Bud Light Picks 2 New Creative Agencies As Marketing Strategy Shifts

Dive Summary:

Bud Light has chosen Anomaly to be the creative agency for its flagship business, Bud Light Blue, and The Martin Agency to manage its extensive family of brands, including soda, according to a Marketing Dive email.

Anheuser-Busch InBev first verified its account in June after working with Wieden+Kennedy since 2015. The independent company Wieden+Kennedy refused to participate in this process, but still works with other brands under the tutelage of AB. , including Michelob Ultra.

Bud Light's agency change comes as light beer celebrates its 40th anniversary and follows the renewal of a longtime partnership with the NFL. Bud Light also continues to invest in more emerging media such as esports, which may require different creative thinking.

Dive Information:

Big creative changes are taking place at Bud Light as the distributor adjusts to changing consumer tastes and the changing media landscape. The search for a new agency, AB InBev, has been closely followed since the start of the review earlier in the summer, when incumbent Wieden + Kennedy turned down an offer to keep the business.

The shake-up comes as Bud Light celebrates a milestone anniversary and looks to boost interest in new channels like gaming and esports. AB InBev has also taken actions that may impact Bud Light's marketing strategy. In June, the beer giant filmed an exclusive alcohol ad during the Super Bowl, a position it has held for more than three decades. The distributor will continue to advertise major games and will remain the official beer and mineral water sponsor of the NFL.

Rather than choosing a partner to guide the vision of the entire portfolio, Bud Light is splitting the work between its light beers and a broader product line. Anomaly is owned by Stagwell and The Martin Agency is part of the Interpublic group of companies. The dual agency approach speaks to the growing importance of non-beer offerings and also suggests that these bets could benefit from their own dedicated strategy. Bud Light Seltzer is number one. 3 in the industry.

AB InBev is paying more attention to its Beyond Beer initiative as consumers turn to alternatives such as sparkling mineral water and ready-to-drink shakes. In April, the company appointed Marcel Marcondes, senior head of Beyond Beer, as global director of marketing.

AB InBev's other achievements include the best beer for you, including Michelob Ultra, one of the brewing company's fastest growing products. Bud Light Next, a carbohydrate-free beer introduced earlier this year that has been compared to seltzer, targets consumers in their 20s and 20s and is positioned around concepts like the metaverse.

This news marks the changing of the guard at Bud Light. Wieden + Kennedy developed some of the brand's most iconic campaigns, including a series of medieval-themed commercials centered around the absurd phrase "Dilly Dilly". The slogan took on a life of its own as a viral meme, eventually showing a Game of Thrones connection at the height of the HBO show's popularity. But expert marketing has done little to offset the drop in sales due to the larger decline in the beer category.

Bud Light remains the best-selling beer in the US, with a 12.69% market share in that category, according to IRI. The brand continued to work closely with the NFL, but also expanded the scope of sports marketing.

In June, he became a sponsor of the Top Rank boxing promotion. At the same time, Bud Light is aimed at less traditional fan bases like gamers, with a dedicated Twitch channel and support for competitive events in games like League of Legends, Overwatch, and the NBA 2K franchise. . .

Marketing campaigns that brought in millions!