AnheuserBusch:

ZacharyStewart:UWRT1104004

Introduction
AnheuserBuschhasgrowntheirwayontomanyconsumersandhasbecomepartof
everydaylifeofsome.TheywerefoundedinSt.Louis,Missouriin1852.Overthepast164
yearsitisintriguingtoseewhatAnheuserBuschhasaccomplished.Theyhavegrown
substantiallyintoathrivingbusiness.AnheuserBuschalongwithothershavecompletely
changedtheadultbeveragemarket,andtheresnotellingwhereitwouldbetodaywithoutthem.
Evenwithalloftheiraccomplishmentsinthepasttheirfuturehasshownitwillcertainlynotbea
given.Withtheupcomingofsmallbreweriesandcraftbeer,alongwithconstantbusiness
mergersAnheuserBuschisfacedandwillbefacedwithmanychallenges.Andhowtheyadapt
andchoosetoapproachthesechallengeswilldeterminetheirultimatedestiny.
Someofthechallengestheyaregoingtohavetoadapttheirproductsandadvertisingto
theeverchangingconsumerbaseandmarket.Iamplanningonbecominginformedand
hopefullyinformothersonAnheuserBuschshistoryandhowexactlytheyareadaptingtothe
futuresofar.AlsoonceIhavecompletedmyresearchIwouldliketoconductastudy.Thestudy
willbetotrytocomeupwithasolutiontothemarket/consumershifthappening.OnceIhave
completedmystudy,Iplantodevelopanewandimprovedproductthattheconsumerwilllove.
IhopetobeabletoworkwithAnheuserBuschorbeabletosharemystudiesinordertohelp
ensuretheirspotinthefutureofcorporatebrewing.

Literaturereview

Overthepast150plusyearsAnheuserBuschhasgrownintoathrivingcompanyin
America.Therichhistoryofthecompanyhasshowntremendouslythroughtheirevolution,
alongwithaddingtoAmerica'shistory.AnheuserBuschwasfoundedin1852inMissouri.When
thecompanywasfirstboughtAnheusersoonhiredhissoninlawAdolphusBusch.Startingoff
wasveryslow.Theirproductsremainedverylocalandrestricteduntiltherefrigeratedrailroad
allowedaccessthroughoutthestatesandalloverthecountry.Whichinturnleveledthefield
betweenlargebreweriesandregionalbreweries
.
(Stewart,2016)Thecompanyhasarich
heritageonewhichitwasbuilt.Theyevenhelpedthemilitaryduringtheworldwars.During
prohibitionthecompanyproducedmaltsyrup,yeast,icecream,softdrinks,alongwithstartinga
th
refrigerationcarcompany.BymidnightonApril7
,1933whenprohibitionended,Anheuser

BuschwasrollingoutbarrelsofBudweiser.AnheuserBuschjrssonthengavehimanantique
redwagonwhichwaspulledbyateamofClydesdalehorsesthatdeliveredacaseofBudweiser
tothewhitehouse.(
AmericanOriginal,
2009)SinceprohibitionAnheuserBuschgrown
tremendouslyandsomethinktheyhavepeakedandarestrugglingtokeepupinthemarket.

Mostbeerbeforeprohibitionwashomemadeandverygeneric.Afterprohibitionthough
iswhenthingstookoff.Majorbreweriesrulethemarketbutthingsseemtobemakingaturn.
Since1980craftbeerbrewerieshavebeengaininggroundinthemarket.Mostlargebreweries
thinkquantityistheanswertocuttingdowncostsandgainingconsumers.Butcraftbrewersare
doingtheexactopposite.Todayyouifyoubuya12packofAnheuserBuschitsgenerallygoing
tocostyouabouthalfthepriceofthesamequantitypackofacraftbeer.Butpeoplearebuying
thecraftbeermoreandmoreeachday.Thisshowsinthemarketthattheeconomicsof

