Budweiser Opening Day

8/18/2019 Budweiser Opening Day

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Situa on

The Anheuser-Busch and Major League Baseball (MLB) rela onship stretches across three decades and is tracedback to the 1800s. According to MLB.com, it is a popular belief that Budweiser and baseball go hand-in-hand.A er a contract extension in 2012 that guaranteed Budweiser as the O cial Beer of the MLB through at least2018, the brands rea rmed the commonality.

As the O cial Beer of the MLB and in the midst of the need for a spark of passion, Budweiser paired with WeberShandwick and decided to create a movement that featured Ozzie Smith, the legendary Hall of Fame shortstop,to make Opening Day a holiday. Not only did Budweiser aim to direct recogni on and pride toward America’sgreatest pas me but also drive the Budweiser brand as the ideal beer to celebrate it with.

I think that the campaign u lized an op mal SWOT analysis. It recognized Budweiser’s poten al to marketbaseball and the opportunity for the beer brand to come out strong right behind what appeared to be the mainpoint of the campaign. Budweiser and Weber Shandwick analyzed the strengths, weaknesses, opportuni es andthreats of the concept of marke ng Budweiser through the channel of Opening Day in addi on to consideringthese factors on the larger scale of Budweiser as the o cial beer of the MLB. There was poten al to fail; themedia could demonstrate li le interest in the campaign or the pe on could fail to reach its minimum number

of signatures, both of which would ruin the chance of genera ng the desired outcome. But with every successfulcampaign comes a li le risk.

Research

The research conducted prior to the campaign demonstrated that there was strong poten al behind the idea ofmaking Budweiser the leading supporter of Opening Day as a na onal holiday. The main form of primary researchwas a na onal survey that revealed an es mated 22 million Americans, ages 21 and older, admi ed to having“played hooky” from work or other commitments to a end or watch an Opening Day game, which supportedthe concept that an Opening Day campaign would reach a wide age range of people. The same survey, whichwas commissioned by Budweiser and Weber Shandwick, demonstrated that fans 21-44 and older were twice as

likely as their older counterparts to “play hooky,” which is an age range that directly corresponds to those whoare most ac ve on the internet and therefore more likely to no ce and poten ally sign an online pe on.

The survey can be categorized as a primary form of research. Although the Wilson textbook states that primaryresearch “doesn’t necessarily refer to survey research,” the survey was conducted for a speci c purpose,therefore categorizing it as primary. A er an extensive inves ga on to nd out more informa on regarding thesurvey, no further informa on regarding the sample size and exact audience could be found. The survey wasconducted on a na onal scale, but as for exactly what scale and audience was used, I assume that the samplewas not purely random.

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To distribute the survey, Budweiser had to have some sort of reliableestablished network that would guarantee a reasonable responserate. I think that the survey was distributed online through an emailto people signed up for MLB and Budweiser updates, which wouldo er a variety of ages (although mostly those who are tech-savvy andcomputer reliant). This would mean that the survey was not givento a random sample, and it would be given to those who consider

themselves baseball or beer fans. The results would then be biasedbecause obviously those who are passionate about baseball wouldbe more likely to “play hooky” to watch or a end an Opening Daygame.

In addi on to the informa on gathered from the survey, Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser’s umbrealla company) recognized companydata that illustrated Budweiser annually experiences an increase in beer sales each spring around the start ofthe MLB season, which emphasizes the relevance between the Opening Day me period and beer sales. Theinternal research conducted by Anheuser-Busch can be categorized as informal because it was less structuredand exploratory, as well as conducted just for records and not speci cally for this campaign. The Wilson textbook

states that informal research “provides valuable insight to lead us in direc ons of more formal discovery,” whichaccurately describes the analysis of sta s cs about the increase in beer sales.

Budweiser also had to look into sta s cs regarding Opening Day 2014. According to an ar cle about thecampaign published on March 20 (11 days before Opening Day) by PR Newswire , Budweiser had acknowledgedthe following sta s cs through its partnership with the MLB:

◊ 22 million Americans admit to having played hooky to watch or a end an Opening Day game◊ 1,092 baseballs are used on Opening Day◊ 1.3 million fans will a end Opening Day games in 2014

◊ 19,500 pounds of peanuts and 148,000 pounds of hot dogs will be consumed on Opening Day

What be er way to wash down a pound of peanuts and a hot dog than with a nice, cold Budweiser?

