Dive Brief:
- Budweiser is putting the names of 11 states —California(which has two Budweiser breweries),Colorado,Florida,Georgia,Missouri,New Hampshire,New Jersey,New York,Ohio,TexasandVirginia — on bottles and cans where the popular beer is produced,the company said in a statement.
- The special packaging will be on store shelves from July to September. Each state will have its own custom packaging. The label changes include: "Budweiser" on cans and bottles being replaced with each state's name; the center medallion "AB" monogram updated with state's initials; "King of Beers" swapped to include each individual state's motto; and "Anheuser-Busch Inc." replaced with each state's nickname.
- "Our new state bottles and cans celebrate the homes of our breweries and the communities that support them,"Ricardo Marques, a Budweiser vice president, said in the written statement. "Since 1876, Budweiser has been proudly brewed across America, and this summer, we're inviting local consumers to raise a cold one with us."
Dive Insight:
Budweiser is no stranger to package overhauls that draw attention to its product and target a specific audience. AB InBev's Budweiser announced in Mayit would be re-releasing alineup of patriotic packagingto help raise money for armed forces members and their families.
The new state-specific lineup of labels is a good way for Budweiser to reach out to parts of the country where the brewer not only produces the beer, but creates jobs and local pride — and pumps money into the area economy. It also is a good idea for Budweiser, now owned by Begium-based AB InBev, to use the state and patriotic packaging to remind consumers of the beer's U.S. origins during the summer when people are grilling and enjoying a cold brew with friends.
In an industry where big beer manufacturers are not only competing against themselves, but a growing number of craft breweries, companies in the industry are wise to try to find ways to make the product feel new again — and hopefully to keep it top of mind for shoppers or bar patrons next time they have a beer. With more than 5,300 different beers, there is no shortage of products to choose from.
Label overhauls also are often an effective way to increase sales. In 2011, Coca-Cola started its "Share a Coke" campaign, where people could personalize the beverage with their name. In 2014, the companysaw an increase in sales after it ran it in the U.S.雀巢的精益崔sineredesign helped drive a sales increaseof $58 million in the following year.Nutella used algoritims to create a limited-edition of collectible jarsin a variety of eye-catching colors, shapes and patterns, including zig-zags, polka dots and splotches. The 7 million different package设计在一个月之内销售一空。
Budweiser, Coca-Cola and other companies have generated buzz and increased revenue following the introduction of new packaging that is tailored to a specific person or segment of the population. In an industry thirsty for growth, expect more clever designs in the future to woo the consumer.
