AB InBev Bashing Craft?

While I certainly agree that it's hypocritical to buy up "craft" breweries and then also mock craft beer in your advertising for Budweiser, it's marketing and business and thus not necessarily subject to the laws of reason. Basically, ABInBev is counting on most people not knowing or caring that they also own a handful of craft breweries. It's cynical, but again it's just business.

As for the "Macro we stand" ad, I haven't seen it. But there's a long and colorful history of people taking a derogatory term and adopting it, embracing it, owning it, thus taking away or diffusing its power to harm. Look no further than the term Obamacare, racial/ethnic slurs, etc. So it makes sense to me that they would use this approach with the word "macro."

 

It panders to the lowest common denominator. And that's not meant as a slight. By and large, people don't like to be made to feel 'less than' and when they do feel that way, they react, often with claims of elitism. It happens every election cycle: 'those liberal elites...'

What ABI is doing is galvanizing their core while also, possibly, picking off a few insecure craft drinkers who see those commercials and think 'I don't want to look like that!'

I wouldn't be surprised if they were making money on top if it by setting of normal craft drinkers - people who like to drink good beer but don't chase trucks, trade, have heated 'debates' in forums dedicated to beer - who say 'Fuck you Bud, I'm going to go support my local now.' Only to buy something that's at least partially ABI owned because their reach is so vast and growing.

Why would they do that while acquiring craft brands? Because they can, and as has been pointed out, most people have know interest in knowing the true provenance of their beer. It's also a low-risk proposition. Sure, their craft business is growing, but as some people learn what is and isn't ABI-owned, they'll lose some customers, but gain more, and faster. Meanwhile, the guys and gals drinking Bud aren't probably going to care at all if the find out that ABI is acquiring these fancy-pants brands. 'Keep that fruit and shit out of my Bud and we aren't going to have a problem.' And then there's the hardcore craft crowd, who's never going buy ABI products (as far as they know) anyway. Not like they've lost a core segment by alienating this teeny-tiny group over here.

I seriously doubt they're trying to capitalize on the barrel aging trend. They've always said Beechwood aged somewhere on the can and in their ads. I think that's their main attempt to make themselves look like they aren't an industrial giant. It's right up there with 'Made the hard way.' Clearly they care about appearing like they craft the product and labor over it, but they don't stick their noses in it or drink it with their pinkies out.

 

at least it gives us something to talk about today

 

Then we have no disagreement. Nor do I disagree that the side-effect could well be intentional. There is a long history in marketing/advertising circles of trying to target one "official" audience while having an impact on others who might become part of the "official" audience. Look at all the car commercials these days showing bright red fast cars doing stunts to demonstrate their agility and speed capabilities.

However, such things can also backfire. Check out the recent backpedaling on the Bud Light campaign that was pushing the idea that Bud Light could eliminate the word "no" from someone's vocabulary. There's a nice example of a situation where there was an possibly unintended side effect that backfired.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/04/28/bud-light-label/26532085/

 

For sure. Not sure how they let that one slip. I'm thinking the supervisor was on vacation that week or something LOL. But it's like cigarettes - the smoking population is aging and dying off. They need to keep new customers coming in. When drinkers start buying their own beer, once they reach that age where they can go into the store themselves and do some shopping, no longer relying on their older sisters boyfriend to buy booze for them and their friends, they have choices to make they never got to make before. They will either pick up on a brand and stick with it for life, or they will become craft drinkers who never touch the BMC stuff. It's my firm belief that these young people, these kids, are a high priority for the dying giant at this time. The tables have been turning on BMC for some time now and there's this major effort to get things turned back around. They know they can't convert the craft drinkers back to BMC, and simply trying to hold on to their current customers is unthinkable and unsustainable. They need new drinkers to come to their side, and they will do whatever they can to win them over as soon as possible.

 

“They will either pick up on a brand and stick with it for life, or they will become craft drinkers who never touch the BMC stuff.” Truth!

I wonder what the demographics are for Budweiser drinkers? It seems to be ‘popular’ on BA threads to characterize a typical Bud drinker as being middle-aged to older. If that is the case than AB InBev has a real problem in terms of continuing sales of the beer like Budweiser (which may be one explanation for Bud’s decline over the past few decades?).

@jesskidden, do you now if there are any sales figures per age of the beer drinker for Budweiser over the past two decades? I am sure that AB has this information but maybe some marketing research firm has collected this information as well?

Cheers!

 

Except that its not quite so either/or. Some proprietary marking research data collected for Sam Adams got some discussion on here some years back with a person in a position to know something about the results. Basically what they found, maybe 4 years ago, is that the most typical drinker of flavorful beers was actually someone who mostly drank less flavorful beers most of the time but had an occasional flavorful beer. Also if you go looking for the "no love for AALs" thread that was active a week or so back there are lots of BAs who make no bones about sometimes prefering to drink an AAL. In otherwords the mass market only beer drinkers and the all flavorful beer drinkers are both minorities among beer drinkers in general. I suspect this has had a shaping effect on the Sam Adams commercials and beer releases the last few years.

