AB InBev Trying to Make Bud the Coke of Beers

Budweiser’s next stop is Ukraine, where AB InBev will continue its push to turn the classic American brew into a global powerhouse on the scale of Coca-Cola.

Bud will begin hitting shelves this week in the eastern European nation, designated as one of eight “focus” markets for the brew, which is now sold in 86 countries, AB InBev told Ad Age. The debut follows other big Bud launches in priority markets, including Brazil late last year and Russia in 2010.

Bud’s march across the globe is noteworthy because beer is one of the few categories where big international brands have struggled to take hold. Consider that the largest beer brand by market share is Snow, at 5%, and that it is sold only in China, according to Euromonitor International. The top soft drink, by contrast, is Coca-Cola, which has a 25% share and is sold in 206 countries.

“History suggests it’s pretty tough to create a truly global beer brand,” said Mark Swartzberg, a financial analyst who covers AB InBev for Stifel Nicolaus. “There are very few examples of such an animal.” (www.adage.com)

Chipotle, CAA Win GRANDY for ‘Back To The Start’

Awards season has arrived, and Creative Artist Agency made a strong entrance—beating out more traditional ad shops for the top honor at the ANDYs.

The Hollywood talent powerhouse’s marketing unit, launched in 1998, took home took home the GRANDY for “Back to the Start,” its more-than-2-minutes-long Chipotle ad, a meticulous stop-motion homage to sustainable farming set to a brand-sponsored Willie Nelson cover of Coldplay’s “The Scientist.” The video, created with director Johnny Kelly and named among Adweek’s 10 Best Commercials of 2011, was originally slated to run only in movie theaters and online, but eventually found its way, in its entirety, to a TV buy during the Grammys. The ANDY’s Best-in-Show honor comes with a $50,000 cash award, bound for the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, the brand’s sustainable foods charity.

Among agency networks, Leo Burnett led the pack with 18 global wins: 6 gold, including four for its Toronto office’s work with homeless charity Raising the Roof, as 7 silver, and 5 bronze. Y&R followed with 10 global honors, of which 4 were gold, 2 silver, and 4 bronze. Wieden+Kennedy took 7 total, 2 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze. DDB won 5 total, comprising 2 silver and 3 bronze. Among the other winners: 3 awards for CP+B (2 silver, 1 bronze), 6 for production company MJZ (sharing 3 gold with BETC Euro RSCG, 1 gold and 1 bronze StrawberryFrog, and 1 silver with Droga5). JWT Shanghai won 2 gold, while TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles won 1 gold and TBWA\Paris won 1 silver. (www.adweek.com)

Gilt Groupe Founders Gab About the Future of Commerce

When Gilt Groupe co-founders Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson opened the virtual doors to their online flash sale site in 2007, they were thrilled to sell $9,565 in high-fashion fare on their first day. Now, the members-only site—which has since grown to include travel, food, home furnishings and local services—can generate far more than that in a matter of seconds.

In their new book, By Invitation Only: How We Built Gilt and Changed the Way Millions Shop, which hits shelves today, the co-founders trace the story of their company’s success and how, along with co-founders Kevin Ryan, Mike Bryzek and Phong Nguyen, they reinvented luxury shopping—online and off. In a chat with Adweek, Maybank and Wilkis Wilson talk about their site’s rapid rise and the road ahead.

Adweek: When you look back, when did you first feel like your vision of Gilt Groupe had materialized?
Alexandra Wilkis Wilson: There are two critical moments that stand out in my mind. Our first sale was a Zac Posen sale [on] Nov. 13, 2007, and we had no idea what to expect. We were five co-founders standing shoulder-to-shoulder in a very modest office space, and we had no idea if our customers were going to actually log on and shop. We were armed and prepared for a lot of customer service questions. But we were delighted to find that our customer was self-directed, she was vying for herself, she was not calling or emailing. She just trusted her instinct, loved the product, loved the prices. And she was shopping. That was very exciting. Another moment for us was several months later when Gilt Groupe was mentioned on the TV show The View and our membership more than doubled in a matter of hours. (www.adweek.com)

Making a ‘Marley’ Movie

Bob Marley has 38 million Facebook fans and 192,000 Twitter followers, which is impressive considering that he has been dead for more than 30 years.

Magnolia Pictures, which is distributing “Marley,” a movie about the singer’s short but productive life, is hoping to leverage his online popularity to transform what is typically a money-losing passion project—the rock documentary—into a hit. The film will get a so-called day-and-date release, meaning that it will be available both in theaters and on demand April 20, a holiday of sorts for marijuana enthusiasts.

Although documentaries usually are cheaper to produce than feature films, they usually appeal to niche audiences. “Shine a Light,” a Martin Scorsese-directed concert film with the Rolling Stones, brought in only $5.5 million in the U.S. (www.wsj.com)

First time deal for The Garden

The Madison Square Garden Company has announced a new marketing partnership with Swiss luxury watchmaker Tissot.

Under the terms of the deal, which marks the first marketing partnership between the two parties, Tissot becomes the official timepiece of Madison Square Garden, the NBA’s New York Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers.

Tissot will also have prominent integration on throughout the iconic venue, which is currently undergoing a major transformation, including on The Garden’s 7th and 8th Avenue Marquees, offering the brand exposure to more than 600 million people who pass by annually. As part of its activation, Tissot will provide a countdown timer on the marquees revealing the minutes until Knicks and Rangers home games.

