Budweiser remains the King of Beers globally, but in the US it’s a different story. Sales are in decline as consumers drink less beer and switch to craft brews that they associate more closely with ‘quality.’ The beer has been dehumanized; a common opinion voiced in research was “Budweiser is made in a factory with the push of a button.”
Anyone who actually knows beer, knows that in the brewing world Budweiser is considered the standard bearer of quality and consistency, made by some of the world’s most skilled brewmasters. As an American Lager, it’s the most difficult beer to brew and even more difficult to brew consistently. The beer itself is very sensitive and only includes the highest quality ingredients.
AB InBev’s Chief Brewmaster, Pete Kraemer, says “If you don’t tell your story, someone else will and it won’t be flattering”. For too long, Budweiser had let other people tell its story. It was time for that to change.
Telling Budweiser’s story to a new generation of beer drinkers would take more than ads. It would demand content that exists authentically in the media channels they trust and that is worthy of their time commitment. Equally it needed to be worthy of the commitment that Budweiser’s brewmasters have to the beer they brew.
Taking advantage of this “golden age of documentary” (CBS News, 2019), we set about telling the true story of one of America’s greatest icons through a feature-length documentary film.
We pursued an entertainment distribution approach, benefiting from a domino rollout: exclusive announcement in entertainment trades, theatrical premiere and in theater run, availability on TVOD (e.g. iTunes), inflight entertainment (e.g. Delta), DVD and finally, availability on SVOD (e.g. Amazon Prime). With this release strategy the film would be able to work hard over time, earning space otherwise reserved for brands through expensive media buys.
The goal was to build acclaim among cultural gatekeepers in the media who were some of the most vociferous critics of Budweiser, leveraging their opinion to a. encourage further viewership over time and b. change people’s misconceptions of Budweiser. With this, we could renew cultural consideration of America’s King of Beers.
The film was met with the critical acclaim needed to propel it into mainstream culture and to change audiences’ perception of Budweiser.
Acquired and distributed by Gravitas Ventures, it was announced exclusively in The Wrap, premiered August 2 with a media screening as well as on-demand where it rose to #9 on iTunes’ Top Documentaries and ran in select theaters across the US for one week. It was a featured film on various international airlines including Delta and is now available to stream for free on Amazon Prime in over 100MM households.
Its premiere attracted influencers like Marcus Samuelsson, Michael Voltaggio and the Garnish Guy, with an Instagram post from Sterling K. Brown. They all encouraged audiences to watch the film.
Receiving over 270MM media impressions. Inc. included the film in its 10 Best Business Movies of 2019, writing that the brewmasters’ “competitive instincts and dedication to making the best possible product should strike a chord with any entrepreneur.” The film was reviewed positively by esteemed publications including the Los Angeles Times, which suggested it would “bring some former fans back to the fold.”
It was an official selection of the Academy Award-qualifying St. Louis Film Festival and won Best Feature Documentary at the Boulder Film and Brew Festival, NY Film Awards and LA Film Awards, earning accolades to increase viewership and convert more Budweiser fans.
The film told Budweiser’s quality story in a way that led audiences to re-appraise their attitude towards the beer, viewing it with more respect.
