Monday, December 12, 2011

MARKETING MONDAY: Why Budweiser Is Now Running Its Own Reality Show On Network TV

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Monday, December 12, 2011

Why Budweiser Is Now Running Its Own Reality Show On Network TV

Kim Bhasin | Dec. 12, 2011, 11:00 AM | 344 |

Anheuser-Busch's flagship Budweiser brand is hurting, so it's now getting back into what marketers call "branded entertainment."

Its latest attempt to create buzz for the brand is a network TV reality show called "Bud United presents: The Big Time," which will air Saturday afternoons on ABC starting January 21st, reports Mike Esterl at the Wall Street Journal.

The show will feature amateur contestants competing in sports, music, cooking and more. What they won't be doing is actually drinking any beer -- ABC has a policy against that. Instead, the Budweiser brand will be limited to signs and logos on clothing.

What's the point of all this? Well, the Bud brand has seen better days, and its marketing folks are hoping this will rebuild some hype.

AB InBev has the #1 and #2 brands in the US (Bud Light and Budweiser), but Budweiser is now in danger of falling behind #3 Coors Light. Sales have slumped for 22 years straight for the flagship brand, according to the WSJ.

Still, perhaps the answer doesn't lie with Bud Light or Budweiser -- when will it be time to feature one of its other, more craft-like brands into its top tier? The consumer shift toward craft brew has been slowly clipping market share from the big brewers, but AB InBev still has nearly 50% of the US market. The Bud brands may be declining, but they're still massive cash cows with tons of brand recognition.

There's no guarantee this new show will do anything to help its Bud brands, though. It tried a big TV content campaign before, with bud.tv back in 2007, but it failed to meet expectations. The network lingered for nearly two years before folding in 2009.