This week is seeing quite a few changes in how the economy is hitting different levels of sports and what not. Auto manufacturers reevaluating their spending, teams that have already looked to outside investors, possibly needing to do more of that from other teams, and now our beloved beer that was the staple on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s car, Budweiser is even changing.
NASCAR has introduced a non-American manufacturer, Toyota, into the mix and it's doing pretty well. But now Budweiser is becoming a Belgian beer!!
Wow, what's the world coming to? A staple to many, an important food group to some, but really, a major brand in the world right behind Coca-Cola, the Anheuser-Busch (A-B) company, or Budweiser to the many fans and connoisseurs of the world has been sold.
A-B declined the first offer of $46 billion, but agreed to a higher offer of $52 billion. The purchaser of the all American brewer is the Belgian beer giant InBev. The new company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev. InBev makes Becks, in case you didn't know. And an interesting twist in this whole thing is that InBev had sold Rolling Rock to A-B, and now they're getting it back! (Source: Consumerist)
Historically, I haven't seen any sports sponsoring from InBev, but I just don't know everything. Prior to this purchase, InBev is a result of a merger of the Interbew and Ambev. Both contenders in the world market of beer brewing as Interbrew was the third largest and Ambev the fifth largest brewers in the world. Can you guess who's number 1?
Anyway,
The question I tossed out to the guys Loose In Turn Three, Tim Zaegel of DoYouNASCAR and Charlie Turner of On Pit Row is:
Do you think that the purchase of Anheuser-Busch by InBev will have any sort of impact on the sponsorship of NASCAR teams and events?
Bruce: If they're smart, and I think they are, they'll leave things alone and let A-B coast along doing what it does best... marketing the living heck out of itself with well spun ads and product placement. If they think they're going to be original and put their own spin on the business of A-B, that could be doom. They better not pull sponsorship! Budweiser has been a dang near staple in the world of NASCAR sponsors, not to mention one of the main dietary food groups for me!!
Tim: I don't think you're going to see any sponsorship withdrawals anytime soon because InBev already knows that there's going to be some gung-ho American-brand-only good ol' boys that will probably boycott the label, so they're going to try to cut that damage anywhere they can, and pulling out of NASCAR definitely wouldn't help that situation. What it does do, however, is pretty much solidify the fact that Gateway International Raceway will probably never get a Cup date. Saint Louis, where Anheuser is currently headquartered, has already garnered a struggling economy over the last two years with the closing of several banks and car manufacturing plants. While InBev has vowed not to close any of the Anheuser plants, I believe some cutbacks are emminent, and that's just going to damage the economy even more.
Charlie: I would think that InBev would be buying Budweiser's marketing success as much as the actual product. The Bud NASCAR brand is a big part of that. Can't see them changing that. Maybe InBev will use NASCAR to promote some of their import brands here in the states.
~
Tim on DoYouNASCAR asks
What Stewart Haas Racing can accomplish next season compared to what the expectations are for them in 2009.
http://doyounascar.com/stewart-haas-racing-studs-or-duds-in-2009/
And Charlie OnPitRow asks
Who is your choice as the next driver at Penske Racing?
http://benchracing.onpitrow.com/tony-stewart/ryan-newman-is-loose-in-turn-3.html
NASCAR has introduced a non-American manufacturer, Toyota, into the mix and it's doing pretty well. But now Budweiser is becoming a Belgian beer!!
Wow, what's the world coming to? A staple to many, an important food group to some, but really, a major brand in the world right behind Coca-Cola, the Anheuser-Busch (A-B) company, or Budweiser to the many fans and connoisseurs of the world has been sold.
A-B declined the first offer of $46 billion, but agreed to a higher offer of $52 billion. The purchaser of the all American brewer is the Belgian beer giant InBev. The new company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev. InBev makes Becks, in case you didn't know. And an interesting twist in this whole thing is that InBev had sold Rolling Rock to A-B, and now they're getting it back! (Source: Consumerist)
Historically, I haven't seen any sports sponsoring from InBev, but I just don't know everything. Prior to this purchase, InBev is a result of a merger of the Interbew and Ambev. Both contenders in the world market of beer brewing as Interbrew was the third largest and Ambev the fifth largest brewers in the world. Can you guess who's number 1?
Anyway,
The question I tossed out to the guys Loose In Turn Three, Tim Zaegel of DoYouNASCAR and Charlie Turner of On Pit Row is:
Do you think that the purchase of Anheuser-Busch by InBev will have any sort of impact on the sponsorship of NASCAR teams and events?
Bruce: If they're smart, and I think they are, they'll leave things alone and let A-B coast along doing what it does best... marketing the living heck out of itself with well spun ads and product placement. If they think they're going to be original and put their own spin on the business of A-B, that could be doom. They better not pull sponsorship! Budweiser has been a dang near staple in the world of NASCAR sponsors, not to mention one of the main dietary food groups for me!!
Tim: I don't think you're going to see any sponsorship withdrawals anytime soon because InBev already knows that there's going to be some gung-ho American-brand-only good ol' boys that will probably boycott the label, so they're going to try to cut that damage anywhere they can, and pulling out of NASCAR definitely wouldn't help that situation. What it does do, however, is pretty much solidify the fact that Gateway International Raceway will probably never get a Cup date. Saint Louis, where Anheuser is currently headquartered, has already garnered a struggling economy over the last two years with the closing of several banks and car manufacturing plants. While InBev has vowed not to close any of the Anheuser plants, I believe some cutbacks are emminent, and that's just going to damage the economy even more.
Charlie: I would think that InBev would be buying Budweiser's marketing success as much as the actual product. The Bud NASCAR brand is a big part of that. Can't see them changing that. Maybe InBev will use NASCAR to promote some of their import brands here in the states.
~
Tim on DoYouNASCAR asks
What Stewart Haas Racing can accomplish next season compared to what the expectations are for them in 2009.
http://doyounascar.com/stewart-haas-racing-studs-or-duds-in-2009/
And Charlie OnPitRow asks
Who is your choice as the next driver at Penske Racing?
http://benchracing.onpitrow.com/tony-stewart/ryan-newman-is-loose-in-turn-3.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/nascar/cup/news/story?id=3494894
ReplyDeletehttp://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?categoryId=2492290&brand=null&videoId=3494328&n8pe6c=1
Nice links! Thanks Anon!!
ReplyDeleteI've gotta say ... one thing I found surprising in the articles was the fact that Budweiser will continue sponsorship of the Shootout. I always thought that the Budweiser Shootout went hand-in-hand with the Bud Pole Awards, and was kinda expecting Coors to take the helm on the Shootout next season.
ReplyDeleteHeh.