How does the UK market differ to the market in the US?
In the US, Bud Light is a massive brand – it's the biggest brand in its market over there. When we're launching a new brand here, the reaction is going to be very different, and so is the consumer expectation. We know that consumers from the UK love Bud Light and have a great expectation for it, and we've been fortunate enough to have a done a few teaser activations, which have had a great response. It continues to build that demand, which makes people ask "Is Bud Light in the UK?", "When is it coming?". There's still a lot of anticipation that we're building, so I'm sure that when we actually launch it, the reaction will be very positive.
How will the brand channel the light-hearted feel to the overall campaign into the events?
For us, the light-hearted aspect is definitely an important point of view and attitude, as well as being cool, premium, young and contemporary. Those are all values that we share within the brand, and they are all equally important. So when we come up in experiential - and look at the stuff we've been doing already like the '' pop-up and activations around Drake's concert - it's very much about bringing the elements of relaxation, cool, premium, super contemporary and young to life.
Have you got any events coming up at the moment?
Currently we are in the 'tease' phase, so I can't reveal anything that will be happening when we actually make a 'bang'. But in December, we staged a pop-up store in Brick Lane called 'The Bud Light Taste of America'; it was a very successful activation and we basically brought all the great things that people love in the US, that are not available here, to the UK for one day only. We had everything from Peanut Butter M&Ms to Bud Light to Yeezy Shoes, that are worth thousands of dollars. All the items were there in a cool environment with influencers - we had Professor Green coming over, and we made sure that we had the cool brands, the cool people and the cool place, and that Bud Light was showing up there. It's all about making sure we show up with the right people in the right places, and have the right attitude, and present that to our target audience. That approach has been extremely successful, and it's something that we're going to carry on doing.
Can we expect more pop-ups?
Not necessarily more pop-ups. We're investing a lot behind this brand, so the brand is going to be having a huge 360-degree marketing campaign that will include Out Of Home (OOH), digital media, direct response (DR), and there will be an element of events and experiential.
Is the whole idea of 'experiencing' a brand important when engaging a millennial market?
I believe so. I've worked with many other brands where experiential is extremely important, and I can see the value in it. For example, with , I know that when you are able to bring an experience to life that has a massive impact on the consumer, and that they can really have an affinity with the brand that becomes very long lasting. So that's something we recognise, and I'm very passionate about experiential. When you do it right, with the right people, I know it has an immense power in building a brand.
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