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As ABI was named Creative Marketer of the Year for 3d time in last 5 yrs by The Cannes Lions Intl Festival of Creativity, global cmo Marcel Marcondes talked with Wall Street Jnl about marketing shifts the brewer has made to return to volume growth in Q1, the first such increase since 2023. He credited ABI's increased focus on premium brands and "beer alternatives," as well as its "strategic pivot toward promoting the 50 most popular" beers out of 500 in its global portfolio, wrote WSJ. "It is a conscious, intentional change, moving from an inorganic growth algorithm into an organic growth algorithm," said Marcel. In US, the focus has clearly been on Mich Ultra and Busch Light, as those two brands "combined account for 13.9% of US market share compared to 11.8% for Bud and Bud Light," per Nielsen, wrote WSJ. ABI "is playing favorites" in other countries too, moving from "actively marketing" 15-20 brands in each mkt to focusing on 3-5 "megabrands," chosen by sales volume and growth rates. Also, ABI stopped producing 25% of brands that were in its portfolio in 2021. In US, that included Bon and Viv, Neon Burst and Natural Light Seltzer, among many others.Tracking Younger Consumers' Varied Tastes; "25 Is the New 21": "Sweet Seekers" Better ROI from Events "What we see is that younger consumers, they are drinking. They're just drinking differently," noted Marcel. "25 is the new 21. People are taking longer to take bigger responsibilities in life. This involves getting married, getting a big job or even drinking," he added. Consumers age 25-40 are now ABI's "fastest growing segment" and ABI uses 4 "balanced choices" categories to attract them. Those include: "active-lifestyle beers" like Ultra as well as non-alc beers, flavored beers and beer alternatives such as RTDs. "Many" of this age group "are also part of the 20% to 30%" of global consumers that ABI identifies as "sweet seekers" who lean towards flavored beers like Busch Light Apple or "lemon-tinged" Flying Fish in international mkts, wrote WSJ.Another mktg shift for ABI has been moving more of $7 bil mktg budget away from TV buys to spend on big events, or "megaplatforms" such as the Olympics and upcoming World Cup. Traditional mktg campaigns avg 1.3x ROI for ABI, while big event-based mktg averages more than 2x total spend, Marcel shared.AB Teams with Kevin Hart for World Cup Honor Speaking of "megaplatform" events, Michelob Ultra is partnering with comedian/actor Kevin Hart to help find the "Superior Player of the Match Chief Trophy Officer," AB shared today. Announcement notes the benefits of position include 2 tickets to the World Cup final on Sun, Jun 19, where they will have responsibility of bringing the custom-made Superior Player of the Match trophy to the title game. The winning applicant will be compensated $90K for 90 minutes of their time. Candidates 21+ have 90 seconds to upload a video explaining why they're the right person for the job. During the World Cup tournament, the Superior Player of the Match trophy will be awarded to a standout player after every match.

Narrower Brand Focus, Shift to Big Event Mktg Helping ABI Grow Again, Sez CMO Marcel; New World Cup Activation

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