The research for the campaign also con rmed that Ozzie Smith would be an ideal spokesperson, as his prominenceand relevance would a ract all baseball fans. Smith is known as “The Wizard of Oz” and also has a reputa on asone who combines athle c ability with acroba c skill to be one of the greatest defensive shortstops of all me.The 13- me Gold Glove Award winner is said to have “rede ned the posi on” in the almost two decades heplayed with the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals. Smith set records for assists, double plays and totalchances within the MLB. Smith was inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame on July 28, 2002, which was 12 years

prior to the Opening Day campaign.From the guaranteed informa on and what I assume about theresearch conducted by Budweiser and Weber Shandwick, I believe thatthere could been other forms of research implemented to stretch thecampaign even further such as focus groups of Americans who do notconsider themselves avid baseball fans to determine how to reach thegeneral public. Because the campaign was me sensi ve, it makes sensethat Budweiser and Weber Shandwick did not extend their research,but I believe there was more poten al to spread passion and increaserecogni on of the Budweiser brand and its rela onship with baseball.

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Planning

The Opening Day campaign was extremely thought-out and organized. Budweiser derived its objec vesdirectly from the situa on analysis and developed goals, which is evident through the conducted research.The strategies were developed through breakdown of the objec ves. The campaign was organizedaccording to the target publics:

◊ Brand tradi onalists (age 35 and older)◊ New users (21-34 years old)◊ Baseball fans◊ Americans in general (“everyone is a baseball fan on opening day”)

According to the Silver Anvil case, the audiences were generally organized by brand tradi onalists and newusers, which made planning the campaign simple; it had to somehow revitalize the tradi onalists’ passionfor Budweiser and then garner the a en on of an audience the brand had not reached before.

Although not directly spelled out, the main

goal of the campaign was for Budweiserto be recognized as an authen c, high-quality brand with tradi ons andheritage, speci cally linked to baseball .The challenge for Budweiser and WeberShandwick was to somehow get Americatalking about Budweiser at the forefrontof pop culture and baseball, essen allythrough a campaign that would end onOpening Day (the op mal period of beersales).

Because the goals for the campaign were not laid out in the case, the objec ves were not speci c to thegoals and therefore did not follow the SMART guidelines in a way that would be bene cial for this paper. Itook the ini a ve to rewrite the objec ves in a way that organized them per goal and followed the SMARTguidelines; the following were derived from the Silver Anvil case study and modi ed to t the standardsfor objec ves:

◊ Increase relevance and likeability toward Budweiser’s longstanding associa on with baseball and its greatest moments by at least 10% (brand health

metrics)◊ Improve Budweiser sales volume at least 30% from the Opening Day me period from the prior year◊ Maintain media coverage with at least 70% of coverage including two or more key messages that emphasize Budweiser’s a lia on with baseball

The objec ves for this goal are outcome objec ves . All relate to the results Budweiser and Weber Shandwickwanted to see from the campaign regarding brand health metrics, increase in sales and media coverage.Every aspect of the campaign is me-bound; because the campaign was conducted with the deadline ofOpening Day, everything had to be completed within 30 days. Also, the easy measurability of the objec vesallowed for simple evalua on of the campaign.

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The following strategies originated directly from the objec ves:

The rst strategy relates directly to the rst objec ve of increasing relevance and likability towardBudweiser’s associa on with baseball because it appeals directly to the audience’s emo on and creates abuzz amongst the target publics. All of the other strategies directly relate to the objec ves because theyincorporate the spread of awareness and sale of Budweiser as well as link Budweiser with baseball throughthe media (pe on received buzz as well as delivery of kegs).

I also believe that having Opening Day be recognized as a na onal holiday is a goal for the case. It isarguably also a strategy for the goal stated above, but because the campaign used the push for OpeningDay as a holiday as the forefront to increase Budweiser recogni on and sales, I believe it is a goal. Theobjec ves for this goal were extremely speci c and simple:

The strategies stemmed from the objec ves; Budweiser needed to somehow drive people online to signthe pe on and at the same me relate the Budwesier brand back to the campaign.

