Bud Light is taking lessons from Silicon Valley. And chief among those lessons is not to rest on your laurels (or Clydesdales). That’s why Bud Light is taking its #1 position in the US beer market and rejiggering the branding with a fresh new look and narrative. It’s creating a new all-blue can that emphasizes the brand’s heritage while looking as sleek and modern as an iPad.
There’s an old adage that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. And then there’s the fact that old adages sometimes kill good companies. Bud Light owns nearly 20 percent of the US beer market. But nobody wants to be BlackBerry when the iPhone comes along — or MySpace when Facebook arrives. Silicon Valley is a constant, very visible reminder that #1 this year doesn’t mean #1 next year. Anheuser-Busch InBev (Bud Light’s owner) keeps buying more worldwide marketshare. But it’s a very savvy company in recognizing that it needs to build from inside and out to dominate. When it buys or develops an asset, it looks to continually improve it. Bud Light, which achieved the #1 spot, in record time, will keep innovating to maximize appeal and meet new customers. (Did someone say millennials?)