During select games, the brand will also have a feature on GardenVision, the overhanging scoreboard at the centre of the venue, highlighting each of the team’s history. For Rangers the feature will be ‘A Moment in Rangers History,’ and for the Knicks the feature is entitled ‘Tissot Turn Back the Clock.’

“Tissot is excited about becoming the first brand to be the official timepiece of Madison Square Garden,” said Francois Thiebaud, Tissot president. “As official timekeeper for many renowned international sports and other major international events, including the world championships of MotoGP, basketball and ice hockey, this association with the world’s most famous arena is a perfect fit. We look forward to taking part in the memorable moments that happen in this arena and to sharing them with fans in the great City of New York and around the world.” (www.sportspromedia.com)

Skyy Vodka toasts Team New Zealand’s challenge

Campari Group brand Skyy Vodka has been announced as an official sponsor of America’s Cup sailing team Emirates Team New Zealand.

The agreement sees Skyy Vodka serving as Emirates Team New Zealand’s exclusive vodka supplier during the team’s build up to, and challenge for, the 34th America’s Cup in 2013.

In the role the Skyy Vodka brand will have a logo presence on the team’s boat while the drink itself will be served at all Emirate Team New Zealand events at race locations around the world.

The agreement will cover the America’s Cup World Series currently underway in Naples, the Louis Vuitton Cup, the America’s Cup Challenger Series and the America’s Cup Finals in San Francisco. (www.sportspromedia.com)

Crowne Plaza Tees Up Golfer Rickie Fowler In Campaign

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts is launching a multimedia ad campaign starring golfer Rickie Fowler.

The upscale hotel brand has signed Fowler for the 2012 golf season and will execute a multichannel campaign designed to elevate the hotel’s brand.

The hotel chain has sponsored the tournament since 2007, said Gina LaBarre, vice president, Americas brand management, IHG. “Golf courses have a storied history as informal meeting places, which aligns well with Crowne Plaza’s focus on providing a better meetings experience for our guests,” LaBarre tells Marketing Daily. “Meetings are a big part of our guests’ lives, whether that takes place in one of our hotels or on a golf course, so it’s a natural fit.”

Choosing to align with Fowler was an easy decision.

“Rickie brings a really fun and colorful energy to the game of golf, and he certainly knows how to catch your eye with his unique sense of style,” LaBarre said. “He’s widely regarded as one of the new faces of golf and has the distinctive star power that you want in a spokesperson.” (www.mediapost.com)
AmEx Tops Financial Category In Social Media

When it comes to embracing social media, the financial services industry has never been among the most aggressive in staking out its place on Facebook, Twitter or other social networking platforms. That’s partly because financial services, like the pharmaceutical industry, is more highly regulated than others.

Nevertheless, a new study suggests that financial institutions have made significant strides in the last four years. Nearly 90% of the financial firms studied now have a social media presence of some kind compared to only 20% in 2008, according to Corporate Insight, which provides research and consulting services to the financial industry.

Standing out from the pack, however, has been American Express, which launched its OPEN Forum for small business in 2007 and has continued to expand its social initiatives since then.

Corporate Insight ranked AmEx as the top financial brand in social media based on its analysis of 90 companies across four types of social properties: Facebook pages, Twitter profiles, proprietary communities, and blogs. (LinkedIn was excluded because most communications among members are private, making it difficult to gauge engagement.) (www.mediapost.com)
L.L. Bean Encourages: Discover Something

Still in the midst of its 100th birthday celebration, L.L. Bean is tapping customers as spokespeople for the first time in its history, using their stories to urge others to get outdoors and “discover something.”

After sorting through hundreds of submissions, Bean is focusing on three, and video vignettes follow them on their outdoor adventures. A single mom introduces her small boy to the wonders of salamanders, hiking and brook stomping, for example. A young North Carolina woman falls in love with the “dangerous beauty” of the Tetons. And a man describes how his L.L. Bean backpack has traveled with him up 104 mountains, through 14 national parks, five ex-girlfriends and one future wife.

“We’re just encouraging people to get outside more,” David Hughes, Bean’s account director at GSD&M, in Austin, Tex., tells Marketing Daily. “We’re not telling them to scale the side of cliffs, nor are we suggesting that they be so passive that they just sit around. The idea is that even when you think there’s nothing more to explore, just look around. There’s still plenty to discover.”

The videos are breaking online and in theaters now, and will run through the end of June. In the fall they will appear again as TV spots, he says. (www.mediapost.com)
Dr Pepper Ties In With ‘Marvel’s The Avengers’

Dr Pepper has partnered with Marvel Entertainment for a multiplatform campaign centered around a series of eight collectible cans featuring superhero characters from“Marvel’s The Avengers.”

A movie of that name starring Robert Downey, Jr., from Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures, is set for release on May 4.

The collectible cans are available for a limited time in stores nationwide.

Dr Pepper is also offering a free, custom game on DrPepper.com, “Skrull Takedown,” which enables fans to emulate their favorite Avengers characters (as they appear in a New Avengers comic book) and fight with the alien-shapeshifter Skrulls. Fans can share their scores and challenge friends to join in on the action via Twitter and Facebook. (www.mediapost.com)