The rst objec ve is an output objec ve ; Budweiser created the pe on and used Smith as a way to spreadawareness. The second objec ve is an outcome objec ve ; the campaign needed to create a buzz amongstthe media to reach the target audiences. The use of Smith as a prominent and relevant spokespersonthroughout the campaign was vital in garnering a en on target publics and media.

◊ Connect avid fans of baseball and Budweiser with an emo onal tribute to America’s na onal pas me, sparking conversa on and

engagement with strong digital content and storytelling◊ Local market deliveries of day-fresh draught kegs to MLB stadiums and

markets◊ Opening Day watch party at the newly-opened Budweiser Brew House

next to Busch Stadium (St. Louis, Mo.)◊ Promote the idea of making Opening Day a na onal holiday through

Ozzie Smith on na onal satellite and radio media tours◊ Budweiser-led correspondence with the Presiden al Administra on to

receive a response to the pe on for Opening Day◊ Create a call to ac on that would mo vate and inspire baseball fans

◊ Achieve 100,000 signatures within 30 days from people 21 or older on

the WhiteHouse.gov pe on to make Opening day a holiday◊ Generate at least 1 million media impressions through at least 500

stories

◊ Publicize Ozzie Smith as the face of the campaign through two mediatours and interviews on television and radio

◊ Include the Budweiser Clydesdales throughout Smith’s campaign toreiterate Budweiser branding

◊ Advance news break to in uencers Darren Rovell and Jenifer Langosch◊ Release 16 localized videos featuring re red players/coaches talking

about why Opening Day should be a holiday◊ Celebrity social media posts

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Budweiser’s business objec ve focused on the increase of considera on of Budweiser amongst adults 35 orolder and centered on brand health metrics that consumers perceive Budweiser to be an authen c brand,a high-quality brand and a brand with tradi ons and heritage. Brand health metrics, both diagnos c andprescrip ve, help managers understand whether the brand is on track rela ve to its posi oning. In otherwords, the metrics help the company understand how the brand is perceived amongst its target publics andhow well it is doing in its market.

Brand Health Metrics Measured:

◊ Authen city◊ Quality◊ Brand with tradi ons and heritage◊ Persuasion (re ects purchasing decision)◊ Informa on (indicates consumer followed URL call to ac on)◊ Emo onal Sen ment◊ Watchability◊ Likeability◊ Relevance

Budweiser entered the research and planning phases with the theory that “everyone is a fan of baseballon Opening Day” as a frame. The Budweiser brand prides itself on two of its core values, op mism andcelebra on, both of which correlate with American values. Because of Budweiser’s success with previouscampaigns that emphasized celebra on and op mism, such as the Hockey Goal Celebra on Campaign inCanada (2011), the u liza on of them as well as the frame theory set an appropriate and energized tone forthe campaign.

The “big idea” of the campaign, asI said before, was to use OpeningDay as a way to revamp anddraw a en on to the Budweiserbrand while also rea rming theconnec on between Budweiserand baseball. The messages thecampaign demonstrated wereextremely appropriate and mely;the goals, objec ves and strategiese ec vely emphasized the big idea.The ini a ve to create a call to ac onthat would inspire and mo vate fanswas well thought-out; it was a wayto automa cally engage fans andmake them feel like they can makea di erence, which is usually a method that guarantees success in marke ng campaigns. For example, theLays “Do Us a Favor” campaign implemented by Lays and Ketchum in 2012 that asked consumers to createtheir own potato chip avor in a contest (see Appendix B).

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Implementa on

The Budweiser Opening Day campaign struck gold. It was crea ve, appropriate and extremely well executed.Not only did it correlate perfectly with the op mal beer sale me period, it also u lized Ozzie Smith to hisfull poten al as well as sports media. Working closely with the MLB enabled Budweiser to use o cial marksand even archived game footage in various ways.

People did not perceive the Opening Day campaign as a way to sell more beer; it was about love, passion and reverence for the game of baseball.

