• by Kevin Ransom , April 11, 2007

Budweiser has perennially been America's top-selling brand of beer, thanks in part to Anheuser-Busch's juggernaut of a marketing machine, and to the brewer's dominance in special-events sponsorship.

Now, A-B is aiming to micro-boost the Bud brand's profile even higher, by launching a new market-specific Bud campaign tied to its long-standing affiliation with Major League Baseball. This baseball season, A-B's new campaign is offering team-specific packaging of its brews, employing 111 different graphics options along the way. A-B is also expanding its popular Long Ball Challenge promotion to 177 markets nationwide, and has filmed local "Anthem" spots starring hometown fans of Bud-sponsored MLB teams.

This is the 28th year that Anheuser-Busch has enjoyed the market-share benefits of being "The Official Beer of Major League Baseball"--an honorific tied in part, no doubt, to the fact that Anheuser-Busch owned one of MLB's most venerated teams, the St. Louis Cardinals, from 1953 to 1995--a team that, not coincidentally, has played in two Busch Stadiums--the first of which was also owned by the brewing giant for four decades.

In the brewer's St. Louis hometown, the ubiquitous Budweiser Clydesdales continued their 40-year-old tradition of clomping around the stadium field prior to the first pitch on opening day. They also helped deliver the 2006 World Series trophy to Cardinals representatives as part of a pre-game ceremony.

Nationally, Anheuser-Busch has hammer-locked national broadcast partnership agreements that further entrench Bud's position as "the preferred beer of baseball fans around the world," according to an A-B media statement. Also on tap are other "Official Beer" sponsorships of 26 MLB teams, concurrent with local promotions that tap into fan fondness for their local ball clubs.

"For the past 130 years, millions of baseball fans each season enjoy America's favorite pastime with a scorecard in one hand and a Budweiser in the other," said Tony Ponturo, vice president, Global Media and Sports Marketing, Anheuser-Busch, in a statement. "Budweiser and Bud Light will demonstrate our commitment to baseball and sports fans, and create excitement for the annual rite of spring, through engaging, interactive promotions, advertising and packaging."

Budweiser's "Anthem" spots feature fans in various markets celebrating the heritage and tradition of their local ball yard teams and heroes.

Budweiser filmed the MLB spots in late 2006 with the Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants (curiously, all National League teams). Another custom spot was filmed on April 2 for the American League Champion Detroit Tigers--who lost the World Series to the Cards last year when their pitchers made several wild, jaw-dropping throwing errors that cost them at least two games. Additional spots have been or will be filmed for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Atlanta Braves.

The team-specific packaging campaign features more than 12 million cases of 111 different customized bottles, cans and aluminum bottles, which will be distributed in 26 team markets. A special panel appearing on some cans honors Major League Baseball as the nation's oldest continuous sports league.

The Long Ball Challenge, meanwhile, pits the nation's best interactive home-run sluggers in head-to-head tournaments for a chance to win a VIP experience at the 2007 MLB All-Star Game. Regional tournaments will be to determine the 24 slots in the final bracket, hosted July 9 during MLB All-Star Week in San Francisco.

Anheuser-Busch spots will continue to saturate the airwaves during all FOX and ESPN broadcasts of MLB, and the company has reached an agreement with Turner Sports to be the presenting sponsor of the Divisional Series broadcasts.