Anheuser-Busch Helps Consumers 'Host Beautifully'

St. Louis — Using sophisticated hosting of outdoor gatherings as its theme, Anheuser-Busch rolled out two summer campaigns on behalf of its Stella Artois and Stella Artois Cidre brands.The company promoted Stella Artois beer through a “Host Beautifully” campaign that targeted young, urban, well-educated people who like to socialize and travel. The effort centered on an online “A-to-Z Guide to Host Beautifully” that provided tips on food, drink, design, music, conversation, photography and other subjects.“When we talked to this audience, we came across a powerful insight about hosting, one of the oldest and most meaningful forms of bringing people together across cultures,” says Anheuser-Busch’s Ricardo Marques, vice president, marketing, high-end. “It’s extremely powerful today as people are moving quickly through their busy jobs and busy lives, and with the growth of social media.”To promote Stella Artois Cidre premium cider, the company launched a local sweepstakes in the tri-state New York area through which one winner received a 20-square-foot picnic property in the Hamptons for the summer. The sweeps, co-hosted on Stella’s website and social media channels, has been tied to commercials as well as in-store materials in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut region, Marques says.The two campaigns have shared at least a couple attributes, Marques says. “What these two campaigns have in common is their lighthearted nature, which is very, very fitting with the summer we are now enjoying. With the country coming off a long winter, everybody is looking forward to the months ahead. There is this magnificent space where the audience is interested in creating experiences that people remember and talk about forever.”The “Host Beautifully” campaign is the largest ever on behalf of the brand, Marques says. It kicked off in May with museum events in and around Los Angeles.The A-to-Z Guide has been available on the Stella website, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, Marques says, along with a “very comprehensive calendar of exciting foodie events happening throughout the summer and across the nation.”The guide starts with “A” for Ambience, and musician John Legend shares his thoughts on how to set the right mood for your gathering with music. “Z” stands for Zest, and food stylist “Sweet Paul” Lowe provides tips on colors and flavors to spice up your table. In between, “D” stands for Design, “M” is for Memories, “Q” for Quiet Conversation and “U” for Unexpected, along with 20 other themed tips.The in-store piece of the campaign leveraged insights around shopper mission, which led to somewhat different imagery and messaging across channels, Marques says. “If you walk into a convenience store, you’re in a different mood than a grocery store,” he says. “That’s reflected in the language in and around the campaign.”Anheuser-Busch provided samples for grocery activation that have been cross-promoted on tables with categories like cheese, which are also part of aspirational hosting occasions, Marques says, including full al fresco dinner arrangements with seafood and fine dining-style white tablecloths. The signature Stella Artois chalice has been used as the centerpiece for such set pieces, he says.“When we talk to our consumers, those are traditionally occasions that are associated with wine,” he says. “They saw the equity in the brand; you need credibility to play in that space. If you look at the landscape of beer today, there’s a place to capture an opportunity in and around hosting. … This is something that consumers are emotionally connected to and something that works well in-store. We think this is a hard combination, but a very important one. It’s not only emotionally relevant but also translates into a strong shopper message.”Stella Artois has worked with a long roster of partner agencies in executing the campaigns: Mother, New York, for print, digital and key visuals; Mediacom, New York, for media outreach; FCB/RED, Chicago, for retail channel work; Prote.in, New York, for digital content development and production; Vayner Media, New York, for social and mobile; 3pm Agency, Charlotte, North Carolina, for public relations; and Mosaic, Irving, Texas, for experiential and sampling events.Anheuser-Busch will measure the overall impact through the ability to boost sales, media attention and “getting the reach we were hoping to get,” Marques says.

Anheuser-Busch Helps Consumers 'Host Beautifully'

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