Where I argue Bud is making their mistake is viewing flavorful beers as their competition when they advertise. The data I've seen suggest that they are losing more market share among the 20 somethings to Wine and more market share among the boomers to expensive spirits like small batch bourbon and/or single malt whiskey.

 

Those commercials always made me think that I would much prefer the PC (played by the hilarious John Hodgman).

 

Unfortunately not the truth. As illustrated by your own recent thread on lack of love for AALs. Lots of people were popping up in that thread talking about how much they enjoyed AALs, even if only once in a while. In addition they show up routinely in other threads. So lots of BAs drink "both sides of the street."

 

I'm one who just doesn't really like lagers but am glad there are diehard Bud fans and such out there because it's hard enough to find good Imperial stouts around these parts with just a few hunters

 

Agreed! It brings both the macro and micro brews into the light and you make money either way!
Plus it is very hard to make a beer that bad consistently a many different locations, so I do give them at least that much.

 

This is absolutely true, great point.

 

Oh there a lots of closet Bud drinkers out there who are members of this site.

But you say you don't like lagers, don't let that prevent you from trying a few once in a while. One day you might just find that you also enjoy lagers if/when you can get your hands on some of the more flavorful ones. Here in SE PA we have literally dozens of them that are not mass market beers and are well worth drinking and quite enjoyable.

 

It's what you do when you can't win an argument based on facts: You start slinging poo

 

Tom,

I am aware of the discussion concerning the Sam Adams craft beer market ‘study’ you previously made mention of.

There is a large contingent of beer drinkers that are AAL only. These are the million and millions of folks who send a lot of money to the BMC companies.

There are craft beer drinkers who drink both BMC type beers (AALs) and craft beer. A much smaller segment of the overall beer market but still of a substantial size.

And there is the beer geek market which are always looking for the ‘next big thing’ and generally speaking do not purchase the more ‘mainstream’ craft beers like Sam Adams. This is the smallest beer market of the three I mentioned.

There are other ‘classes’ of beer drinkers but I think the three mentioned above is a good starting point.

It is in the BMC companies’ best interests to see if via Marketing & Sales initiatives they can entice people to be part of the millions and millions who only drink BMC (AAL) beers. These types of customers are on the whole more loyal (they are not tickers) and many of these customers will stay true to a single brand for their whole life of beer drinking.

I am uncertain how powerful advertising can be to ‘create’ customers that solely want to drink AAL beers but I am sure that the Marketing & Sales folks at the BMC companies are trying real hard to leverage this as part of their overall strategy.

People who drink craft beer are the minority portion of the worldwide beer consumer market.

Cheers!

 

I also saw the ad to which you refer, and it doesn't perturb* me that they chose to take the opportunity to "bash" Craft Beer in such an advertisement. It is likewise not a new tactic -- for the beer/brewing segment, anyway. Miller Brewing Company created a similar ad for Miller Genuine Draught back in the 1990s, in fact:
http://adage.com/article/rewind/rewind-miller-genuine-draft-bud-macro/297165/

*The fact that we're discussing the ad itself on a website devoted 99% to the discussion and championing of the diversity of beer styles is proof-positive that the ad itself was effective -- "golf clap" to you, In-Bud!

 

I was as we say "down the shore" recently. My eyes told me that Bud and Bud light are doing very well with young drinkers.

 

I'm sure the folks at Bud realize that most consumers are really not very well informed about who owns what in the brewing industry... People here on BA might be, but we are a small minority of beer drinkers. Knowing this, Bud can mock craft and promote their proudly macro brand to the folks who like to drink AALs and, at the same time, buy craft breweries and promote them as proudly not macro. Most people aren't paying enough attention to care about the blatant hypocrisy of it (and some just don't care one way or another) and Bud gets to profit from being in both markets.

This isn't unique to Bud. Cascadian Farms cereal boxes all boast about the fact that they are organic and how great it is to eat food that is free of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. They are owned by General Mills, which sells plenty of non-organic foods that, by their own implication on their Cascadian Farms boxes, must be full of pesticides and fertilizers.

 

Yup, I go to the shore too!

I tailgated at a Notre Dame - Syracuse game last fall at Met Life Stadium and I saw lot of young folks with Bud Light in their hands; I did not see many Bud-heavy bottles/cans. Also I noticed that Coors Light was not too popular either.

It is challenging to make judgements on anecdotal stuff though.

Cheers!

 

Right. And so, as you actually argue (and very effectively) in this current post, it is simply not truth that it is an either/or situation.