Budweiser case – key objectives
Evaluate Diageds integrated campaign for the launch of the Budweiser Ice Cold Index Ireland. What were the key objectives of the campaign? On a hot day, nothing is better than an iced cold beer. Wouldn’t it be amazing if as the temperature went up the price of a beer came down? With the new Budweiser Ice Cold index, the hotter the day the less you pay.
All you needed to Join was the sun shining and a clever mobile app. The free smart phone app showed your local temperature and how much you’d save that day, it even directed you to one of 2,700 articipating pubs and let you claim your pint for a reduced price or if it was really hot, for free.
Budweiser intended to promote and advertise their new brand to the 18 – 34, female and male demographic. In order to achieve this, a number of objectives were outlined. 1) Actually effect a behaviour change and drive trial in an innovative way.
2) In doing so bring new customers into the portfolio and drive volume through the summer months. 3) Drive Bud Ice Cold’s summer refreshment credentials. 4) Build up the Bud Ice Cold brand values: fun, aspirational, youthful and at the heart of roup social occasions.
Diageo wanted to develop an exciting campaign that would directly connect with their demographic, who were also in turn the largest users of the social media market. The concept of the Budweiser Ice Cold index was developed by DDB I-JK and it instantly took hold of Diageds focus.
To make the index work Budweiser needed an avenue of distributing vouchers to their customers. They had certain targets to achieve, to incorporate this vouchering system, 1) compatible with Diageds existing content management systems. ) Able to feed into a detailed real- ime reporting system so that they could reassure pub landlords they would be reimbursed on a weekly basis for whatever they had sold on discount. 3) Able to feed into a basic front-end architecture for delivering time-sensitive vouchers to mobile handsets in a way that allowed for it to be rescanned for any brand and related promotions. 4) Fraud proof and easy to use for retailers.
They needed to educate the public on how to use the index, they needed to facilitate a compelling brand experience via digital media and events, and they also wanted to celebrate Bud Ice Cold’s superior refreshment credentials.
A spokesman was used for the campaign a “cool” American weatherman called “Scott Campbell”. He was used as a mouthpiece for the campaign to do everything from explaining how to use the voucher to providing temperature updates, he gave Budweiser a voice to promote their new brand through T. V and social media advertising. Budweiser also used brand generated and consumer generated communication to promote this integrated campaign.
In terms of brand generated, they developed the app itself, a Budweiser Ice Cold microsite, in pub point of sales material and trade and technical index launches.
Budweiser also felt it was instrumental for consumers to have a medium to interact with the campaign. Facebook, Twitter and online blogs played an important role in this stage of their strategy. The Facebook page provided the consumer with a way of interacting with the campaign.
They could have any queries answered and get help with technical support. The fan numbers on Facebook highlighted the success of to almost 40,000 by September 2011. Twitter also played its part, Scott Campbell’s twitter feed drove brand interaction. Users were promoted to tweet on redemption of the vouchers, with a hash tag tracking redemptions.
