Because A-B has spent years building its brand around nationalism and tradition, their sale to InBev last year has been especially damaging to its core identity. No amount of marketing can counteract this single fact, especially after the idea has become so ingrained over time. In some ways it might be easier to market a new beer, rather than reinvent the brand that sells America’s two top selling beers, Bud Light and Budweiser.
I was still living in St. Louis when the news broke, and since almost everyone there is related to an employee (in my case, an uncle) the reputation of a local business was at stake. By the time the sale was announced, it was Old News to me.
I feel the theme of this ad still holds true. To make a great beer takes more than its quality ingredients or branding, but the people who brew it. It takes ingenuity, attention to detail, passion, and forsight to brew tasty beverages.
In that regard craft beer has become my favorite, but every once in awhile a major brewery innovates their craft (Michelob anyone?). The beer business is complicated, but brewers take careful planning to both create the product and to market it.
I have a sneaking suspicion I’ll be talking much more about A-B in particular, and Beer Ads in general, in the near future.
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