Alcohol Brand", 2016). It is this latest move from the social app to rake in money from big brands. While marketers love Snapchat's size of 100 million users, advertisers haven't been able to target ads up until now.

Targeting advertisements to the date of birth is a minute, but important, step for Snapchat to be taken precariously as an advertising platform for brands. Initially charging advertisers $750,000 for one-day advertisements earlier, the app rolled out 2% per view video ads in the preceding months.

c. Objectives for each platform

The supremacy of a live peak occasion that is going to have an enormous amount of substance that will be recorded, curated and discharge out locally in the way that individuals devour content all over else."

d. Calendar for posts/promotion & e. Examples of each platform

On September 2nd Bud Light Friday Fireworks will enjoy the splendor as incredible fireworks show lights up the sky after all Friday home games (Times, 2015). The above events, for example, are meant to promote the Bud Light Company further.

Bud Light as the primary purveyor of Canada's electronic move music (EDM) society, the brand collaborated with Thump, the main power on EDM society in Canada, to make the Bud Light company a Living Room. Pound conveys most of the substance in a joint exertion with the Bud Light Brand Team. The generation includes year-round particular EDM extension and engaging segments on the state of Electronic Dance Music. The substance will cover the extent from the massive festival stages to dissident stockroom parties, from platinum-offering skilled workers to DIY room wunderkinds. A critical section to the affiliation highlights prohibitive Bud Light EDM events, like Bud Light Digital Dreams and Bud Light Sensation. A late video highlight in The Bud Light Living room gets for the duration of the night neighborhood gathering in London, Ontario with Steve Aoki. (Times, 2015)

f. Measures of success/ROI to be used 


A Dialogic ROI research measuring the genuinely disconnected deals support rising out of the battle transversely a universe of above 100 million purchasers on a one-on-one level found:

3.3% sales lift among family units presented to the promotions versus the control bunch

Six times return on promoting were spend

Moreover, another 22.8 million U.S. families were come to by the battle, speaking to 20% of aggregate U.S. family units

18 times expansion in scope for the "cell phone Bud" to 16 million specific clients after the post conveyed with Facebook media.

The brew brand saw a 6 times return on advertising spend by utilizing Facebook media to expand the compass and recurrence of its most captivating Page posts.

• 3.3% deals lift among homes displayed to the advertisements versus the control bunch

• 6X return on promoting spend 22.8 million U.S. families came to by the battle, speaking to 20% of aggregate U.S. family units(Times, 2015) .

Bud Light is acknowledged by its adherents and humorous substance, both on and off Facebook. The brand chose to run a Facebook-just crusade between Dec. 3 and Dec. 31, 2012, concentrated on expanding the span and recurrence of its most captivating Page posts over the earlier year. One exceedingly captivating Page post promotion indicated somebody was pouring a Bud Light from a cell phone. Focusing on ways to fans and non-fans ages 21-34 and recurrence arrived at the midpoint of more than 5X over the 28-day time span.

XII. Conclusion (TYLER NIXON)

Overall, Bud Light is a healthy company and they have been successful in their efforts to engage customers. After seeing all the information about the company we have found that Bud Light is a company that is best at retaining customers after they have already acquired them. Their system creates a lot of brand loyalty because there are so many outlets that Bud Light uses to keep an open line of communication with their fans, then they always address customer concerns and that is huge when it comes to retention.

Social media is a strength because Bud Light utilizes it in a positive way. There is a bright future if they continue to use the social media in their marketing plan. The wave of advertising is leaning towards these platforms and away from traditional avenues. With that being said we approve of the campaign that Bud Light is running and think that they will continue to be profitable moving forward being that they are the “Beer of America”.

References

Alati, R. (2016). Should we revisit the ‘Age at First Drink’ concept in alcohol research?. Addiction, 111(6), 970-971. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/add.13276

Bud Light Will Test Snapchat's Age-Gated Ads as the App's First Alcohol Brand. (2016). AdWeek. Retrieved 24 July 2016, from http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/bud-light-will-test-snapchats-age-gated-ads-apps-first-alcohol-brand-165080

Sneath, A. (2001). Brewed in Canada. Toronto: Dundurn Press.

Times, L. (2015). Bud Light's 'Up for Whatever' slogan hits a target, but is it the wrong one?. latimes.com. Retrieved 24 July 2016, from http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-budweiser-controverisal-slogan-20150429-htmlstory.html

"History | Anheuser-Busch.com." AnheuserBuschcom History Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 July 2016.

McKinty, Adrian. "Bud Light Is All That Is Wrong With The World." Http://adrianmckinty.blogspot.com/2016/02/bud-light-is-all-that-is-wrong-with.html. N.p., 7 Feb. 2016. Web. 25 July 2016.

Schultz, E.J. "Bud Light's New Gay Marriage Spot Gets Assist From Ellen." Http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/bud-light-s-gay-marriage-spot-assist-ellen/304250/. N.p., 1 June 2016. Web. 25 July 2016.