Anheuser-Busch Expands Production of Bud Light Platinum

Discussion in 'Beer Releases' started by John_M, May 11, 2012.

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  1. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I don't agree. I'll agree that how you market your product is important and always a major consideration and concern, but I would argue that no brewery goes to the lengths that AB goes to. They make some of the most bland, flavorless swill on the planet, and yet thanks to a multi-million dollar marketing stratedgy, they have convinced countless consumers that they really are drinking one of the most rich and flavorful beers on the planet. I can think of no company in the world that does a more exceptional job marketing their product, and in that regard, I'll always sing AB's praises.

    BL platinum is just the latest line of BS that AB has sold to the masses. That they're so damn good at it, should come as no surprise to anyone.
     
    #41 John_M, May 15, 2012
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  2. Bitterbill

    Bitterbill Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,036) Sep 14, 2002 Wyoming
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Me too. The only way to go is buy a single..
     
    #42 Bitterbill, May 16, 2012
  3. BeerIsland

    BeerIsland Maven (1,251) Feb 9, 2003 Pennsylvania

    BA data shows of 138 Platinum reviews, Serving types had: bottle (137), on-tap (1). I'd like to try it on draft but it doesn't seem like that's A-B's plan.
     
    #43 BeerIsland, May 16, 2012
  4. Hanzo

    Hanzo Initiate (0) Feb 27, 2012 Virginia

    What craft brewery do you know of that is heavy into marketing and advertising? Maybe it is just local because I never see a non big boy ad anywhere (TV/Radio/Magazine etc)
     
    #44 Hanzo, May 16, 2012
  5. dgs

    dgs Initiate (0) Jul 18, 2005 Pennsylvania

    By market share, I'd say there is a good chance you've been using one such company's product to enter that message.
     
    #45 dgs, May 16, 2012
  6. Longstaff

    Longstaff Initiate (0) May 23, 2002 Massachusetts

    All of them.

    You might want to look up the definition of marketing first. Next, look up some beer and drinks publications - oh and there's the thing called the internet where brewers advertise and market their products on its websites and social media acconts. Never saw a sam adams commercial on tv or heard one on the radio?

    I get the impression that many beer geeks don't feel that you are being marketed or advertised to because you bought into craft brewers messages of "purity" of being small, un-corporate like, and in the business for the love of beer first. Or that geeks themeselves "discovered" their favorite breweries - but word of mouth marketing is still marketing. Yet the craft beer business is a beer business like the others - just because the product has more flavor, and the beers and breweries all have "background stories" (which is a craft beer marketing technique in itself) doesn't change the game of beer sales all that much - there are many parallels in craft beer marketing with industrial beer marketers that advertise on national tv - just that the techniques don't get scrutinized all that much due to the above.
     
    #46 Longstaff, May 16, 2012
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  7. Hanzo

    Hanzo Initiate (0) Feb 27, 2012 Virginia

    Marketing and advertising is reaching out to potential customers and persuading them to try your product, everything you've listed is the other way around, I have to go to a brewery's website, or friend them on FB to get the info I want. And are you really going to use Sam Adams as an example of a craft brewer advertising?
     
    #47 Hanzo, May 16, 2012
  8. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Definition
    The management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer. As a practice, it consists in coordination of four elements called 4P's: (1) identification, selection, and development of a product, (2) determination of its price, (3) selection of a distribution channel to reach the customer's place, and (4) development and implementation of a promotional strategy.
    As a philosophy, marketing is based on thinking about the business in terms of customer needs and their satisfaction. Marketing differs from selling because (in the words of Harvard Business School's emeritus professor of marketing Theodore C. Levitt) "Selling concerns itself with the tricks and techniques of getting people to exchange their cash for your product. It is not concerned with the values that the exchange is all about. And it does not, as marketing invariably does, view the entire business process as consisting of a tightly integrated effort to discover, create, arouse, and satisfy customer needs."

    I think the operative word in Hanzo's post is "heavy." Obviously, to a greater or lesser degree, every craft brewery on the planet tries to do the best job they can "marketing" their product. That being said, there's literally no comparison between the marketing efforts of a company such as AB-InBev and, say, a brewery such as Burley Oak out of Berlin, Maryland. With the resources they have, AB is able to expose their product concept to many more potential customers, and with the advertising talent they can employ, they are able to successfully convince unwitting customers that have never sampled the beer, that BL platinum is both full flavored and low calorie, and that friends and other influential people will perceive them as more verile, attractive and smarter for drinking that beer. Obviously, a brewery such as Burley Oak is almost completely incapable of bringing to bear that sort of "marketing" power.

    I would also argue that the more successful a company such as AB is in employing their marketing stratedgy, the less important it becomes to actually produce a quality product. The concept becomes much more important than the reality (or let's just say, the two become more interchangeable). That's clearly not the case, I would argue, for a small brewery such as Burley Oak, or for most craft breweries I think.

