A-B Earmarks $35M for Bud Light Lime

By Mike Beirne

Despite a so-so response to its last Budweiser extension, Bud Select, Anheuser-Busch is launching another, called Bud Light Lime for which it earmarked a $35 million ad budget.

A-B is being tight-lipped about the campaign for the lime-flavored entry. A tagline has yet to be finalized and A-B’s roster of agencies—they include DDB, New York and Chicago, Momentum, St. Louis, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco) and are in a shoot out to handle that account. The brewer declined to identify which shops are involved.

Bud Light Lime will be available nationally in May in six and 12-packs of clear bottles and price about $1 to $1.50 more than Budweiser and Bud Light. Unlike A-B’s previous Bud family extension Bud Select, which achieved more than 90% penetration in stores within weeks of its 2005 launch only to eventually swoon, the brewer is giving distributors flexibility to pick the accounts where Bud Light Lime would fit.

“Just like with Land Shark, we can put it in 8 to 10% of our accounts and if it doesn’t grow, it doesn’t grow,” said a Southwest wholesaler, referring to another A-B entry. “Personally I question it. We’ve got a great strategy put in place for Bud Light, and we’re looking for a great year. We got hammered with Bud Select, and I don’t know if (Bud Light Lime) is incremental business, new business, or what.”

The new brew is going after new business, in particular consumers at occasions like a backyard barbeque or in outdoor refreshment situations where they are looking for something a little bit different yet with all the attributes that Bud Light brings, said Marlene Coulis, vp—consumer strategy and innovation. Coulis says Bud Light Lime won't cannibalize Bud Light sales.

“In studying what other powerful brands have done to ensure the brand is relevant, one way is make sure you are reaching your core consumer with your brand message and another way it to do things like this where you can bring in a whole new drinker into the franchise,” she said. “[Bud Light Lime] would be a dilution if it were right on top of Bud Light but this is a different drinker base and occasion”

Coulis added that Bud Light Lime has been in development for two years and is not a knock off of Miller Chill, a salt and lime flavored michelada-style beer SAB Miller launched last year. That brand became a hit selling more than 3 million cases in c-stores, drug, grocery and mass outlets, excluding Wal-Mart., per Information Resources Inc. Chill combined with Miller Lite’s growth helped Miller’s 2007 shipments increase 5.5% compared with 2006. However, like the warm weather popularity of flavored alcohol beverages such as Smirnoff Ice, Miller Chill took a seasonal dive after the third quarter.