It helped that Anhauser-Busch is centered in St. Louis whose MLB team, the St. Louis Cardinals, hadpar cipated in the nal game series of the 2013 World Series (the year before the implementa on of thecampaign). Throughout the planning stage, Budweiser and Weber Shandwick acknowledged that althoughan impac ul launch was crucial for the campaign’s success, it was also essen al to con nue drivingsignatures and keep the ideal end result “top-of-mind” throughout the month with a steady rhythm ofnews. The public rela ons team (comprised of both Budweiser and Weber Shandwick representa ves)needed to make sure that people were s ll talking about and consuming Budweiser from the launch of thecampaign on Feb. 25, 2014 un l Opening Day on March 30, 2014. The en re campaign took a three-phaseapproach, broken up into the launch phase, the “sustaining the story” phase and the opening week phase.

The launch phase began on February 25 with an advanced newsbreak to Darren Rovell and Jenifer Langosch.Rovell is a sports business analyst who works for ESPN and Langosch is a popular MLB blogger; both areextremely popular on Twi er. Rovell has 1.24 million followers and Langosch has 46.8 thousand, whichguaranteed that a huge network of people would be buzzing about the campaign as soon as Rovell andLangosch published informa on about it. The launch also began with a na onal satellite and radio mediatour with Ozzie Smith, as well as original video content featuring archived MLB and branded “Mr. Smith Goesto Washington” footage that began with Smith at the St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training camp. Throughouthis tour, Smith emphasized the rela onship and American culture of baseball and Budweiser. Smith stated,

“We owe it to the genera ons before and ahead of us to na onally observeOpening Day as a holiday. Budweiser and baseball, what’s more American than that?”

Budweiser also published an Opening Day stats infographic (see Appendix C) and high-resolu on imageryof Smith and MLB Budweiser cans, automa cally linking the beer brand with the campaign. Budweiser alsolaunched a new por on of their website at Budweiser.com/OpeningDay, which was a branded call to ac onlinked to the pe on at WhiteHouse.gov. Within eight hours of the link being posted, the pe on neared7,000 signatures. Last but not least, Budweiser took over the homepages of ESPN.com andMLB.com, automa cally securing the a en on of a variety of sports fans on ESPN and all baseball fans onMajor League Baseball’s website.

Most of the launch targeted established baseball fans, but the Budweiser website as well as the infographicand imagery linked the Opening Day campaign to Budweiser, which automa cally targeted brand loyalists.

I think that the campaign had more poten al to target the general public early within the launch periodwith on-site ac va on methods, such as custom Opening Day beer cans sold in grocery or conveniencestores (which happened in the second phase) or giveaways at large o ces or corpora ons. Because bothBudweiser and the MLB each have such a large presence in corporate society, I think there was poten alto u lize business allies such as the Na onal Football League (NFL) and the Na onal Hockey League (NHL).

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I think that there was most poten al withthe NHL because the league’s season endsright before the MLB season starts. AlthoughBudweiser is not the o cial beer of the NHL(Molson Canadian is the o cial beer of the NHLin North America; Coors Light has sponsorshiprights in two countries), the company could

have teamed up with Molson Canadian incompe ve commercials, adver sements,etc. that would be broadcasted and publishedduring hockey season. Not only would thisstart to set the scene and excite the publicfor the Opening Day campaign, it would alsotarget a completely di erent audience that the campaign may have not reached before: hockey fans.

The second phase of the campaign, which the Silver Anvil case described as the “sustaining the story” phase,began on March 4 and concluded on March 23. It kicked o with a second media tour with Smith as well as

the unveiling of local market Budweiser print ads, featuringtoasts to the hometown MLB team. The second video in thecontent series was published and presented Smith on the roadcollec ng signatures for the online pe on. Sixteen localizedvideos featuring re red players and coaches speaking aboutwhy Opening Day should be a holiday were also releasedthroughout the country. Alyssa Milano, an American actress,singer and producer as well as an avid baseball fan, published apost on Twi er that adver sed the pe on, and the MLB alsoo ered social media and email support to fans and subscribersas well as team social media posts.

The campaign also published a second news release and re-released the Opening Day infographic with details on theremaining number of signatures needed to send the pe onto the White House.

