It was on Friday that Qatar, the country that's hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup announced that there would be no alcohol in the football stadiums. But one of the official sponsors for the FIFA World cup is Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned company Budweiser.
Budweiser's long standing bond with football
Budweiser, which has been associated with FIFA since 1986, pays FIFA about $75 million every four years so that they can be in the center of every Football World cup. But just two days before the beginning of the football world cup Qatar took a u-turn and banned alcohol. Though alcohol will be available in areas like Fan Zone, which is probably where Budweiser will be selling its alcohol.
After the announcement was made Budwiser pushed out a tweet saying 'Well, this is awkward...', which it later deleted, but it had already been sent.
Tweet by Budweiser | Twitter
Why did Qatar issue the ban on alcohol?
Qatar being a Muslim country, they generally frown on alcohol. There is also a general sentiment that alcohol is not part of the country's culture and the fans would not feel comfortable if alcohol was served in the stadiums.
Bud Zero on the rise
Ideally speaking Budweiser could sue FIFA for breach of contract after all the company is paying $75 million for sponsorship. But maybe this ban could turn out in favor of the company. The sales in the World Cup stadium have a very minute impact on Budweiser's overall revenue, but maybe it can help them increase the sale of their non-alcoholic beer, Bud Zero.
Bud Zero was launched two years ago and currently makes up 6.6 per cent of the company's sales. Budwiser has been looking forward to increasing the sales figure to about 20 per cent by 2025. And they could make use of this ban to promote it in the stadium.
Globally, people have been reducing their intake of alcohol and increasing their intake of healthy food. Which means that globally, the sales of zero-proof alcohol have gone up. In three years the sale of the on-alcoholic brews has doubled and it is expected to become a business of $46 billion by 2025.
Does it really impact the beer sales?
Well like we said earlier the sales in the stadium makes a very minute difference in its revenue. But truth be told the sales are only affected if the country is beer and football loving. To prove this we can take the beer sales in France in 1998 where it went up by 5 per cent that year. But if you compare that to countries like Japan and South Korea, you will realise that there was no jump in sales in these countries. And Qatar may be a football loving country, but it is not a beer-loving country. Which means Budweiser could have already been prepared for this outcome.
To add to this the tournament is taking place in November, when the weather is cool and not burning hot like summer which means that the sales could have been low to begin with.
Changes in marketing plan
The American beer giant Budweiser on Friday had said that the restrictions are beyond their control. But making the most of this situation the company has already changed its marketing strategy. They put out a new Tweet on Saturday that said, “New Day, New Tweet. Winning Country gets the Buds. Who will get them?”
The details of this were not revealed by the company, but while talking to MarketWatch a spokesperson said, "Where there is a celebration, there is always a Budweiser." The company is planning to bring the celebration to the winning country's fans and will host an ultimate championship celebration for the winning country. The details of this will be shared as the tournament moves closer to the finals.
Ultimately the ban may not affect the company in a negative way, after all they are making the best out of the situation and it seems to be working for them.
