Advertising Age reports that Anheuser-Busch CEO August Busch IV has said that he believes that the company’s fledgling – and so far, underwhelming – Bud.TV online television network to “fade” as the year progresses, though he did not say whether it would be shut down completely.
The site, which represents an investment upwards of $30 million, could see some of its components migrated into other properties owned by the brewer.
"Anheuser-Busch believes in the digital space, and Bud.TV is a part of that,” Busch said. “Bud.TV is the first of its kind and it will continue to develop. Its current structure might fade away as we learn more about consumer connectivity and building a social network. But we are eager to evolve Bud.TV as part of a broader digital future for our brands to reach today's consumer.”
The site, which represents an investment upwards of $30 million, could see some of its components migrated into other properties owned by the brewer.
"Anheuser-Busch believes in the digital space, and Bud.TV is a part of that,” Busch said. “Bud.TV is the first of its kind and it will continue to develop. Its current structure might fade away as we learn more about consumer connectivity and building a social network. But we are eager to evolve Bud.TV as part of a broader digital future for our brands to reach today's consumer.”
- KC's View:
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We wonder if A-B simply didn’t do enough to encourage community. It is our sense that maybe too much time was spent on the technology and the bells and whistles, and not enough on figuring out how to have differentiated content that would have attracted target consumers.
Now, to be honest, this is a common complaint for us…and it comes from having been on the content side of things for a long time. We could tell you plenty of stories about web sites that burned through investment dollars by spending it on techies and buttons and gizmos, while ignoring the fact that it is only because of compelling content that people will read or watch anything. Retailers should take this warning to heart – if your websites are being managed just by IT folks, you could be making a big and perhaps costly mistake.
