• Ad Age, Monday, January 7, 2008 11:45 AM

Anheuser-Busch is looking to take advantage of the planned merger of Miller and Coors by ramping up spending on its four core brands--Bud Light, Budweiser, Michelob and Michelob Ultra--in an attempt to take back market share.

The No. 1 U.S. brewer--which holds an approximately 49% share of the market--stumbled last year as it absorbed dozens of new import and craft brands into its wholesaler network. But A-B says it has a new marketing model--led by new vice president of marketing Dave Peacock--sorted out just in time to exploit similar havoc for its competitor if and when the MillerCoors joint venture takes effect this summer.

The combination would fight A-B with a stable of mega brands (Coors Light, Miller Lite), crafts (Blue Moon, Leinenkugel's) and imports (Peroni, Foster's). But such a move might also be subject to short-term woes as IT systems are merged. There may also be supply-chain hiccups as brewery operations are altered and distractions as the prospect of layoffs lingers over employees.

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