This Bud’s for You, Emerging Markets

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s flagship Budweiser brand has long been closely linked to America’s Heartland. Born in 1876, the brew that turned the Clydesdales into an icon. Now the world’s largest brewer is intent on giving Brazilian drinkers their own taste of America. It’s betting that the world’s third-largest beer market by volume—and the birthplace of the majority of the parent company’s board—can help turn Bud into a truly global brand. The plan is to sell “the American Dream in a bottle,” says Chris Burggraeve, AB InBev’s chief marketing officer.

Whether consumers in Brazil—and emerging markets worldwide—will buy into the dream is yet to be seen. AB InBev introduced Bud as a premium brand in Latin America’s largest nation on Aug. 31, with flashy promotions including Budweiser-branded concerts featuring artists such as Rihanna and Pearl Jam. Influential Brazilians, including UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva, were enlisted to serve as brand ambassadors and raise local awareness of Bud. Budweiser is the official sponsor of the World Cup soccer finals, which Brazil will host in 2014.