Content is king. According to Ad Age, The King of Beers is preparing to prove it.
The country’s largest brewer is launching its own in-house film and TV production company that will make humorous shorts and sitcom-type programs to be broadcast over the internet and to cellphones.
While A-B has dabbled in content before-particularly in sports TV, where its Bud Productions division recently produced National Football League preseason games for the St. Louis Rams-this initiative is believed to be the brewer’s most ambitious by far. Funding will likely be drawn from its $1.56 billion marketing budget.
Earlier this summer, A-B pulled VP-Creative Development Jim Schumacher — its top in-house creative — out of the advertising department and into the new production group. “The fact that Schu is leading this means they’re serious about it,” said one person familiar with his new assignment. “They wouldn’t be wasting his time otherwise.”
The articles points out that A-B distributors have been pushing for more entertainment properties, including use of its theme parks—Sea World and Busch Gardens—to host and produce concert events that could be powerful marketing tools.
To repurpose Steven Heyer’s Hollywood and Vine speech from three plus years ago, “Bud is not selling beer, they’re selling brand impressions.”