authenticitycancompetetheeconomicsofscale,andare.(Krill,2013)Sowhydoesthisseemto
behappeningnow?Imeanbeertechnicallyisolderthanbread.Themarketforoverallbeersales
arefalling,andlargebeercompaniesarebeginningtopanic.Craftbeerbreweriesseelarge
corporationsascutthroat,whichiswhycraftbrewersworktogether.Thesmallbreweriesare
workingtogethermoreandmoreeverydaybysharingresources,businesspans,ideas,and
overallcreativitytotrytoeducateoneanother.(Barley,2013)TheGermanbeerusedtobethe
worldsbestbeer,buttodayitstheAmericancraftbeer.(Krill,2013)Inordertotrytokeepup
withnotonlythecraftbeerbutwiththeworldmarketaswell,AnheuserBuschwasboughtout
byBelgiumbrewerINBEVfor52billiondollars.NownamedAnheuserBuschINBEV,the
companyisnowtheworldslargestbrewer.(
AmericanOriginal,
2009)Furthermore,the
companyislookingtomakeamergerwithSABMiller.Togetherthecompanywouldcreatea
monopolyinAmerica,controllingabout70percentoftheUSmarket.Accordingtothecritics,
theysaybeerdrinkerscouldfacehigherpricesandfewerchoices.Alsosmallbrewerssaythey
justcannotcompeteonthatscale.NikosRidge,CEOandcofounderofNinkasiBrewingin
Oregon,sayswerehappytocompeteonqualityofproduct,onconsumerengagement,on
value.Butitsjustreallyhardforustocompetejustintermsofmarketpower.Thedealstill
hastobeapproved,sonothingissetinstoneyet.(Greene,2015)UntilthenAnheuserBuschwill
searchothermeansofgrowth.Meanssuchasadvertising.

AnheuserBuschproduces100millionbarrelsofbeerayear,withMillerproducingonly
40million.Howcouldacompanymanagetogetthatmuchproducttoconsumers?Bygaining
moreconsumersofcourse.In1933thefirsttelevisionsetsweresoldtotavernowners.Thus

creatingtheopportunityfortelevisionadvertisements.Forthepast10yearsBudweiserhasbeen
theUSATodaysbestsuperbowlcommercial.EveryyearBudweiserspends500millionin
advertising,muchofwhichgoestowardsthesuperbowlcommercial.Justthe1minutewindow
toplayyourcommercialcancostinexcessof6million.Butyoucanguaranteethattheiconic
BudweiserClydesdaleswillbeshown.Overtimethesehorseshasstoodforthestrongtradition
ofAnheuserBusch.Todaythecompanyownsmorethan250Clydesdales,andhasfiveteams
thattourthecountryforadvertising.Budlightevenhadtheirownmascot,SpudsMckenzie,but
wasremovedbecausepeoplethoughtitwaspromotingpartyingandunderagedrinkingto
underageviewers.(
AmericanOriginal,
2009)Alsointhe1970s,brewerieswouldhirecollege
studentswhowereofage.Nottomakebeer,buttopromotetheirbrandoncampus.(Noll,2014)

Apartfromadvertising,anotherwayAnheuserBuschhastriedtobroadentheirmarketis
intheirproducts.Theoverallprocessofmakingbeerisprettygenericasyoucanseeinmy
observations.(Stewart,2016)ButAnheuserBuschhasawholedepartmentdedicatedtonothing
buttryingnewvariationsofspecificrecipesinhopesofcomingupwithanewandimproved
beverage.Inthe1970scamethelightbeercraze.AnheuserBushhadtocomeupwith
somethingtocompetewiththelowcalorie,lessfillingbeermarket.ThusBudLightwasborn.In
1982BudLighttookoverasAnheuserBuschsnumberonesellingbeerleavingBudweiserat
numbertwo.(
AmericanOriginal,
2009)JustlastyearinSeptemberof2015,Budweiserteamed
upwithlegendaryrockbandMetallicatochannelthebruteforceofthishistoricshowandbe
inspiredbyitsvibrations,itsenergy,anditsdecibelstocreateabeerintheimageofthepowerof
rock.ABudweisersubsidiaryattheLabattfacilitysenta48foottankerfilledwith

