Bud Light Marketing Analysis

The author chooses t0 write the report about Anheuser-Busch’s Bud Light because it is the best-selling beer in the world. In this report the author has outlined in detail the current status by using the SWOT and PESTLE analysis of the company Anheuser-Busch

Anheuser-Busch “is among the global company’s largest and most technologically capable breweries” (About, n.d.). On Anheuser-busch.com, you can find a lot of information about the company and their products. The headquarters of Anheuser Busch is located at One Busch Place St. Louis, MO 63118 (About, n.d.). The most known beer families that they produce are the Budweiser and bud light Family. There are numerous brands that Anheuser-Busch produces aside from Budweiser and Bud light. Initial searching for Bud Light Company because most of my family is enthralled by this beer, and upon further researching the beer brand, it was surprising to find that it was actually owned and manufactured by another company, Anheuser-Busch, that also manufactured

The Bud Light brand is second to none when it comes to light beer and a good time. Although, first considered a flop in the United States after its introduction in 1982, Bud Light surged up the charts after a rebranding effort in 1986. The “Gimme a Light” campaign by the D’Arcy McManus & Mansius agency altered the brands path forever. Since then, Bud Light has drastically increased its market share while still maintaining its success in the global light beer and beverage market.

Boston Beer Company (BBC) has enjoyed much success with their craft beers with Samuel Adams as their main focus. Being the leader of this segment, overtopping five of their competitors combined (Exhibit 1), the company now must decide how to take advantage of the light beer market. Boston Lightship, their current light beer, had been a small contributor in BBC’s product line. Currently, it is facing dwindling sales with product volumes down from 12 000 cases per month to 3000 cases per month.

The American company Anheuser-Bush (AB) cannot market its beer using their trademark name Budweiser in every country around the world. This is due to the fact that there is an European brewing company that uses the same trademark.

Boston Beer Company Mission statement is to “seek long-term profitable growth by offering the highest quality product to the U.S. beer drinker”

- The recent market position of Samuel Adams beer is very strong, as well as growth prospects.

Budweiser and Bud Light are the No.1 and No. 2 best-selling beers in the world. Miller, their closest rival maintains 22.1% of the market share. The following chart illustrates market share in 1999 for the nation’s leading breweries.

Several attempts have been made by Boston Beer Company to continue on a growth streak but not all attempts have been successful. The main goals for Boston Beer Company are to increase revenue and continue growing in the industry. Boston Beer Company has had trouble growing as barriers of entry are low and competition is high. Even though the market has seen a slight upturn, however Boston Beer’s founder Jim Koch elaborates on the company’s dissatisfaction, “We are disappointed with our depletion trends in 2016, which have remained weak so far in 2017. These trends are affected by the general softening of the craft-beer category and cider category and a more challenging retail environment with a lot of new options for our drinkers”. (https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/02/22/boston-beer-finds-growth-the-hard-way.aspx)

Boston Beer, in response to consumers’ preference changes to more flavorful and bitter tasting brews, was founded in 1894. Boston Beer implements a “quality at any cost” strategy with a strong emphasis on product differentiation and implementing quality ingredients into its products. For instance, Boston Beer was the first company to employ a stamped freshness date on its bottles and ingredients are imported from around the world. Additionally, Boston Beer relies heavily on contract brewing to gain competitive advantages. Boston Beer’s contract brewing strategy results in lower overhead and transportation costs, as well as

New Belgium brewery has increasingly grew throughout the years since their development in 1991. Despite the dominance of the “Big Three” (Budweiser, Miller, and Coors), NBB needs to be aggressive and strive to invest in the attractive beer industry in able to grow more. If positioned correctly, NBB and its main brand, Fat Tire, can continually grow. An evaluation of the industry, the business itself, its brands, and the customers and competitors is needed in order to be continuously successful.

Within the craft beer market, consumers have many products to chose. A product is anything offered within a market that which fulfills a want or need (Armstrong & Kotler, 2015). In 2012, over 1,750 breweries operated in the United States (U.S.), with over 1,920 the following year (Brewers,

The situation can even explode for Export Brands International, as large beers conglomerates with tremendous power, are targeting the same segment and are creating similar beers. We have the real example of Anheuser-Busch new Bud Light Lime which was selling extremely well in the United States attacking Corona position and following the traces of the

Beer Company 1 is a “national brewer of mass-market consumer beers sold under a variety of brand names” (pg. 120). As one might expect, this national company has “an extensive network of breweries and distribution systems and owns some beer-related businesses” (pg. 120). It also owns several major theme parks.

Competition in Belgium is huge in beer market. According to the MarketLine Industry Profile article (2014), “the beer market in Belgium is consolidated, with the top four players controlling 78.9% of the market. Some large beer producers have begun to employ brand management strategies in order to ensure their brand is identifiable to the public. This is