Throughout the campaign, Budweiser emphasized its rela onship to baseball. In a press release publishedin the midst of the second phase that detailed the ini a ve, Tom Kraus, the director of Budweiser brandmarke ng, said,

“Budweiser and baseball have gone hand-in-hand ever since both were born in the 1800s. Budweiser has

been there for every major milestone -- every record-se ng event, home run and no-hi er -- making it theonly brand that can authen cally put forth a movement of this magnitude. We can think of no be er way

to honor America’s Na onal Pas me than by observing the day and encouraging everyone to celebratewith friends, family and fellow baseball fans.”

Although Alyssa Milano’s post did not receive more than 500 retweets or favorites, the celebrity a en onwas s ll appreciated and included in the Silver Anvil case study. I think that Budweiser could have reachedout to more celebri es who are openly dedicated baseball fans to publicize the campaign such as Ben A eckor Ma Damon, who according to CNBC are both diehard Boston Red Sox fans, or Bill Murray, who is aChicago Cubs fan. 8


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The third and nal phase of the campaign began on March 24 and lasted through April 7, which was MLB’sOpening Week. Local market deliveries of day-fresh draught kegs were made to MLB stadiums and markets,and the third video in the content series was published. It thanked fans for reaching 100,000 signatures andenabling the pe on to be sent to the White House.

Budweiser debuted its MLB spot, “Always There,” exclusively through theNew York Times, which emphasized the rela onship between Budweiser and

baseball. The commercial retraced 100 years of baseball history, including theRed Sox selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1920, Lou Gehrig’s farewellspeech in 1939 and Willie Mays’ back-to-the-plate catch while running full-speedto the ou ield wall in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series (to name a few). Mostof the 30-second commercial was broadcasted in black and white, which thentransi oned into grainy color for the 1970s achievements and nally changed tofull-color for the nal shot, which featured a fan returning to his seat in BuschStadium in St. Louis with a Bud in his hand to watch a game in the present (2014).

Budweiser and the MLB jointly rang the New York Stock Exchange bell, andBudweiser led correspondence with the Presiden al Administra on to receivea response to the pe on by Opening Day. The campaign wrapped up with an Opening Day watch party atthe newly opened Budweiser Brew House next to Busch Stadium in St. Louis, complete with a never-endingsupply of Budweiser beer.

I think that Budweiser budgeted the campaign e ec vely, but more could have been done. Budweiser is ahuge company and although it probably cost a decent amount of money to send Ozzie Smith on two mediatours and to create localized print ads, I do not think Budweiser u lized its resources enough. The brandis #25 on Forbes’ Most Valuable Brands list and is valued at $22.3 billion. Especially because most of themedia coverage of the campaign was free, Budweiser had room to spend and increase the magnitude of thecampaign.

Evalua on and Results

The WhiteHouse.gov pe on to make Opening Day a holiday secured 30,000 signatures in the rst 36 hoursof the campaign and 102,919 signatures a er 26 days, which warranted a response from the White House.Although the push to make Opening Day a na onal holiday was a valiant one, it did not succeed. In the WhiteHouse’s response to the pe on, wri en by Josh Earnest who was at the me the Principal Deputy PressSecretary of the White House, Earnest stated,

“While we are sympathe c to your pitch to make Opening Day a na onal holiday,it’s a li le outside our strike zone: crea ng permanent federal holidays

is tradi onally the purview of Congress. So, it’s up to the men and womenon Capitol Hill to decide whether to swing at this pitch.”

Not only was Earnest’s response lled with baseball puns, it also stated that to celebrate Opening Day, theWhite House would be honoring the Boston Red Sox as the 2013 World Series champions at the WhiteHouse. To read the descrip on of the pe on as well as the rest of the response (which I recommend youdo, it’s rather hilarious), refer to Appendix D.

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Because all of the campaign’s objec ves were easily measurable, the evalua on process was extremely clear.Apart from the White House response, Budweiser measured the campaign’s success through outcomes:media impressions and stories, business sta s cs, social media presence, video content views and the

uctua on of pe on signatures.

During the campaign, Budweiser’s sales volume rose 46.1% over the same period from the year prior, withnet revenue up 1.3%, which meant that the original objec ve of increasing Budweiser’s sales volume 30%

was met. Budweiser experienced a $13 million revenue gain and the program correlated with a 12-pointincrease in category share during Opening Week. This means that Budweiser signi cantly increased itspresence in the beer market during Opening Week.

