THEAMERICANCOLLEGEOF
THESSALONIKI
Marketing301:Entrepreneurialand
CorporateMarketingStrategyInstructor:
DrEiriniTsichla
IndividualCasestudyPleasereadthebelowcasestudyandaddressallthreediscussionquestionsina2.000
wordreport.
Intherapidlychangingworldoftoday’smarketingmanager,forabrandtosurviveandthrive
overthelongrun,itsmarketingstrategymuststayaheadofthecurve.Itmustcontinuallyevolve-
responding to thechangingneedsandpreferencesofcustomersand takingadvantageof the
manynew tools for connectingwith its targetmarkets.Over thecourseof its150years, the
Budweiserbrandhasnotonlysurvivedbutthrived,thankstostrongmarketingmanagement
focusedonprovidingvaluetoitscustomers.
In1864,AdolphusBuschpartneredwithhisfather-in-law,EberhardAnheuser,tobeginbrewing
beerinSt.Louis.Anheuserwasamarketingpioneerinthoseearlyyears,usingastrongmixof
themostcutting-edgepromotionaltoolsoftheday:printandoutdooradvertising,point-of-sale
materialinsaloons,aninventoryofgiveawayitems,andalargecadreoftravelingsalesmen(yes,
theywereallmenbackthen).
Fast-forwardto1908.AnticipatingProhibition,Buschusednewspaperadstoremindreaders
(andregulators)thatthebeerindustryemployed750,000peoplewhotouched4millionwomen
and children familymembers, and that 400,000more peoplewere employed on farms that
producedcropsneededtomakebeer.Inapatrioticthemetoberevisitedinfutureyears,Busch
andAnheuserproclaimedtoeveryonethatbeerindustryemployees“lovetheirhomes”and“are
good,honestcitizens,temperate,patrioticandtrue.”
Despite their best efforts to thwart it, Prohibition arrived in 1920, and the minds behind
Budweiser respondedwithamajormodification to theproductcomponentof themarketing
mix:theintroductionofnonalcoholicbeerandsoftdrinks.WhenProhibitionendedin1933,the
knee-jerkmarketingapproachofmostbeerbrandswastosimplyannouncetheywerebackin
business with ads in the key newspapers of the day (The New York Times, for example).
Budweiser took a bit bolder marketing approach. In an early example of event marketing,
BudweisercelebratedthereturnoflegalboozewithsixClydesdalehorsespullingared,white
andgoldbeerwagonupNewYork’sFifthAvenue to theEmpireStateBuilding.Themajestic
horseswereaveryearly“brandcharacter”andofcoursetheywouldgoontoappearmanytimes
inBudweiserpromotionsinthecomingyears.
AftertheGreatDepression,Budweisermadeamajorproductpackaginginnovationintheform
ofbeerincansinsteadofbottles,whichdramaticallyboostedproductsales.The1940sbrought
thenow-famousslogan,ortagline,the“KingofBeers”,whichisstillinusetoday.Inthe1980s,
faced with more health-conscious consumers, Budweiser responded with one of its biggest
productinnovations:BudLight.AlthoughBudweisergrewtobethenumberoneAmericanbeer
brandin1988,by2001theBudLightbrandlineextensionovertookitsbigbrotherforfirstplace
inU.S.beersales.Alsointhe1980s,Budweisertooktheboldmarketingstrategystepoffocusing
almostexclusivelyonsports-watchingmales.SoitwasonlynaturalthatBudweiserwoulddecide
to dominate the premier sporting event-the Super Bowl, of course!While requiring a huge
promotionalexpenditure,theannualeventgavetheminstantaccesstoamassiveaudienceof
these targeted sports-watchingmales, and itwasalsoagreatplatform for someof themost
creative andmemorable advertising in history (search for “Budweiser frogs commercial” or
“BudweiserWhassupcommercial”toseeacoupleoffamousclassics).Budweiserwasindeedthe
KingofBeers-andtheKingofMarketers!
