Superbrands 2004 - Brand Autopsy

Superbrands
BRAND
Feisty Feds Weigh In Against
Low-Carbs—and Tasteless Ads
By Mike Beirne and Kenneth Hein
For beer drinkers, nothing has resounded more clearly in
recent months than a call to turn on the lights: Miller Lite
is taking on Bud Light; Coors’ Aspen Edge is sparring
with Michelob Ultra and Boston Beer’s Samuel Adams Light is
challenging everyone with a scrappy taste test strategy.
More lighter-tasting suds are sloshing around in
bar and liquor store sampling cups these days than
is spilled annually during the Great American Beer
Festival. Beer marketing has always been about selling
an image in a bottle, but brewers
are now putting more focus on taste
and the liquid itself. That emphasis
couldn’t come soon enough for a market
that saw bad weather, war and competition
from spirits depress total beer
shipments, which slipped 0.3% in 2003.
The success of Anheuser-Busch’s Michelob Ultra,
with just 2.6 grams of carbohydrates, was an epiphany
for Miller Brewing, which discovered late last year that
Miller Lite (3.2 grams) was the original low carbohydrate
beer. Advertising ensued noting that Lite had
fewer carbs and better taste than Bud Light and Coors
Light. Little wonder that Miller’s flagship brand then
posted three consecutive quarters of growth.
A-B shot back with a strident effort that stated,
“All light beers are low in carbs; choose on taste.” It
marked a direct poke at Miller Lite’s messaging
regarding “Great Taste” and that consumers have a
choice in selecting beer. A-B is forging ahead, however,
with music, dance and sports-themed spots, via
Digital Kitchen and DDB, both Chicago, for the “True Music,”
“True Groove” and “Game Time” efforts. Coors ads—in a sendup
of all low-carb advertising—mention that the difference in
grams between light beers can be burned off while sitting at a bar.
S26 JUNE 21, 2004
COMPANY NAME,
LOCATION
Royal rivalry: Budweiser
ads tweaked Miller Lite
over fat grams.
LEAD AGENCY,
LOCATION
BEER, WINE and LIQUOR
The shift is a welcome one for observers who’ve yearned for
less of the cheesecake and sophomoric humor evidenced by
Anheuser-Busch’s roster of Super Bowl XXXVIII ads. Though
given the thumbs-up by the brewer’s core young male target,
Bud’s ads were critically panned as “lowest common-denominator
humor” and got caught up in the maelstrom of debate over
Janet Jackson’s breast-baring stunt and the FCC’s inquiry into
broadcast indecency. A-B vp and group executive August Busch
IV later stated that going forward, the brewer’s ads will be more
cognizant of the public’s changing sensibilities, so the flatulent
horse and crotch-chomping dog vignettes are history.
A-B also is reacting to its No. 2 competitor with
greater urgency. Miller, under the leadership of South
Africa-based SABMiller and CEO and president Norman
Adami, is executing strategy more effectively
now than it did under Altria Group, the previous
majority stakeholder. The St. Louis brewer was able
to hold its premium pricing to Miller and Coors with
impunity for the past two years, but the second quarter
has seen a $5.99 six-pack of Ultra in markets like
Chicago marked down by a dollar and 12-packs of
Bud bottles selling for a low $6.99.
The Milwaukee brewer has redeployed and
retrained its sales reps, and Miller distributors have
noticed a difference in terms of the collaboration they
bring to the table.
“They’re not expecting us to drive the business
and come up with details for promotions,” said a
Midwest wholesaler. “In the world of a distributor,
with so much consolidation and so many brands to
manage, we don’t have the time to sit around and
think up promotions. They’re more hands-on now
with solving problems and helping us to grow.”
A-B, with more than half of the 204 million-barrel market as
of the first quarter and 22 consecutive quarters of double-digit
earnings per share growth, by no means has its back up against
BEER
1. Bud Light Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis DDB, Chi; Goodby, SF; Fusion Lab, Chi 38.1 $129.2 6.35 72% 5.66 46.9
2. Budweiser Anheuser-Busch, St. Loius DDB, Chi; Goodby, SF; Fusion Lab, Chi 31.0 112.8 6.60 82% 6.05 51.0
3. Coors Light Coors Brewing, Golden, CO FCB, Chicago; Deutsch, LA 16.5 124.6 6.33 71% 5.63 46.1
4. Miller Lite Miller Brewing, Milwaukee Martin, Rchmnd, VA; W+K, Portland 15.7 118.3 6.21 75% 5.53 44.4
5. Natural Light Anheuser Busch, St. Louis Unassigned 8.4 0.2 N/A N/A N/A N/A
6. Busch Anheuser Busch, St. Louis DDB, Chicago 7.1 8.4 5.94 64% 5.30 41.9
7. Corona Extra Barton, Chi; Gambrinus, San Antonio, TX Cramer-Krasselt, Chi; Richards, Dallas 7.0 23.1 6.51 53% 6.12 49.6
8. Busch Light Anheuser-Busch, St. Louis DDB, Chicago 5.8 0 5.80 58% 4.91 38.3
9. Miller High Life Miller Brewing, Milwaukee Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, OR 5.4 118.3 6.30 71% 5.71 46.1
10. Heineken Miller Brewing, Milwaukee Publicis, New York 4.6 44.7 N/A N/A N/A N/A
TOTAL
SALES
(barrels)
MEDIA
EXPENDITURES
(millions)
QUALITY
FAMILIARITY
PURCHASE
INTENT
EQUITY
Sources: Beer Marketer’s Insights (sales in millions of barrels); TNS/CMR (media); Harris Interactive/EquiTrend: QxFxPI=E (see key, page S18)
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