Anheuser-Busch continues to wave the stars and stripes in efforts to convince the American drinking public that, despite being on the verge of Belgian beverage giant InBev taking ownership, its beers are still as patriotic as apple pie. The latest endeavor is the recent introduction of the new Budweiser American Ale. Get the point?
“We have to reinforce that more and more,” said Dave Peacock, vice president of marketing for Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. “We have to appeal to a large group of consumers and it raises the image of the brand.”
According to Anheuser, there is a difference between regular Bud and this new style (besides one being a lager and the other an ale,) with American Ale being hoppier, and having a more amber coloring. A six-pack of the new American Ale will be about $1.50 higher than a six-pack of Budweiser or Bud Light.
Anheuser hopes it sees sales results from its American Ale similar to those of this summer’s best-selling Bud Light Lime, which helped the company enjoy a 2 percent spike in sales over course of the season (more than 1 million barrels of Bud Light Lime have been sold this year, surpassing the company’s projection of 800,000). Anheuser wants to keep finding new ways to appeal to consumers, and using top brands gives new styles credence, Peacock said. “That group likes variety but they also like something they can rely on and they do believe in brands,” he said. “When you provide a little of the variety under those brand name plates it’s a perfect home run for them.”
National ads for the new Budweiser American Ale attempt to differentiate from standard Bud products by not using any old Bud logos and not making any comparisons to Bud or the company’s #1 seller, Bud Light.
In their defense, Peacock says the new drink was developed last year, before the InBev deal took shape. InBev shareholders vote on the deal later this month, with Anheuser-Busch’s shareholders to follow after.
