Budweiser Ice Cold Index: the new kind of advertising

Its natural for beer brands to view the summer months as a great marketing opportunity. There was a time when this simply meant increased visibility in the market, some promotions and of course, some ‘image’ advertising. Nowadays, nothing seems to be done without a digital component –  Facebook app, a Twitter feed, a mobile app…something.

Even in Ireland, where beer advertising has no restrictions I presume, it is no longer the straightforward :30 TV spot. Budweiser has launched a ‘hotter the day, lesser you pay’ campaign wherein consumer price of a Bud varies with the temperature outside. Awesome idea. Here’s how it works:

If the temperature rises above 20°C, Diageo, which sells Budweiser in Ireland under licence from Anheuser-Busch InBev, will offer consumers a free pint. The app will also offer €2 off when it reaches 18°C or 19°C outdoors, with €1 off if the temperature is 16°C or 17°C.

On a designated “Index day”, consumers can redeem their free or money-off voucher between 1pm and 11.59pm. Once consumers have downloaded the voucher, the participating Index bar will provide them with a pub code and they will then have two minutes to redeem their voucher before it expires.

Not just a bold marketing move but audacious in execution too. At the centre of the campaign is a mobile application – the Ice Cold Index, introduced by Scott Campbell.

You can watch the video of How it Works here.

It remains to be seen whether (no pun intended) the idea takes off improves sales. But as marketing ideas go, this one’s really new age.