Butalas,marketsrarelyrelystaticforlongandconsumertastesandpreferencesinthealcoholic
beveragecategoryshiftedinthe1990stowardwineandcocktails,causingamarketdeclinein
beer sales and heightening the role of marketing management even more for Budweiser.
Ultimately,theemergingmicrobrewerycrazesetin;in2008,Anheuser-Buschwassoldtothe
Belgian company InBev (the new corporate name is AB Inbev). Although no longer an
“American-owned”beer,Budweiser continues topush its strong associationwithAmericana
throughcutting-edgeSuperBowl commercials and the return (after ahiatus)of thebeloved
Clydesdales.Budweiser’s2020SuperBowladrelatedthebrandto“TypicalAmerican”people.
Defyingprejudicialstereotypessuchas“showingoffhisstrength”whereafirefighterpulleda
heavyhorseincombatingaforestfire,or“touchingotherpeople’sthings”whenamanhelpsfree
acarstuckinthesnow,theadshowedthatBudweiserisa“typicalAmericanbeer”.
AndtheinnovationsfromBudweiserjustkeeponcoming,includingmoreproductsfocusedon
femalesandmillennials.In2012,itlaunchedablendofbeerandcocktailcalledLime-A-Rita,with
additionalflavorssubsequentlyreleased.In2019,BudweiserintroducedNaturalLightSeltzer
andBudLightSeltzertocompeteinthe1$billionseltzermarket.NattyLightbecametheOfficial
HardSeltzeroftheBig12Conference,afirstincollegesports.
So,youmaywonder,howdidAnsheuser-Buschrespondinitiallytothecovid-19crisisof2020?
It redirected5$million from its sportsbudget to theAmericanRedCross.A-Bworkedwith
sportspartnerstoidentifystadiumsandarenasthatcouldbeusedfortemporaryblooddrive
centers.ItalsocreatedanewversionoftheiconicWhassupadasapublicserviceannouncement
seenontelevisionandsocialmedia.ThenewWhassupfeaturedbasketballstarsDwyaneWade
andChrisBoschinavideochatandarejoinedbyWade’swifeactressGabrielleUnion,WNBA
legendCandaceParker,andDJD-Nice,allstickingouttheirtonguesandasking“whassup?”The
spot ended on a serious notewithWade asking if everyone is truly doing okay. Amessage
appearedonthescreendirectingviewerstocontacttheSalvationArmyiftheyarefeelinglonely
during the time of isolation. Another spot called “One Team” championed everyday people
respondingtothecovid-19crisisfromhealthcareworkerstogroceryclerks.Itaimedtoremind
peoplethatAmericaisatitsbestwhenpeoplepulltogether.
Whatanamazingjourney!Overalltheseyears,Budweiser’slongevityandcontinuedsuccessis
atestamenttothepowerofstrong,adaptingmarketingmanagement-alwaysstayingfreshinthe
market,exhibitingrelevancetonewandupcominggroupsofcustomers,andeffectivelyusing
the day’s most successful promotional tools to communicate the brand’s value and
differentiation.
Source: Marchall. G.W. & Johnston, M.W. (2023), Marketing Management, McGraw Hill 4th edition
Questions
1. Over the course of history, Budweiser’s marketing responded to major regulatory andculturalchanges,suchasProhibitionandthechangingroleofwomeninsociety.Whatother
changes are either happening now or are on the horizon to which today’s marketing
managersatBudweisershouldrespond?Whatshouldthatresponsebe?
2. In thisaccountofBudweiser’shistory, there is evidenceofboth “BigM”and “littlem” inpractice.WhichofthesetwotypesofmarketingdoyouthinkisBudweiser’sgreaterstrength?
Supportyouranswerwithexamplestodemonstrateyourunderstandingoftheseconcepts
3. Whatdoyou thinkof usingBudLight andNatural Lightbrands innaming thenewhardseltzerproducts?Doesthisbrandextensiondilutethebeerbrandsevenifbolsteringthenew
hardseltzers?