The campaign had become a trending topic on Facebook within six hours of its launch, and the videocontent series received more than 3.08 million views (68% of which were from male viewers). Not only didthe campaign sa sfy the objec ve to reach 500 stories and 1 million impressions, it neared 1,000 storiesand earned 238,728,540 impressions.

All other objec ves were met as well; 73% of media coverage included two or more key messages, whichconnected Budweiser to Ozzie Smith, emphasized the brand’s status as the O cial Beer of the MLB andhighlighted Budweiser’s a lia on with baseball since the late 1800s. Spokespeople, including Smith,conducted 55 media interviews that generated the key messages previously described.

Brand health metrics rose for all consumers ages 21-65, speci cally those 35 and older, which hit the targetpublic right in the bull’s-eye. The metrics surpassed all category norms in the top quarter of category adsthat Budweiser had tested in the previous year:

My Perspec ve

I thoroughly enjoyed studying this case because it directly relates to the industry I want to work in a ercollege. The en re campaign was an obvious success in its appeal to the target publics and the recogni onit earned from the media, all of which is evident in numbers. Although impressed with its rapid success, I ama li le disappointed with the campaign because I think that Budweiser could have done more.

I reiterated throughout my analysis that Budweiser is subjec vely a large enough company to take acampaign to the next level. I believe this campaign was an ideal opportunity to do so especially becausebaseball is such a huge part of the company Budweiser de nes itself as, including one with tradi ons and astrong rela onship to America’s greatest pas me.

◊ Authen city: +4.2 points◊ Brand Quality: +7.25 points◊ Brand With Tradi ons and Heritage (re ects opinion on): +4.35

points◊ Persuasion (re ects purchasing decision): +13%◊ Informa on (indicates consumer followed URL call to ac on): +24%◊ Emo onal Sen ment: +49%◊ Likeability: +13%◊ Relevance: +8 points

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The aspect of the campaign that I thought was the most in uen al was described earlier in the paper:

People did not perceive the Opening Day campaign as a way to sell more beer;it was about love, passion and reverence for the game of baseball.

The campaign was not a clear marke ng push; it was recognized by the public as a call to ac on that unitedthe country through passion and love. The campaign appealed to Americans’ pathos, which I believe is themost impac ul and therefore successful business strategy.

I think one of the larger lessons to learn revolving aroundthis campaign would be to take advantage of emo onalappeal when considering market strategy. Although Iwas unable to nd any informa on regarding the exactexpenses of the campaign, I can assume that Budweiserand Weber Shandwick were able to conduct it at lowcost. The media ate it up and besides the ini al expensesto send Smith on the tour, it was all for free; never beforehad a alcoholic beverage company as large and renownas Budweiser a empted to create a na onal holiday,especially not one revolving around a sport. It wascomical yet inspiring, and it included a personal touchthat reached millions of people.

This case reminded me to think big and even uninten onally s mulated my crea vity through the meansof brainstorming. Throughout the process of wri ng this paper, I was constantly thinking of ways thecampaign could have reached a wider audience and had a longer-las ng impact on the country. Thanks tothe 2012 contract extension, Budweiser is s ll the o cial beer of the MLB, but only un l 2018. Perhaps ifthe Opening Day campaign had had a larger na onwide impact, the extension would have been for longer.

The evalua on aspect of the campaign impressed me. It was clean, organized and easy to follow. I hadnever studied brand health metrics prior to this case, and a er learning how they work, I’m not sure why.Although it takes a li le me to understand, once you learn how to decipher the metrics it is easy to seehow a brand is a ected by anything occurring in the market at any me.

Although the campaign was a huge success, I think that Budweiser should have u lized celebrity involvementmore. As previously described, there are a number of celebri es who are well-known baseball fans; any of

them could have contributed to the social media push as well as madepublic appearances or statements that emphasized the goals of thecampaign.

I also think that Budweiser could have u lized MLB’s connec ons more,speci cally other professional sports leagues. Like I described earlier,the NHL and Molson Canadian could have provided a unique outlet andaudience for both Budweiser and the MLB. As an experienced hockeyfan, I understand how di erent we are than baseball fans, but I thinkthat is why the link between the two would have been so interes ngand poten ally extremely bene cial.