    As for my last comment about the increased lack of connection between the message and product, IMHO, the results speak for themselves. Almost everything AB makes is so light in flavor as to be nearly tasteless. My impression is that the beers are meant to be completely inoffensive, and so appealing to the greatest number of potential customers (bold flavors would likely simply alienate the customer base). However, due to the success of AB's marketing stratedgy, I don't think most customers even associate concepts like taste and flavor with the reasons for why they drink their beer. They tend to associate drinking AB products with sex appeal, hanging with your bros, and manly behavior.
     
    #48 John_M, May 16, 2012
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  9. acevenom

    acevenom Initiate (0) Oct 7, 2011 Louisiana

    I would too. I've seen some restaurants advertising that they now carry BL Platinum. I figure it's only a matter of time before you start seeing it on draft.
     
    #49 acevenom, May 16, 2012
  10. otispdriftwood

    otispdriftwood Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2011 Colorado

    3 more breweries to brew Bud Light Platinum? Are you kidding? They only need to make some new cans - everybody knows the beer is the same, the package is different.
     
    #50 otispdriftwood, May 16, 2012
  11. rlcoffey

    rlcoffey Savant (1,207) Apr 20, 2004 Kentucky

    In the game of beer sales, you win or you die.
     
    #51 rlcoffey, May 16, 2012
  12. I_Closed_Wolskis

    I_Closed_Wolskis Initiate (0) May 18, 2012

    Platinum is another Budweiser Select, just A-B trying to tap into the craft beer market with aggressive marketing. I'd be a giddy school girl if A-B actually tried to do a true small craft brew.
     
    #52 I_Closed_Wolskis, May 18, 2012
  13. Beerandraiderfan

    Beerandraiderfan Initiate (0) Apr 14, 2009 Nevada

    You should have seen the same guy from my bottle share story vehemently insist/raise his voice about how Sierra Nevada Torpedo in the can is different than it is in the bottle. . .

    Sadly enough, not everyone knows the beer is the same in different packaging.
     
    #53 Beerandraiderfan, May 18, 2012
  14. Beerandraiderfan

    Beerandraiderfan Initiate (0) Apr 14, 2009 Nevada

    Love your name, (for the record, I closed Wolski's and have the stickers to prove it!) but I think Platinum is more of a foray into the guys who like to brag about drinking lots of diet beer. . . but got tired of craft drinkers pointing out it really isn't all that manly to drink a shitton of low abv watery product, so voila! 6% abv watery product! Now we'll show those uppity beer and math geeks!
     
    #54 Beerandraiderfan, May 18, 2012
  15. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Agreed. As near as I can tell, other than the pretty bottle, most folks seem to be captivated by this beer because of the "perceived" higher alcohol. The reality is that it's only high when compared to other "light" beers. Regardless, my impression is that most consumers like the idea that they can drink a "high alcohol" beer and still keep the calories down. Shrug. That's actually not completely inaccurate; for the amount of alcohol the beer delivers the calorie count is fairly low. However, the beer has a lot more calories when compared to other light beers, but that seems to be something that most light beer drinkers haven't figured out yet.
     
    #55 John_M, May 18, 2012
  16. Brewmiester

    Brewmiester Initiate (0) Apr 26, 2012

    Last i checked the definition of a "light" beer is that said light beer has to have 30% less calories than the original beer that it is based off of. Usually this merely requires the brewer to breakdown all the un-fermentable sugars (enzymes) and actually ferment them into alcohol, then dilute with water.

    Yeah it is kind of funny that it is marketed as a light beer considering the calorie content. It is inevitable that calories go up as alcohol goes up because ethanol is converted into useable energy eventually in the body...

    Maybe Bud Light Plat is going for the no.2 spot they recently lost to Coors Light? I don't know.

    Does this mean there is a Bud platinum on which the Bud light platinum is based? Maybe we have something to look forward to.... >_<. The thought occurred to me that this might be Bud light that is slightly less diluted, to keep the higher alcohol content, seems the easiest way to keep the flavor the same.
     
    #56 Brewmiester, May 18, 2012
  17. grandmachine

    grandmachine Zealot (535) Mar 11, 2010 California

    Hmm. I didn't know Platinum was selling that well. It's a decent beer to buy if you don't have much options.
     
    #57 grandmachine, May 21, 2012
  18. shand

    shand Pooh-Bah (2,240) Jul 13, 2010 Florida
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I'm sure once they start rolling out their branded blue pint glasses, you'll start seeing it around on tap.
     
    #58 shand, May 22, 2012
  19. otispdriftwood

    otispdriftwood Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2011 Colorado

    Take the 'xpa' out of the second word and now you have some real news!
     
    #59 otispdriftwood, May 24, 2012
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  20. BeerTwigs

    BeerTwigs Initiate (0) Jan 8, 2009 New York

    I promise to never even try BL Platinum... I find it hard to buy Goose Island as well. Too bad.
     
    #60 BeerTwigs, May 24, 2012
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