The competition between MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch InBev in the U.S. never wants for story lines. For one, there is the traditional animosity between Miller and Anheuser-Busch. There’s also Anheuser-Busch InBev’s emerging approach of trimming its number of sponsorships (hot rod cars and bass fishign tournaments were the most recent ones to go). And that leads us into…the opportunism. Ahh, the blatant opportunism.
Our intrepid counterparts at Advertising Age have an interesting story here about how MillerCoors looks primed to swoop in and boost its investment in radio and live events. Chicago-based MillerCoors apparently is interested in categories that Anheuser-Busch InBev feels the need to trim. From the story:
With arch rival Anheuser-Busch cutting spending on everything from radio to sports naming rights, MillerCoors is looking to gain some share at its competitor’s expense. The first stop: radio.
MillerCoors recently sponsored a U2 Day for CBS Radio’s XRT radio station in Chicago to promote the release of U2’s new album, ‘No Line on the Horizon.’
In a panel at this week’s Radio Advertising Bureau Conference in Orlando, Fla., Dockery Clark, MillerCoors’ exec VP-sports and event marketing, said the beer marketer is looking to naming-rights deals and other event-based marketing opportunities to boost its share, and looking to radio as a key activation point. She cited Coors Light’s sponsorships as the official beer of the NFL and Nascar as recent examples but indicated that the newly merged company is looking to move beyond sports for future event-marketing deals.
One factor in MillerCoors’ favor seems to be the decline of other industries that — in more normal economic times — would have paid lots of money for sponsorships. Automakers and financial services firms are running ragged these days. Big brewers are not. The story continues, quoting Ms. Clark of MillerCoors:
“Now we have the chance to turn other categories upside down,” she said. “When you look at [naming rights] and ask, ‘Who is the best sponsor?’ If it was a car company, they probably can’t afford it anymore; the same with a bank company. Now there’s a chance where we can step in and continue to do those things because we are still active. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us as the new MillerCoors.”
Interesting strategy. Time will tell if MillerCoors meaningfully boosts its investment, and whether its sales respond. Keep in mind, Anheuser-Busch’s spending is still formidable and — last we checked — outpaced MillerCoors. Even in these lean, zero-based-budgeted times, we would expect A-B to hesitate before allowing MillerCoors to gain too much momentum.
