Meghan Callahan

Anheuser-Busch Social Media Monitoring Report

February 9, 2010

Professor Nixon

PRCA 3030
 Purpose
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. is the largest brewing
company in America. Anheuser-Busch operates 12 large breweries
in the United States and nearly 20 internationally. The company
started in St. Louis in 1860 and has grown to selling nearly 11
billion bottles of beer a year.

In 2008, InBev, a Brazilian-Belgium brewing company

acquired Anheuser-Busch for almost $52 billion in total equity.
Now, the makers of Budweiser and Michelob are joined with the
producers of Stella Artois, Hoegaarden, Becks, and Bass.
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. is now Anheuser-Busch Inbev.

Anheuser-Busch most popular beers include Budweiser,

Michelob, Busch, Bud Light, and Natural Light. Currently, the
number one ranked beer in America is Bud Light. In 2007, the
company introduced a 12% abv malt liquor called Spykes.

In addition to the incredible popularity of Anheuser-

Busch’s products, their advertisements are some of the most
popular in the world. Commercial spots like the Super Bowl are
basically a no-brainer for Anheuser-Busch. Some of their popular
ads include the Clydesdales, Dalmatians, the “gimme light”
spots, Frogs, the “wassup” series, and the “here comes the king”
jingle.

It was very important to monitor the conversations

occurring about Anheuser-Busch on various social media websites
because it is such a widely known company and transcends such a
vast market. This report was especially pertinent at this highly
visible time for Anheuser-Busch, the super bowl. The amount of
discussion centered around this company was overwhelming. I am
confident that 100 more reports could be done on Anheuser-Busch
all with different nuggets of social media information.
 Methodology
The social media monitoring website company, Radian6, was
gracious enough to provide their services free of charge to my
entire class. Radian6 allowed me to type in certain words and
then I prompted the company to e-mail me whenever those words
were used on various social media sites. I chose the words
Anheuser, Busch, Budweiser, and Bud Light. As I stated earlier,
the influx of e-mails I received from Radian6 was colossal.
There were roughly 40 e-mails a day.

I began my free trial with Radian 6 January 30, 2010 and

have used information from the site up until today, February 9,
2010. Professor Nixon cordially set up my relationship with
Radian6 and directed me to the website.

I determined the credibility of my sources through several

different methods. First, I went to the website quantcast.com to
get a statistical update of the traffic of the various sites. I
also researched and found credentials on the authors of the
blogs I cited if information was available. On twitter, I
viewed the number of people following the user to get an idea of
the influence they had on that online community.

Results

• Super Bowl- Due to the timing of this report and the

popularity of Anheuser-Busch commercials, there was a high
influx of discussions related to the Super Bowl 2010. Six
of the 15 nuggets of information I collected discussed the
super bowl ads produced by Anheuser-Busch this year. Four
of the comments were negative ones. There was an overall
sense of disappointment from the Anheuser-Busch ads this
year. Since Budweiser and Bud Light commercials have
historically been known to take the cake for super bowl
commercials, Anheuser-Busch has got some high standards to
live up to, and many consumers, from my research, did not
feel those standards were upheld. Oddly, and unfortunately
enough, the Anheuser-Busch ad that received the most praise
was the Bud Light commercial that did not air due to FCC
 restrictions. This racy advertisement was heralded among
the online community.

• Negative bias’s- Two nuggets of information I cited in my

data table revealed negative attitudes about Anheuser-Busch
and more specifically Bud Light. One blogger published a
post that denounced the product, Bud Light, but praised the
commercials as being some of the best in the industry.
Although there is a positive twist on this negative comment
it is really invaluable because no one buys a product that
tastes bad, even if they laugh at their commercials.
Another comment plays on the predisposition that Anheuser-
Busch products are for “rednecks”. This ideal is one I
found on several different sites and is obviously a harmful
reputation for the company.

• Positive Propaganda- Anheuser-Busch seems to be a well

liked company overall. One nugget of information I
collected discusses the corporation’s philanthropic side,
which supports education. A charitable persona is an
affective persona. On a feminist website, I found
information that announced an Anheuser-Busch employee
receiving a coveted award in the advertising industry.
While this is not the most sought after target market, this
is an excellent way to crossover into a different genre of
consumers.

• Interesting and Informational Tidbits- This category is

comprised of social media comments that are informational
and beneficial to Anheuser-Busch. One person tweeted about
the Budweiser Clydesdales and their upcoming attendance at
the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in Atlanta. This will
hopefully, bring patrons to the parade, which Anheuser-
Busch is sponsoring and selling its products. One
designated coupon website discussed discounts on Anheuser-
Busch products, which again, is great marketing. Finally,
an accredited businessman blogged about Budweiser’s growing
online presence.
 Conclusion
Due to the incredibly vast amount of information being
discussed about the Anheuser-Busch Corporation, it is difficult
to come up with a generalized conclusion. I am confident in
stating that Anheuser-Busch Co.’s online presence is enormous.
Although there are some negative comments thrown in with the
positive ones, there is no doubt that people are invested in
this company and it is absolutely one of the most widely talked
about organizations.

