Brewer chases bigger dreams than sales growth
Print Edition
THE e-commerce boom in China has many ramifications. Among them are 鈥渇estivals鈥 created to stimulate online shopping. November 11 and June 18, ordinary dates with no special significance, have come to be celebrated as a local version of Black Friday, an occasion for 鈥渟pendthrifts鈥 to snap up merchandise up to 50 percent off their original prices.
The latest addition to this list of commercially inspired festivals is the Double Nine Carnival (September 9), conceived by leading B2C e-commerce platform Tmall. In Chinese the number nine and booze are homonyms.
On this very day retailers of alcoholic beverages partner with Tmall in offering sizeable discounts to push up sales. It is also a battlefield where retailers cross swords with a variety of gimmicks.
This year, AB InBev looks set to be the first to emerge on top. As the owner of brands like Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona, the company recently launched a campaign featuring an immersive play and a mini-movie. As a beer lover, I was invited to attend the launch ceremony at a bar in the Tianzifang complex. The play and mini-movie, both entitled 鈥淔inding Mr X,鈥 revolves around the theft of a 鈥渂eer bible鈥 from a pub, as well as intrigues between several suspects. The storyline is peppered with beer terminology. The 6-minute mini-movie can be found on some video-sharing websites and in AB InBev鈥檚 flagship Tmall store.
Asked about the motivation to try new advertising formats like mini-movies, Bruno Cosentino explained that consumers today are keen to know more about what brands stand for. Cosentino is the APAC (Asia-Pacific) marketing VP of AB InBev. 鈥淏ut it has to be done in an entertaining way, not just in a promotional, or literal way,鈥 he says.
In a certain way, the mini-movie is part of the brewer鈥檚 consistent emphasis on consumers鈥 category education. Compared to liquor and wine, knowledge about beer is largely confined to small circles of connoisseurs in China. Due to the lack of 鈥渞ight education,鈥 beer buyers can have difficulty selecting their purchase from supermarket shelves stocked with different beers.
Driven partly by expected top line growth and partly by a sense of mission, AB InBev has taken upon itself the job to share information such as beer brands, brewing process and food pairing tips.
鈥淎s the industry leader, we have to make people aware of what products are for which occasion and go well with which kind of food,鈥 says Cosentino.
The mini-movie does serve as a primer on beer knowledge: The name of the fictitious bar, 鈥1516,鈥 is an allusion to the year the German beer purity law was introduced; malt, hop, water and yeast are identified as the four basic ingredients used in brewing; lager and ale are the products of different brewing techniques.
According to Martin Suter, Head of eCommerce, APAC at AB InBev, this form of communication blends fun with education, and is believed to be more effective in promoting beer culture.
鈥淲hile beer can be complicated (to most people), we want to avoid intimidation,鈥 Suter told Shanghai Daily.
Watching the movie, I was reminded of Jack Ma鈥檚 take on what he termed 鈥渘ew retail.鈥 The e-commerce guru predicted last year that in the next decade or two, e-commerce will be replaced by new retail, meaning the integration of online, offline elements and logistics.
Bruno concurred. 鈥淚 would say today online and offline integration is a basic for any kind of (marketing) campaign.鈥
The popularity of social media, especially mobile media, has been a shot in the arm for AB InBev鈥檚 quest to create a marketing platform that taps into online and offline resources.
During the year and a half since his arrival in China, Suter says he was 鈥渂lown away鈥 by changes that came with the e-commerce revolution.
鈥淲hen I look at how the young Chinese entertain themselves and do shopping, it鈥檚 largely mobile experience,鈥 he says.
This is something AB InBev has leveraged, hoping that by delivering differentiated content, it can better engage its target audience via social media.
Benefits are myriad, but above all, 鈥渢his gives us the opportunity as the marketer to provide you with digital experiences tied to your interests,鈥 says Suter.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