4. Budweiser isknown forusinghumorand tug-at-yourheartstringsappeals inadvertising.ComparetheoriginalandnewWassupads.Viewthe“OneTeam”video.Doyouthinkthey
areeffective?Whyorwhynot?
Submissionguidelinesü UploadthereportonActivity.Donotsenditovere-mail.ü Thereportshouldbetypedina12ptfont,doublespacedandfullyjustified.ü Awordcountshouldalsobeincluded.ü Thefileshouldbenamedafteryourlastnameas:MKT301_MYLASTNAMEü Acoverpageshouldbeprovidedincludingyourname,studentnumber,course,semester
andtitleoftheassignment.ü Pleasespellcheckyourreportbeforesubmissionü AlwaysuseHeadingsandSubheadingstosignpostthedifferentsectionsofyourreport.ü Studentsareexpectedtouseatleast5-7academicreferencesorwell-respected
publicationsinthereport.Powerpointslides,blogs,studentpapers/theses,youtubevideosorWikipediaarenotacademicreferences.
ü Academicreferencesshouldbeprovidedbothin-textandatthebibliographysectionfollowingHarvardStyleFormoreinformationpleasevisit:https://www.open.ac.uk/library/referencing-and-plagiarism/quick-guide-to-harvard-referencing-cite-them-right
Caution:Non-originalworkwillNOTbemarked.PlagiarismisUNACCEPTABLE.
Assessmentrubric
GradeCriteria(weight)
A B C F
Contentknowledge&Analysis(70%ofgrade)
Addressesallassignmentre-quirementsanddemonstratesanexcellentknowledgeandunderstandingofrelevantthe-oriesandprac-tices.Providesathoroughanalysisofkeyconcepts.Con-clusionsdrawnareclear,logi-calandorigi-nal.
Addressesmostassignmentre-quirementsanddemonstratesagoodknowledgeandunderstand-ingofrelevanttheoriesandpractices.Pro-videsaclearanalysisofkeyconcepts.Con-clusionsdrawnaremostlyclearandlogical.
Addressessomeassign-mentrequire-mentsanddemonstratesanadequateknowledgeandunderstandingofrelevanttheo-riesandprac-tices.Keycon-ceptanalysislacksclarityandconclusionsdrawnarenotalways clearandlogical.
Assignmentre-quirementsareaddressedinasuperficialman-ner,ifaddressedatall.Poorun-derstandingofrelevanttheoriesandpractices.Limited analysisand arguments.Conclusions areneitherclearnorlogical.
StructureandPresen-tation
(10%ofgrade)
Clearandwellarticulatedideasarepre-sentedinaco-herentandlog-icallystructuredmanner.Ap-propriatepre-sentationlay-outandeffec-tiveuseofFTPs(figures,tablesandplates).
Informationandideasarepre-sentedinalogi-calsequence.Goodpresenta-tionlayoutanduseofFTPs.
Adequateat-temptatarticu-lationandlogi-calstructure.InappropriateuseofFTPsornotusedwhereclearlyneededtoaidunder-standing.
Poorlystructured,lackofarticula-tion.NouseofFTPswhereclearlyneededtoaidunderstand-ing.
WrittenEng-lish(10%ofgrade)
Excellentlywrittenwithstandardspellingandgrammar.Styleisveryclear,resourcefulandacademic.
Wellwrittenwithminorlapsesinspellingandgrammar.Styleisclearandacademic.
Competentlywrittenwithsomelapsesinspellingandgrammar.Styleisreadableandacademicinmostplaces.
Poorlywrittenwithnumerousdeficienciesingrammar,spellingandexpression.Styleisnon-aca-demic.
References(10%ofgrade)
Averywiderangeofacademicandwell-respectedsourcesareusedandarecorrectlycitedbothin-textandatthebibliog-raphysection.
Arangeofacademicandwell-respectedsourcesareused,mostlycorrectlycitedbothin-textandatthebibliographysection.
Somerelevantreferencesareprovided.Weakreferencingtechnique.
Verylimitedornoacademicsources.Poorreferencingtechnique.