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Although my opinion is that Budweiser should never a empt to make Opening Day a holiday again becauseit would be redundant and red, I do think that the brand’s rela onship to the MLB should be emphasizedevery year around Opening Day. I perceive the rela onship as a sort of corporate powerhouse; the poten albehind the partnership of the two world-renown brands is endless, it only takes a crea ve mind and a li lerisk to discover to what extent that power can be tested and u lized.

No more pe ons have been organized by Budweiser since 2014, but the widely loved Budweiser Clydesdales

have made numerous appearances, including at the Cardinals Opening Day celebra on in 2015. As partof the contract extension solidi ed in 2012, Budweiser also presents sponsor of MLB Opening Week andPlayer of the Month awards, as well as remains an ac ve cornerstone partner of the MLB Fan Cave, whichis “the league’s ini a ve geared toward engaging fans via social media while increasing the pro le of starplayers and placing baseball at the center of all things pop culture” (MLB, 2012). Budweiser also annuallypresents sponsor of the MLBFanCave.com Concert Series, which in the past has featured ar sts such asDaughtry, Adam Lambert and The Ave Brothers.

New a er the extension in 2012, Budweiser also annually presents sponsor of the Wild Cards Games, thesingle-elimina on games between two Wild Card teams from each league, with winners advancing to theirrespec ve Division Series.

Tim Brosnan, MLB Execu ve Vice President of Business, commented on the 2012 extension:

“For more than 30 years, America’s na onal pas me has partnered with America’s beer and we are proud to con nue the union of two brands

that evoke such loyalty and emo on. By partnering on ini a ves like theWild Card and MLB Fan Cave, this new agreement truly demonstrates

an evolu on in our rela onship.”

The 2016 MLB Opening Day is on April 4. I’m excited to see what Budweiser has in store and how they u lize

the brand’s established reputa on as The O cial Beer of Major League Baseball.

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Appendix A

Budweiser Opening Day Silver Anvil Case Study

America's Beer Celebrates America's Pastime: Budweiser & Ozzie SmithCampaign to Make Opening Day a Holiday

2015 Silver Anvil Award Winner

Marketing — Consumer Products — Beverages

Submitted By: Anheuser-Busch with Weber Shandwick

© 2015, Public Relations Society of America, Inc.

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Appendix B

Lays “Do Us a Favor” Campaign

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Appendix C

Budweiser Opening Day Infographic

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Appendix D

White House Pe on and Response

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Appendix D

White House Pe on and Response

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Sources

P. (2012, August 22). Anheuser-Busch and MLB Proper es extend partnership to 2018 . Retrieved from h p://m.mlb.com/news/ar cle/166827062/jake-arrieta-corey-kluber-show-you-never-know

Langosch, J. (2014, February 25). Ozzie trying to make Opening Day a na onal holiday . Retrieved fromh p://m.mlb.com/news/ar cle/68290544/hall-of-famer-ozzie-smith-trying-to-make-opening-day-a-na onal-holiday

A. (2014, March 20). Ozzie Smith, Budweiser Con nue Campaign to Make MLB Opening Day a Na onalHoliday . Retrieved from h p://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ozzie-smith-budweiser-con nue-campaign-to-make-mlb-opening-day-a-na onal-holiday-251230861.html

Forbes: The World’s Most Valuable Brands . (2015, May). Retrieved March 9, 2016, from h p://www.forbes.com/companies/budweiser/

America’s Beer Celebrates America’s Pas me: Budweiser & Ozzie Smith Campaign to Make OpeningDay a Holiday. (2015). Retrieved March 10, 2016, from h p://www.prsa.org/SearchResults/view/6BE-

1504AA1650/0/America_s_Beer_Celebrates_America_s_Pas me_Budwei#.VuDCq5MrL_Q

Declare Major League Baseball Opening Day a na onal holiday. (2014, February 24). Retrieved from h ps://pe ons.whitehouse.gov/pe on/declare-major-league-baseball-opening-day-na onal-holiday

America’s Beer Celebrates America’s Pas me: Budweiser (Rep.). (2015). PRSA. 2015 Silver Anvil Award CaseStudy.

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Budweiser Opening Day

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