The Marketing Environment

 The marketing environment for Anheuser Busch and Bud Light can be broken down into a few different categories. The target market, a demographic which includes generation y, generation x, and baby boomers, environmental management, and purchasing power all shape the marketing environment for Anheuser Busch.

Target Market

The first, and most obvious, observation about Anheuser Busch is that, as an alcohol company, all of their consumers must meet the minimum legal drinking age. Beyond the minimum age requirement, Anheuser Busch has a target market that includes all ages and genders. According to Anheuser Busch

“We advertise and market our products exclusively to adults 21 years of age and older. The beer industry uses media and marketing to reach adult with brand messages, and we do so with responsibly through adherence to both an internal Company Code ad an industry Marketing Code”.

Although Anheuser Busch consumers encompass all ages, they target their advertising at generation y and generation x consumers, often times with sports themed or ads featuring younger people.
 

Environmental management

Anheuser Busch cannot completely control the external environment, but they can try and predict factors such as social change and the economy. Anheuser Busch has long focused on two major advertising efforts. One based on tradition and heritage, think Clydesdales, and the other on sports and major sponsorships. With the recognition of a changing market, Anheuser Busch has expanded its marketing to include ads narrated by Jay-Z and a documentary directed by Ron Howard, all in an effort to capitalize on a new and different generation and what it takes to market to them.

Purchasing Power

Purchasing power is the comparison of the cost of living versus a person’s income.  The price point of beer has always been the lowest in the alcohol market. Thus, when the economy is in a recession, beer sales remain stable and do not drop due to there relatively low price point.