Bud Light s Current Advertising Strategy - 1623 Words

Bud Light’s Current Advertising Strategy Bud Light has always been known for its extensive marketing campaigns; however, these campaigns come with a large price tag. Anheuser-Busch spent nearly $250 million in 2013 to promote and advertise the Bud Light brand, more than $100 million more than Miller Light, who had the second highest advertising expenditures (Johnson 34). Bud Light’s most recent promotion has been targeted toward Millennials and has been dubbed â€Å"WhateverUSA.† Bud Light took over a small ski town in Colorado for a weekend, posting advertisements around the town and painting everything from light posts to pavement Bud Light’s signature light blue (Hughes). The weekend consisted of parties, concerts, and free beer for†¦show more content†¦Despite its exclusive rights, Anheuser-Busch consistently ranks as the top buyer of Super Bowl commercials; in 2014, Anheuser-Busch spent a reported $28 million to promote its Bud Light and Budweiser brands (Killoran). Finding a New Market Identifying a new market can be a challenging task. However, when examining the preferred alcoholic beverage of three major age groups, one in particular stands out. Of the three age groups, fifty and older consumers are the age group with the smallest preference for beer. Figure 2 on the following page compares the alcoholic beverage preference for three major age groups. Figure 2: Alcoholic Beverage Preference by Age Source: Jones. As Figure 2 shows, both groups under the age of fifty are similar, possessing a strong preference for beer followed by wine and liquor. However, fifty and older consumers’ preferences show an increased interest in wine and a decrease in both beer and liquor. This shift suggests that many beer drinkers move away from beer as they age and gravitate toward wine. There is significant market potential if Bud Light can lure these fifty and older drinkers back to beer and away from wine. Fifty and Older Consumers as a Target Market Fifty and older consumers represent the market with the largest potential for growth. Currently comprising close to 100 million people in the United States, their population is expected to grow