This Bud's for you... and it's free

[moshquerade]

Think this strategy will work? Will you drink a free one with an open mind?

This Bud’s for you ... and it’s free Brewer has new campaign to appeal to younger drinkers

updated 9/22/2010 3:04:04 PM ET msnbc.com news services

With its brand sales sinking and its image losing ground, Budweiser is launching a new marketing campaign to freshen its image that involves pushing free beer and a more up-to-date Bud image to younger beer drinkers, according to a report in USA Today.

In order to appeal to the prime under-30 beer consumer group that has ignored the Budweiser brand, starting Monday the brewer plans to launch its biggest-ever national free-sample effort in bars and restaurants under the slogan “Grab some Buds,” the newspaper reports. The beer giveaways will culminate on Sept. 29, when Budweiser will host the “Budweiser National Happy Hour.”

Unit sales of Budweiser are down 9 percent this year and fell by the same amount last year, the paper reported, citing data from the Beverage Marketing Corp.

Beer drinkers have lost loyalty to Bud over the past seven years, according to the article. Upscale consumers have turned to craft beers, while price-conscious shoppers have traded down, and others have switched to light beers, USA Today said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39303875/ns/business-personal_finance/

 

[konakid7]

Young people are always looking to save money on alcohol, I'm sure they'll all jumped on an opportunity for free beer. Whether this will help Budweiser in the long run is iffy though. Sounds like they're getting desperate.

 

[guyver01]

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

we need
:beer; back for this.

 

[xSauronx]

i still have a hard time drinking that swill, even when its free
/beer snob

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Bud, as well as the other American mass production breweries, has always produced a crappy product or, at least since prohibition.
This is simply redistribution of the market and I don't think marketing will change it.

 

[dawp]

bud is piss water. most large brands in the US are. with so many good regional brands available, it'll be hard for them to change the sales trends.

 

[moshquerade]

bud is piss water. most large brands in the US are. with so many good regional brands available, it'll be hard for them to change the sales trends.

well, they have always been there to appeal to those who drink on a budget.
And the military, they are big on trying to appeal to guys in the military. They support the military in many ways.

 

[Alone]

Make better beer, make more money.

Bud light lime was a fucking mistake (in my eyes, don't know if the money agrees).

 

[Balt]

It would only help if it tasted good.

Free samples of bad beer still have bad beer in them.

 

[olds]

I wouldn't drink that crap.

 

[moshquerade]

I wouldn't drink that crap.

what is your BOC?

 

[dougp]

What Bud, Miller and Coors haven't seemed to grasp is a lot of the American beer drinkers have progressed from drinking the "light" beers into finding something they can enjoy and still get a decent buzz off of. There's no flavor to them, no matter the gimmic they seem to use - "triple-hops" brewing (uh yah, someone should break it to them that most beer is triple hops brewed), the vortex neck, aluminum bottles, etc. are all gimmicks and ploys that equal wasted money. Michelob has expanded their brewing to include a larger selection, though admittedly, I've never tried them - but at least they're trying. There will always be a place for cheap beer - but of course your revenue is going to drop if you think the same old thing will always work.

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

i still have a hard time drinking that swill, even when its free
/beer snob

/notbeersnob

Bud leaves a horrible aftertaste, unlike any other brew I've sampled.

 

[ghost recon88]

bud is piss water. most large brands in the US are. with so many good regional brands available, it'll be hard for them to change the sales trends.

This. I support my local guys anyday over them, specifically because the local guys taste so much better :thumbsup:

 

[masterxfob]

if you guys are too snobbish to take your free bud, send'em my way!

 

[Perknose]

/notbeersnob

Bud leaves a horrible aftertaste, unlike any other brew I've sampled.

Exactly! Some kind of metallic/chemical aftertaste which is just plain nasty.

Even among the mainstream American water lagers it comes in dead last in taste, and there are any number of better beers on the low end which actually cost significantly less.

There is no reason to drink Bud and every good reason not to. It's for the brain dead who swallow their marketing whole like the unthinking sheep that they are.

 

[olds]

what is your BOC?

I like IPAs.

 

[thegimp03]

Yeah, never liked Bud or Bud Light enough to choose it over Coors Light or Keystone Light when I'm looking for cheapo beer to shotgun or drink a 12 pack of - mostly occurred during college anyways.

 

[masterxfob]

Exactly! Some kind of metallic/chemical aftertaste which is just plain nasty.

Even among the mainstream American water lagers it comes in dead last in taste, and there are any number of better beers on the low end which actually cost significantly less.

There is no reason to drink Bud and every good reason not to. It's for the brain dead who swallow their marketing whole like the unthinking sheep that they are.

that taste is usually from beer from in an aluminum can. glass > aluminum

 

[dr150]

If I was in college, it'd be Yuenling.

With money, craft beers.

Sure, I'll stomach FREE beers to get that buzz.....but then it's right back to beers that use BETTER ingredients and beer mastery in their product...

 

[Flipped Gazelle]

that taste is usually from beer from in an aluminum can. glass > aluminum

What Perk is describing is distinct from the "can taste", although I dislike that, too. I've never tasted it in any other beer.

 

[slayer202]

Why! Whyyyyyyyy!!!?!?!?!?!??!!!?!

 

[OverVolt]

Of the cheaper beers Bud is actually pretty smooth. It does have an aftertaste though. And after awhile it loses it's taste. Yuengling seems to be the best value in taste/cost

 

[ahenkel]

I'd take a free can I like Budweiser for things like cooking up a few brats.

 

[zerocool84]

I drink Bud. I am not a snob and will drink it if I'm in the mood.