• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, March 16, 2007

Anheuser-Busch grabbed marketers' attention when it unveiled a $30 million plan to challenge Hollywood with a branded digital entertainment network. Now, as the network languishes following a splashy Super Bowl debut, Madison Avenue is trying to figure out where Bud.TV went wrong.

When Bud.TV launched Feb. 4, after Super Bowl XLI, it was initially drawing 20,000 daily visits. Over the entire month, however, the site averaged just 253,000 visitors, according to data from ComScore Media Metrix. That's far short of the 2-to-3 million monthly visits that Anheuser-Busch expects to generate by the end of the year.

Anheuser-Busch, however, says it's too early to judge the site's success, and is in the process of bolstering Bud.TV with new features and a more aggressive marketing campaign.

"We're not judging ourselves now," says Tony Ponturo, Anheuser-Busch's vice president for global media and sports marketing. "We're saying: 'Let's judge ourselves in February '08 when the site has taken root."

"There are some things we're doing to improve the site now--like making the archives more identifiable, making the screen larger, and letting people zoom in on the screen," Ponturo told Online Media Daily. "We're still very optimistic and are sticking to the 2-to-3-million projection."

Analysts, however, are skeptical.

"The first thing they have to do is scale back expectations," said Jupiter Research analyst Kevin Heisler, who sees Bud.TV's age-screener as a potentially insurmountable hurdle.

Despite the fact that attorneys general from 23 states petitioned Anheuser-Busch to toughen Bud.TV's age-screening system, many in the agency world suggest scrapping it completely.

"It's a tough call, but I think that's part of the reason why I haven't seen Bud's videos anywhere around the web," Heisler said.

Anheuser-Busch's 24/7 network features live- and on-demand programming using branded content for A-B products, as well as independent offerings like Webisodes, celebrity interviews, comedy, short films and consumer-generated content. With the guidance of Agency DDB, Anheuser-Busch lined up some high-wattage partnerships, including Wild West Picture Show Productions' upcoming Vince Vaughn documentary and Kevin Spacey's TriggerStreet.com, offering short films from fledgling auteurs.

"Bud.TV is ambitious in its effort to create a whole mini cable network online because that requires a more significant commitment to content production and relationships like the deal with Sony to stream Afterworld," James McQuivey, an analyst with Forrester Research, explained via email.

"That means more overhead has to be assigned, which means more costs to recuperate," McQuivey cautioned. "With that high risk, one wonders if it wouldn't be just as valuable to have put the resources into producing or sponsoring clips intended for distribution primarily on other video sites that already have an audience."

Seasoned in the art of brand-building through microsites and viral marketing, Omnicom agency EVB sticks closely to a list of tested best practices.

"Being innovative from a technical standpoint is not what people are looking for," explained EVB managing director Daniel Stein. "They want something unexpected and good for a laugh--something they think their friends would like."

EVB's most recent viral hit was its "Elf Yourself" holiday campaign for Office Max, which racked up 36 millions visits in about five weeks. Working with a tiny creative agency named Toy, EVB created a simple site for people to send friends and family a dancing elf wearing their faces on it.

"Everything that's been successful for us so far has been customizable and personalizable," said Stein. "And the level of input needs to be so much smaller than the level of output, like some sites require all this load time and don't give much in return."

Still, Stein, who said he visited Bud.TV once and never went back, had difficulty putting his finger on the site's problem.

"The concept seemed to make a lot of sense--jumping into the entertainment world with edgy branded content like they've always had in their commercials. It seemed like a good idea."

Pressed for other reasons for Bud.TV's predicament, Jupiter's Heisler pointed to search engine optimization and promotional incentives.

"They need a strong SEO strategy, because from what I've seen they haven't used paid search to drive traffic," he said. "Offering incentives like prizes is a great way to boost traffic and registration."

According to Ponturo, there are promotional deals in the works, while paid search is not something he's considering at this point.