A-B Expands Cable Ads, Cuts TV Marketing Budget

There's still the NBA and NFL, but now also TLC.

Tony Ponturo, Anheuser-Busch's well-known media and sports marketing executive, said Thursday the beer giant has more than doubled the number of cable networks it advertises on, partly as it looks to further target women drinkers.

A decade ago, A-B used 16 cable outlets. Now it's 35, including TLC, Discovery and Comedy Central. ESPN is likely to remain a cornerstone (and male-targeted History Channel is part of the mix), but Ponturo said: "We need to shift some of that money to the cable entertainment side."

Still, 70% of A-B's overall TV dollars are spent in sports broadcasting, he said. Ponturo made his comments at an annual ANA TV and "everything video" forum in New York.

Ponturo serves dual roles as A-B's vice president, global media and sports marketing, as well as president-CEO of Busch Media Group.

At the same time that A-B expands its cable menu, it's been cutting a portion of its overall marketing budget going to TV at-large, from about 75% five years ago to some 59% now.

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Still, even with some online forays such as the traffic-challenged, branded-entertainment Bud.tv site, Ponturo said 90% of A-B's overall media dollars still go to "traditional" media. But there is an increasing emphasis on devising holistic campaigns with online incarnations, he added.

A-B spent some $813 million in ad dollars in 2006--the latest year available--which was down 11.5% from the year before, according to Advertising Age figures.

While the Olympic Games are arguably more entertainment than sports, A-B's link is a reminder that sports is still a lynchpin of its marketing portfolio. Ponturo said A-B remains firmly committed to the Olympics as a promotional platform. "In today's world, if you can have seven days of 14-15 ratings, that's a pretty good space to be," he said five months before the Summer Games in Beijing.

And in-stadium marketing has taken on added importance as A-B executives purchase signs--such as a massive one in right field in Boston's Fenway Park and another in the University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona (site of the recent Super Bowl)--then get a charge when a TV camera picks them up. The Boston sign made multiple appearances during Fox's World Series coverage; the Phoenix sign was visible behind Tom Petty on Fox's coverage of the recent Super Bowl halftime show.

"The extension you can get with your signs is very clear," Ponturo said. (Of course, the displays are not just for the cameras, but also reach millions of fans in the stadiums who actually attend events.)

Ponturo said A-B has never been much of a participant in the upfront, largely because the company finds it challenging to project what it will be spending over the ensuing 12 months. Marketers at the company are often unsure in May (during upfront season) what support a particular brand will need at various junctures. It's hard to know "what you'll be spending a year later," he said.

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