Branding Budweiser

 

What makes a brand memorable? When a company begins the process of choosing their brand name, they have to remember five keys elements to make their product or service more memorable than their competition. These five keys are…

1.      Should suggest that the product benefits

2.      Should  be memorable, distinctive, and positive

3.      Should fit the company or product image

4.      Should have no legal or regulatory restrictions

5.      Should be simple and emotional

(Kerin)

A brand name is described as any word, device (design, sound, shape, color) or combo of these used to distinguish a seller’s goods or services (Kerin).

 

One brand name that is easily recognizable and distinguishable in America is Budweiser beer. Budweiser was given its name by a brewer in the mid 1800’s named Adolphus Busch. Busch was the son of a German brewery and winery tycoon and decided in 1857 that he wanted to come to America to continue his father’s legacy and begin his own brand name. While in America, he married a woman named Lilian Anheuser and with the help of his father-in-law, Adolphus founded the Anheuser- Busch Co. brewery. In America, Adolphus wanted to make a beer that would appeal to all tastes and so he founded the Budweiser Lager Beer in 1876, establishing America’s first national beer brand (Budweiser.com).

The Budweiser brand is so popular today because of the brand personality they have established. We all know Budweiser for their Clydesdale horses and Super Bowl commercials. They have commercials and ads that show beer drinking as a community event that has sentimentality and celebration wrapped in one. Two commercials below show this brand personality with the emotional response Budweiser strives for. They are also a brand that uses marketing to their advantage. Recently, I was in a convenience store and they had a beer refrigerator that had a television as its door, showing Budweiser beer being poured in slow motion into an ice cold glass and the logo flashing across the screen. You could still see through the fridge, however, similar to a two way mirror. Although there were other beers in the fridge, a consumer’s mind is swayed by the projection to grab Budweiser brand because of the ad that they see upon approaching the fridge.

 

Today, according to Forbes, the Budweiser brand is worth $21.1 billion and is the 19^th world’s most valuable brand. “Budweiser (including Bud Light) is the biggest brand for Anheuser-Busch InBev. The global beer giant was created in 2008 when Belgium-based InBev purchased Anheuser-Busch. Bud is now the No. 3 beer brand in the U.S. behind Bud Light and Coors Light, as volume in the U.S. shrank for the 24th straight year in 2012. The brand has made strides internationally under AB InBev's watch. Budweiser sold outside the U.S. now represents 51% of global Bud volume driven by strong growth in China” (Forbes.com).

Budweiser has been around for about 150 years, and its popularity continues to grow. This is what happens when you brand your product so that it is memorable.

Viagra Ad for Women?

The marketing world is filled with ads for all sorts of products and services for all kinds of demographics of people. So, how do marketers decide who they want their audience to be when creating their advertisements?

There are a lot of factors that go into this fancy little world of market segmentation, which in simplest form means people who want to buy the same thing as the person that is just like them. And there are four ways to go about categorizing this; demographic (physical/ measurable attributes), geographic (where you live or work), psychographics (mental/ emotional attributes) and behavioral (actions/ attitudes). All of these factors have to go into just the process of deciding what to put into a commercial just to have the potential to reach the audience most willing to buy said product.

But, what would happen if marketers did the opposite of this? It has happened before. Think of Viagra. Yes I said Viagra; that little blue pill that men in their 50’s and beyond sometimes need to “get it up.” You would think that because this is a pill designed specifically for male use, commercials would segment their market and advertise specifically for men right? Well, apparently the marketers of Viagra didn’t think that was necessary.

Think about it, who do you think actually goes out and buys that little blue pill? Of course men are often times the consumers, but I am sure that there are some who would rather not be rung up at the counter with a box of Viagra in their hand.

Women! The wife who wants the sex life of her 20’s with the man of her dreams is also a consumer of the little blue pill. And Viagra capitalized on this. Viagra has in the past few weeks come out with the very first erectile dysfunction ad featuring a woman as the speaker. Recently, they have been pressured with outside competition such as Cialis and other products in Europe due to its patent expiration last year. Sales fell 8% and Viagra decided to take a new approach to boost their sales and this is what they have chosen.

 

So why is this effective? Women see someone like them discussing the issues that their “honey” is having in bed, losing the intimate moment that was about to take place. Then, not only does she speak directly to women, but for the first time ever, she uses the word erection in the commercial rather than saying just “ED” as men do in all previous ads. This commercial is still so new that there is no information on its effectiveness on sales, but I guess we will just have to see!

Market segmentation is huge in deciding how to represent a product in advertising. But, as our world changes and especially stereotypical gender rolls begin to reverse or equal out, we see that advertisements and product positioning are changing with the times.

Mah-keting

"Make Yah Ma Proud, Wear Yah Seatbelt." This native Bostonian sign flashes all along the sides of the city's highways. I was there this weekend visiting home, and I couldn't help noticing these comic signs with a very important meaning. You might recall the ones from the summer, even, that read, “Use Yah Blinkah” and the other, “Your LOL’s and OMG’s can Wait!” Boston and MassDOT has taken a new approach to reminding people of the law and safe driving. These signs may be witty and capitalize on our “wicked awesome” Boston accents, but they also contain a very important message marketed to all people: focus on the road!

These signs are a very creative and successful marketing strategy done by MassDOT to help enforce highway safety. By jazzing up this public service announcement, drivers get a laugh and actually pay attention to the signs that are flashing at them in big orange lights. The phrases stick in the heads of all drivers, and specifically New Englanders because we are known for our lack of “r’s” and thick accent.

Of course when we think marketing, we don’t think of how public service announcements act as advertisements. But what they are advertising to their viewers is what we, as moral, ethical, and responsible human beings, should do in order to better our world. A lot of the times, public service announcements, like the ones we see on T.V. have an impact on us in a very different sense. Think,

for example, of the non-smoking commercials. I know you’ve seen them, with the people who smoked their packs a day and now have holes in their throats they hold in order to talk. Or think of the ASPCA commercials that show all the emaciated dogs and cats and those faces that they zoom in on to show the sadness in their eyes. These public service announcements are negative, but still have a positive effect on many people because it encourages change.

MassDOT took a risk and did something very different with their marketing of highway safety advertisements. They involved comedy and it has stuck. People read and remember the signs on the side of the road because they are catchy and relevant to the large target market of Bostonians and New Englanders alike. MassDOT is currently taking submissions for any witty safety catch phrases you can think of. They constantly are switching them up to incorporate new laws, so if you happen to be driving through Boston, look for these clever advertisements. Keep Calm and Drive On.