Bud

5 Pages 1146 Words

Marketing Mix Specific Strategies:

Anheuser Busch is involved in marketing their products around the world. To narrow this broad topic only the segments in the United States will be assessed. There are four main segments of beer drinkers, and Anheuser Busch is heavily involved in all four markets.
The first and largest market is the premium beer category. Anheuser Busch leads this segment with its Budweiser and Bud Light products. Other beer owned by Anheuser Busch in this category includes Bud Ice, and the line of Michelob beers. Bud Light has become the top selling beer in the United States through extensive marketing and advertising.
The second largest segment is sub-premium beer. Anheuser Busch covered its bases in this category fifty years ago by creating the Busch family of beer. This was followed by the Natural Light brand a few years later. Sub-premium beer usually has slightly different amount of ingredients and costs about 60%-75% of its premium counterparts.
The third and fastest growing segment of beer drinkers is the malt liquor beverage market. Anheuser Busch did not enter the malt liquor segment until 1984 when they introduced their King Cobra brand. This was followed by the Hurricane brand, which was introduced into test markets in 1996. The recent boom in the malt liquor segment is due to the specialty flavored beverages. Anheuser Busch began to capitalize on this segment growth with the introduction of Tequiza in 1999. This was followed by “Doc’s” Hard Lemonade and Bacardi Silver. The specialty malt liquor segment has exploded with newcomers trying to catch up with Anheuser Busch in the last four years. Aggressive marketing campaigns are being used by all contenders in this segment.
The microbrew segment is also gaining a larger portion of the beer market. These beers are brewed at small breweries in small batches. Seasonal beers and flavored beers are usually featured in this segm...