I suggest a conversational forum be created

specifically for Anheuser-Busch fans and foes. There could be
separate forums within the large website where consumers could
discuss various aspects of the corporation such as a Bud Light
forum or a Commercial forum. I believe this will unite Anheuser-
Busch consumers even further than they already are and provide
them with an outlet to rant or rave to a place where they know
people inside the company will hear them.
 Meghan Callahan’s Social Media Monitoring Report Data
Source Source Credibility
Coffin Media Works Blog dedicated to educating
Blog: and informing people about
the best practices in
Super Bowl Facebook advertising and
Commercials other social media. Site
includes a number you can
call to voice concerns which,
I believe, gives it credibility.
Twitter- Not credible, however, has
PINKLOVE relatively large following and
thus high influence factor.
Rie’s Pieces On the Marketing/Advertising
Business of Branding expert. Has appeared on
Fox News and the cover of
Blog: 2010 Super Marketing News. Very
Bowl Ads credible.
Twitter- Not highly credible. Young
Eggy G person’s perspective.
YouTube- Credible, in that it was
Funny BANNED Bud created by a fortune 500
company. Loses some
Light Superbowl 2010 credibility because it was
Commercial banned.
The Blarg-The Site of Credible. Both are published
Justin Shady and authors and have many
subscribers to their blog.
Wayne Chiang:
I Hate Bud Light…
Reddit.com: Not very credible, but the
What’s new online?- site is a social network
where users can post links
Jimmy James Mac and discuss topics.
Date/Time Comments
February 8, 2010/ *There is a YouTube video
6:29 p.m. posted from the Budweiser
Select Super Bowl
commercial.
“Ugh….why did they even
pay for this? What a waste
of resources. Wake me up
when the game is back
on?!?”
February 9, 2010/ @DamienCripps The
4:45 a.m. Anheuser Busch beer
http://bit.ly/bD3swy & "Alice
in Wonderland"
http://bit.ly/dB1iCH were my
faves :)
February 8, 2010/ This blog discusses the top
4:49 p.m. advertisers during the Super
Bowl. The author discusses
an underwhelming feeling
from this year’s ads from
Anheuser-Busch.
February 7, 2010/ “Safe to say now that this
10:21 p.m. was the worst combination
of Anheuser Busch SB ads
in quite some time...”
February 6, 2010/ The commercial takes place
3:34 p.m. in an office where the men
are walking around in their
underwear or naked. Many
comments on the video;
most found it hilarious.
February 5, 2010/ The blog is entitled “I hate
5:45 p.m. bud light” so it denounces
the product but praises the
ads.
February 4, 2010/ “Bud, Bud Light, Coors,
8:04 p.m. Coors Lights, etc., are for
frat boys and ignorant
hillbillies. Even my friend
who's almost 70 has better
sense than to drink that
crap. BUT, when I lived in
England just about every
party I went to I was asked
to bring along Budweiser!”
 Source Credibility Date/Time Comments

Booze Can Blog- Credible to alcohol February 4, 2010/ “OK, last mainstream beer
Bud Light Lime: In the drinkers, Anheuser- 5:51 p.m. ad for while, we promise.
But you’ve got to admit, it’s
Can Busch’s target market. a funny one. And you can’t
help but (begrudgingly) give
Budweiser kudos for
agreeing to do this, and
props to the ad agency who
produced it. Of course,
whether it ever airs on TV is
anyone’s guess. Thank God
for the interwebs…”
Twitter- Not credible. But when February 3. 2010/ “Fun Fact: Anheuser Busch
Annie Humphreys researched, you find 4:10 p.m. has a big charitable
foundation. In addition to
this fact to be true. supporting Ducks Unlimited
they support education.”
Mashable.com- Credible. Mashable is a February 2, 2010/ “Budweiser is really starting
Chris Yates on reputable social media 10:35 p.m. to get involved in Social
Media. We started creating
Budweiser Urges guide and Chris Yates concepts 2 years ago for
Fans to Vote for is a small business Bud Light involving Sports
Super Bowl Ad Via owner and author. Fans. Here is a short clip of
Facebook the concept on YouTube.
http://www.huddleproduction
s.com/?p=76”
Twitter- Fairly credible. Large February 2, 2010/ “@stpatsparadeatl:
UndergroundATL following and official 11:26 p.m. Confirmed - Anheuser
Busch Clydesdales are
twitter user for the going to be in Atlanta for the
historic underground St. Patrick's Day Parade!
Atlanta. Saturday, March 13.”
Bungie.net- Not very credible. The February 1. 2010/ “The same guys who has
Who do you think is site is a forum for 6:20 a.m. been winning every year:
Budweiser (Bud Light)”
going to win the employees of the
Super Bowl? gaming corporation to
interact.
The 411 “Buzz” Fairly credible, not very February 3, 2010/ “Senior Account Executive
Around Town Blog- visible to target market. 4:41 p.m. for Anheuser Busch, will be
the recipient of the
American Women in Excellence in Advertising
Radio & Television Award”
Southern California
Announce Two New
2010 GENII Award
Winners
Coupons Make Cents Credible. Lots of facts February 4, 2010/ This blog has many coupon
Blog- Winn Dixie ad and figures. 12:10 p.m. deals and Budweiser and
with coupon matches Bud Light are mentioned
several times.
A+ Cabins Blog- February 4, 2010/ This blog discusses the
The 3 most popular 2:47 a.m. most popular beers in
drinks on holiday different countries. It awards
Bud Light as the most
popular in the U.S.

Quantcast Statistics:
• YouTube- about 79 million viewers per month.

• Twitter- about 29 million viewers per month.

• Bungie- about 77.5 thousand viewers per month.

• Mashable- about 91 thousand viewers per month.

• Reddit- About 2 million viewers per month.

*Statistics found from www.quantcast.com

*Information for Anheuser-Busch background provided by www.wikipedia.com