InBev Global Flagship Brands

By Karl Villeneuve

Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s are Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Global Flagship Brands. ‘’. AB InBev’s Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Paul Cooke pointed out several key trends shaping the global marketplace for brew. One is “premium-tization,” causing a polarization of different markets where consumers are “demanding and willing to pay higher prices for real and perceived quality offered by AB InBev’s Global brands. InBev spent between $40 million and $50 million to market Stella Artois in 2007, including about $15 million devoted to U.S. measured media, according to TNS Media Intelligence and other sources.’’

Some thought the Anheuser-Busch acquisition by InBev was a strategy to get hold of the US brewer’s distribution system to build its four global brands – Beck’s, Stella Artois, Brahma and Leffe – into North America. Under that scenario, Budweiser would be downgraded. But according to InBev’s Brazilian chief executive, Carlos Brito, AB InBev intends to turn up the heat on Budweiser. “Budweiser would be a flagship brand. It’s a brand known by a lot of consumers around the world. They look for international, premium brands” Brito said.

The Global and Multi-Country Brands are heavily marketed and distributed through many channels (supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, cafes, etc.) The Global Brands distribution intensity is very important to AB InBev.” Leffe, Brahma and Hoegaarden are some of AB InBev’s Multi-Country Flagship Brands that command a premium over local brands and are distributed in more specialized distribution channels (ex : SAQ and restaurants in Quebec, not in grocery store of depanneurs). This differs from the Global Brands distribution strategy as the distribution channels are more selective. There is not as much marketing and promotion around these brands. We see them more in hotels, restaurants and cafes as upscale alternatives to local brands.

Cass, Skol & Labatt Blue are some of AB InBev’s Local Champions Brands.  ‘’According to Cooke, “90% of a market’s demand is satisfied by local brands, which is different from other beverage industries as seen with Coke.’’ These brands are hugely popular locally and serve AB InBev local marketing strategies to help stay close to consumer preferences and offer a reassuring experience. They are priced competitively and usually have strong distribution in foods chains, supermarkets, beer stores, depanneurs, etc.

AB InBev’s product mix enables an advantageous competitive position which offers a combination of superior product, distribution and promotion benefits at competitive prices compared to its of its competitors. This creates value for customers, shareholders and other company’s stakeholders. The wide distribution of the three types of brands makes it convenient to purchase and the execution of AB InBev allows for global standardization of it Global and Multi-Country brands. The competitive position AB InBev target for its brands is to be either number 1 or 2 brewer in the market where they operate.

The marketing strategy of AB InBev can be defined as a mix between cost efficiency through standardization and economies of scale and flexibility to adapt to the changes that occur in the business environment (transnational strategy).

The Marketing management is designed in a way that the Marketing manager of a SBU is responsible for all the product categories designed and/or distributed in a specific geographical area. For example, AB InBev has appointed Andreas Hilger as marketing director of its merged business. Hilger joined InBev last year as marketing director of its UK and Ireland operations, prior to the brewer's acquisition of Anheuser-Busch (AB).