A-B’s Big Give-away

[admin]

What to do when sales are slumping? Give it away of course.

Well, it’s not that simple of course, but Anheuser-Busch announced yesterday a new marketing push that will focus on sampling. A-B will unleash its biggest-ever national free-sample effort with the slogan "Grab some Buds." Wait, what kind of buds? This could be confusing if Prop. 19 passes in California.

The free samples will range from 6 ounces to 12 ounces, depending on state and local rules. A-B will hand out 500,000 samples by mid-October. A-B also plans to partner with Facebook so folks turning age 22 and up can get a free beer on birthdays.

Executives at Anheuser-Busch insist they can reignite interest from younger drinkers with an image upgrade and a reintroduction via sampling.

"Brands can come back," says Dave Peacock, A-B president. "Consumers have a high awareness of the brand, but some haven't tried it in a long time. When we get the trial, we find we have a positive result," Peacock says.

[HinduKush]

Sometimes even free is too expensive. I will take some prop 19 kindness though.