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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.

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