Since the third week of February, Budweiser has seen a distinct uptick in two important sales-related metrics, following closely behind the brand’s annual Super Bowl ad campaign.
Both of these sales-related findings represent highs for the year and reflect steady increases over the last four months.
Using BrandIndex’s purchase consideration scores, the percentage of consumers 21 and over who would consider buying Budweiser next time they are shopping for beer rose from 12% to 15%. That compares to a purchase consideration score of 10% for an index of domestic beer competitors.
At the same time, the percentage of consumers of legal drinking age who said they have bought Budweiser in the past 30 days rose form 5% to 7%. That compares to an average of 5% for the domestic beer category. The increases began shortly after the Super Bowl this year and coincide with two additional events. Firstly Budweiser’s highly-visible role during 2014’s NASCAR Spring Cup Series including title sponsorship of two duel races at the end of February. Secondly the brewery teamed with St. Louis Cardinals shortstop legend Ozzie Smith to petition the President to make baseball’s Opening Day a national holiday.
What is perhaps most interesting is that the increases in purchase consideration and current customers are continuing even after the Buzz surrounding the Super Bowl has subsided.
Every year around Super Bowl time, YouGov BrandIndex’s chart for Budweiser shows an eight to ten week surge in Buzz score – which asks respondents "If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?" – stemming from their ad campaign. Once the score drops back to ‘normal’ levels it tends to fluctuate in a fairly narrow range for the remainder of the year until it’s time to ramp up again for the following year’s Super Bowl.
So far, the patriotic packaging and World Cup sponsorship have done very little to change that cycle.
Budweiser and the domestic beer sector were measured with three YouGov BrandIndex measurements: Buzz, Purchase Consideration and Current Customer. All respondents were age 21 and over.
Buzz: Domestic beer competitors, Budweiser
Consideration: Domestic beer competitors, Budweiser
Current Customer: Domestic beer competitors, Budweiser
