Anheuser-Busch to launch Bud Light Golden Wheat this year

This just in: Anheuser-Busch will launch Bud Light Golden Wheat in early October in an effort to attract older drinkers who are looking for a little more flavor from their light beer. if all goes as planned, the Bud Light “megabrand” will soon have three formidable prongs. You heard it hear first, on Lager Heads.

A-B is “trying to stay ahead of where consumers are going,” Keith Levy, vice president of marketing, told Lager Heads. “Our expectations are fairly big for this, given that it’s got Bud Light’s name on it.”

stltoday.com

Where Social Media, Alcohol, and Trouble Collide

Just cruising my favorite site ESPN.com - you know, the sports site. Well, the add on the right side of the screen was of the images below. I guess it seems that 1) Facebook isn't for just the kiddies anymore, 2) Those crazy Belgians love social media, and 3) Bud Light has a new label. I put my money on that there is a controversy on this right after the woman with the 8 babies quiets down.

Miller Lite Reprises an Old Theme

Sounds like Andy England's first big initiative at MillerCoors. I'm dubious of how much the domestic lite beer drinker cares about RTBs and process.

The campaign -- one of MillerCoors's first strategic thrusts since it was formed last summer by combining rivals Miller Brewing and Coors Brewing -- is aimed at grabbing market share from leader Anheuser-Busch InBev and its top-selling Bud Light brand. While the new ads don't attack Bud Light by name, they are clearly designed to persuade consumers that Miller Lite is the better-tasting brew.

Wall Street Journal

Making Some Cuts at AB

Just saw this in AdAge:

"Agency fees are the latest casualty in Anheuser-Busch InBev's quest to trim $1.5 billion in costs out of the world's largest brewer.

A-B has swapped its long-held retainer-based model of compensating its busiest agencies for a new approach based on an agreed-upon scope of work at the shops. That shift, which has become an increasingly common one for marketers looking to cut agency outlays, puts the agencies on the hook if projects require more hours or greater cost than expected. Other changes include stingier reimbursement rates for production costs and smaller, flat per-concept fees."

This change should be interesting to watch unfold as a variety of smaller shops will be axed from the AB stable.

Also, check out the new label - it's kind of ridiculous InBev is forcing "American" down our throats. The fact that they have to emphasize that it's an "American Ale" actually puts more emphasis on the fact that it's no longer an American company, but a mere piece of a huge Belgian conglomerate. The next thing they'll put on there is that Belgium is the St. Louis of Europe.

UPDATE: I stand corrected - "American Ale" is a new line, yet the push for "American Lager" on their site is a little over the top (see below). "American/America" is on there 6 times.

A-B Forms 9th Street Beverages

9th Street Beverages will operate separately from A-B's beer business and will focus exclusively on marketing and growing distribution of the company's no-alcohol products. The unit's name reflects its location within A-B's headquarters in St. Louis.

Brand Week