This Anheuser-InBev merger isn't for you, online publishers
Anheuser-Busch spent $134 million of its $1.3 billion marketing budget advertising Budweiser last year. Just 3 percent of that — $3.9 million — got spent online. Now that Belgium's InBev has acquired Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion, can we expect much change? In a word, no. Why? For one, A-B's current marketing strategy — TV spots against late-night shows and sports — works to sell suds. It'll be tough convincing even the company's new owners to fix what's not broken.
PaidContent reports InBev CEO Carlos Brito has promised more of the same for Anheuser-Busch marketing. The one time A-B tried to get innovative was with Bud.tv, an online-video website. That failed because no one thinks of a beer website as a video destination. Another problem: Adult beverage makers have to jump through hoops to make sure they don't accidentally market to anyone under 21 online. As the social networks can attest, it's nearly impossible to verify a Web user's age. Google likes to pretend that buying ads in offline media is too complex, and is desperately in need of its engineering talents. But the truth is, as any media buyer will tell you over a beer, dropping $1.3 billion is so much simpler on TV. (Photo by Daquella Manera)