MetallicabrandedbeertoQuebec,Canadatocelebratethebandopeningupanewvenue.
(Chappell,2015)
Enteringtheconversation
Inmystudies,ithasbecomeclearthatsomethingnewneedstobeaddedtothebrewing
industry.Therisingofsmallcraftbreweriesacrosstheworld,causingthemarketforlargescale
breweriestodeclining,showsitistimeforalargebrewerytointroducesomethingnewtothe
tableiftheywanttoensureaspotinthefutureofcorporatebrewing.(Barley,2013)Withsucha
richhistoryasAnheuserBusch,Ifeelasthoughnewideasandproductsshouldbelaunchingout
totheconsumer'sdaily.Butitdoesntseemassuch,soIamplanningtoconductmyown
researchinhopesofdevelopingasolutiontotheissue.
Theissuebeingaddressedisthedevelopmentofaproductthatssonewandoriginalto
theconsumersthatittakesoverthetopofthemarket.Inordertodosuchatask,Iplanon
developingastudytoseewhichparticularbeveragesisthefavoriteamongagroupofavariety
ofconsumersandnonconsumers.Togatherthegreatestamountofnonbiasedinformation,I
planonstudyingfourgroupsofsixpeople.Thegroupswillbeseparatedbytheagegroups
2130,3145,4660,and60+.Eachgroupwillconsistofthreemales,andthreefemales.One
maleandfemalewillbeanavidconsumerofbeer,onewillbeasocial/notactivedrinker,and
thelastwillbefromaforeigncountry.Themaleandfemalefromaforeigncountrywill
probablybefromanareaaroundtheworldwhoconsumesthemostalcoholasawhole.The
groupswillbegiven20differentsamplesofbeerfromallover.Afewofthesampleswillbe
fromAnheuserBusch,therestwillbefromothercompetitors.Theobserverswillbegivena

charttoratetheirchoices120,with1beingthebestand20theworst.Oncethebeerissampled,
therewillbethreebriefquestionstohelpgettheconsumerbrainstormingonwhattheirviewis
onthesubstance.Therewillalsobeacommentsectionwhereitisencouragedtotalkmoreabout
theopinionsyoufeelstronglyabouteachsample.

Rating:

Question1:

Question2: Question3:

Comments:

Beer:

Sample#

Whatdoyou
like/dislike
aboutthe
taste?

*notvisibleto
testsubject

Pleasegivea
fewsentences
onwhatyou
wishtherewas
moreorlessof.

Whatdoyou Whatdo
like/dislike
you
visually?
like/dislike
aboutthe
scent?

10

11

12

120

Gambrinus
(Czech
Republic)
BudLight
(USA)
Snow
(China)
Tsingtao
(China)
Krombacher
(Germany)
Budweiser
(USA)
CarltonDraught
(Australia)
Heineken
(Netherlands)
MillerLight
(USA)
Corona
(Mexico)
Skol
(Brazil)
Baltika
(Russia)

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

AsahiSuper
Dry
(Japan)
CoorsLight
(USA)
Anartica
(Brazil)
StellaArtois
(Belgium)
Three
HorsesBeer
(Africa)
VictoriaBitter
(Australia)
Harbin
(China)
Guinness
(Australia)

OnceIhavecollectedandanalyzedthedata,Iwillstudyeveryaspectofthetop5
productsandfigureoutwhatitconsistsof.WiththisinformationIwillconductseveral
experimentsandcomeupwithpossibly510newproducts.ThenIrepeattheprocedureIdidin
thebeginningtoseewhatsortofreactionsIgettotheproductsIcreated.Ihopethatthis
experimentwillresultinanewproductthattheconsumerswilllove.

Conclusion

AsIresearchedthehistoryofAnheuserBusch,Ifoundmyselffindingmoreandmoreof
whattheyareupagainstintheirfuture.InorderforAnheuserBuschtokeepupwiththeindustry
theyaregoingtohavetoexpandtheirhorizontokeepupwiththenewcraftbeermarket.The
craftbeermarketisanewmarket,wheresmallbreweriescomeupwithavarietyofproductsthat
haveverydistinguishingqualities.Thenewmarketonlystartedcomingupwithinthepast30
yearsorso,andaretakingmoreofthecorporatebreweriesmarketeveryday.
AsIstartedwrappingupmyplansformystudyitdawnedonme.TheexactstudyI
developediswhatthecraftindustryhasdonewiththebeermarket.Insteaditshouldbethelarge
manufacturerswhodefinitelyhavethemeans,leadingthewayinthecraftingofnewbeers.Ifeel
asthoughthebondingofthesmallbrewerieshashelpedthemgaintractioninthemarket.Andby
notsellingouttheirideastolargemanufactures,theyhavekepttheprofittothemselves.
InmynearanddistantfutureIplanontravelingaroundtheworld.AsItravelIhopeto
nonformallycontinuemyresearchandstudiesonthebeermarket.KnowingalongthewayIcan
comparethemtomypersonalfavorite,BudweiserfromAnheuserBusch.

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Stewart,Zachary."AssignmentOne."
AnheuserBusch
,February27,2016,15.


Stewart,Zachary."AssinmentOne."CompiledbyBrianModlin.
Interview
,February27,2016,
3.