Let’s Couch-ella The Bud Light Way
Brands are having a hard time adjusting to the new reality of life under quarantine in the midst of this global Covid-19 pandemic.
This global crisis resulted in cancelled concerts, however, a number of singers, bands, and brands are committed to uplifting the masses with their music. This led to the fitting utilisation of social media, to deliver joy to all in such troublesome times.
Bud Light sponsors a virtual concert
Tired of binge watching Netflix? Tired of chatting with friends on Houseparty? As everyone is currently trying to adjust to the new ‘normal’, Bud Light has everyone covered as they bring to us a little dose of musical happiness.
The existing Bud Light Dive Bar Tour has been hugely successful with the basic idea of people enjoying music over cold beers. The tour covered a broad spectrum of artists from Lady Gaga to Post Malone.
But with social distancing becoming the new norm, Bud Light has switched their original idea of the tour to an online one to fight these tough times together. This is extremely innovative and helps it in being consistent with the brand ideology. It allows us to see performances at the comfort of our couch with just a click of a button.
And hey, you can watch it in your sweats too ;)
So, who’s ready to watch?
The first Bud Light activation of the Dive Bar Tour: Home Edition, featured the famous country music artist, Jake Owen. And boy oh boy, did he set the stage right. Throughout his gig, he played a couple of his favourite songs and even took online requests from fans. For a moment, even though it was a very brief moment, people took a step back from the chaotic world and enjoyed music with new found virtual friends. By 10PM EST, Owen’s live concert had hit over 4,000 live viewers and the numbers just kept growing in the following streams.
While soothing hundreds of people across the world with their talent partners, Bud Light is also raising money for each artist’s select charity partner. Jake Owen for one chose the American Red Cross.
Bud Light also partnered up with Drizly, an alcohol delivery service. So, if you want to relish an ice-cold Bud Light beer while enjoying your stay at home low-key concert, an order at Drizly will get you a $5 off with the promotional code ‘BUDLIGHT’.
So far this edition has had a great line-up of a mix of artists featuring Jake Owen on 21st March, One Republic on 22nd March, Clayton Anderson followed by Dierks Bentley on 27th March, Chelsea Cutler with Jeremy Zucker and Charlie Puth yesterday (on 28th March).
Think I finally found a new ‘Bud’
As people practice social distancing and demand for dine-in locations decline, the restaurant industry has taken one of the hardest hits during this pandemic. Thus, Bud Light has created a digital tracker to help people find local bars and restaurants across the U.S. that remain open for takeout orders by simply entering your pin code. The Bud Light: Open for Takeout initiative went live on Friday. It allows businesses to submit themselves for listings.
“Now, more than ever, we need to serve those who serve us,” the tracker website reads.
The brand is promoting it through an #OpenForTakeout hashtag and aims to divert a part of their media spending budget to raise both business and customer awareness. It has positioned this initiative as a cause-driven way to support every service worker and owner whose livelihood depends upon the survival of the restaurant industry.
The way Bud Light adapted to these tricky circumstances while being consistent with their original ideology, has left me inspired as a marketeer. Most would think that such circumstances result in marketing being perceived as a luxury, however, Bud Light awed us all by their sheer grit and repositioned itself as a truly neighborhood-name.
So, stay tuned with me to see if the coming weekend we’ll be swinging to sweet melodies or grooving to EDM music.
Stay Sane-itised :)
