Busch Casts Promo Net During Fishing Season

Busch beer is fishing for added business by introducing a two-pronged promotion that will run during the 1997 fishing season. The overall approach offers special premiums such as hats, coolers and inflatable fish, with a second offer appearing in June for free fishing lures that will be touted on 12-packs."It's a flexible program that retailers can put up any time during the fishing season," explains Bill Schmitt, manager of sales promotion at St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Inc. In addition, it's being customized around seven different fish, both salt-water and freshwater varieties, to target both specific fishing seasons and the region of the country where each fish lives.Using the theme "Busch Fishing Headquarters," the program features two sizes of pole cards plus cooler stickers, case cards, 60-inch by 36-inch banners and other P-O-P components. The promotional pieces are available with graphics featuring any of four fish: bass, marlin, trout or grouper. The pieces promote both a free fishing-license holder available on-site and apparel or other premiums ordered via tear-pad forms. These items include hats, t-shirts and a beer cooler emblazoned with the "Busch Fishing" logo and a picture of any one of six fish (bass, marlin, trout, salmon, walleye and redfish).Although a variation of this promotion has been used before, it's been enhanced this year by the addition of an offer for consumers to purchase their own Busch-themed inflatable fish. Seven different fish are offered, with each measuring 48 inches long (except for the 72-inch marlin). The fish and hang-tag signs for indicating prices or other promotional information are also available for in-store promotional use and can be ordered by retailers.The program coordination was executed by Kreps Associates in St. Louis. The P-O-P vendors included Alvimar Inc., Long Island, N.Y., which produced the inflatable fish; Creative Screenprinting, Tallmadge, Ohio, which printed the in-store banners; Fleming Printing, St. Louis, which printed the retail brochure; Ivex Inc., Grove City, Pa., which produced the display wrap; and Stark Printing Co., St. Louis, which did the P-O-P printing.The lure program, which will run during June, will be promoted on-pack and include a free fishing lure deal on all 12-packs. "We wanted to offer retailers a program that worked for them at any time during the fishing season in their region, along with a special push during June," Schmitt says. Surveys have shown that 63 million Americans take part in fishing each year, he notes, with Busch drinkers twice as likely to fish as the typical American.

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