Position Paper 4 - Wild Card

From Clydesdales to Shamu

If you had told me before this class that Anheuser-Busch and SeaWorld had any relation at all I would have thought you were crazy. This class has taught me that some companies will do anything to gain more publicity, and AB is one of those. Throughout my time in Publicity Media and Campaigns I have had the opportunity to complete research on many topics, but my favorite was my research I completed on Anheuser-Busch. I was extremely interested in it as my chosen topic for the branding position paper and learned more about the company than I could have imagined. I decided to take this knowledge and dive deeper into topics related to Anheuser-Busch that I had not discussed within my previous paper.

When Anheuser-Busch acquired Sea World in 1989, they became the second largest theme park operator in America behind Walt Disney Co. AB had been in the theme park game since 1959, which for a brewing company, was already an oddity. Adding aquatic parks to the mix as well seemed like an interesting venture for Anheuser-Busch, but despite this, it allowed for more publicity of their brand through a source outside of just their breweries. Busch Entertainment Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. Busch Entertainment is the entertainment subsidiary of the AB Companies and operates nine theme parks in the United States. The company owned Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida and in Williamsburg, Virginia. They also owned the SeaWorld parks in San Diego, Californio; Orlando, Florida; and San Antonio, Texas. They also owned other entertainment properties such as Adventure Island, Water Country USA, Sesame Place, and Discovery Cove. Additionally, they owned 13.3% of Port Aventura, S.A., which operates a theme park near Barcelona, Spain.

The idea of branching out beyond their normal endeavors stemmed from August Busch, Jr.’s idea to promote the company’s beer labels by opening an entertainment park. This idea fell into existence through Busch Gardens in 1959. In 1964, a marine zoological park was built on 22 acres along the shore of Mission Bay in San Diego. Once stocked with employees, a stadium, dolphins, sea lions, and two seawater aquariums, SeaWorld was opened to the public. After more locations opened and a change in ownership happened, the SeaWorld name went bankrupt. Entering the 1980s, Busch Entertainment had become a distinct entity under the whole Anheuser Busch name. By the end of the 1980s, Busch Entertainment had acquired four SeaWorld parks, Cypress Gardens, and Boardwalk and Baseball, outbidding Walt Disney Co., and more. This acquisition not only added $500 million in revenue to Busch Entertainment, it also added a new vehicle to promote the parent company’s beer. ″We have considered Sea World as the ideal acquisition for some period of time,″ said W. Randolph Baker, vice president and group executive for Anheuser Busch.

    The company held the rights to SeaWorld and Busch Gardens until 2009, when they were sold for $2.7 billion. Even though these parks were a “high performing asset,” they were “not a core business for Anheuser Busch.” Before the sale of these parks “parents who took their kids to Busch Gardens or SeaWorld could grab a few complimentary beers while their kids enjoyed the park.” After the split of Anheuser-Busch and its theme parks, this deal stopped. In 2018, both parties decided to bring it back. Busch Gardens and SeaWorld began to offer two free 7-ounce beers to park visitors. The free beer offered ranged from multiple Anheuser-Busch brands. Even though the brands may not have had ownership to be affiliated with, this brand deal brough back added promotion for the brewing company within the parks. On top of that, the Orlando SeaWorld is home to the Anheuser-Busch Hospitality Center. This Hospitality center is set within “immaculately manicured lawns and flower beds, a delightful outdoor seating area set on a raised deck that looks out over a crystal-clear lake which is fed by a waterfall that meanders its way through the landscaped rock gardens.” “The main attraction is the free beer dispensing area (apologies to those readers under the legal age to consume alcohol, which is twenty-one) which has a backdrop of huge copper brewing kettles. Here Anheuser-Busch employees dressed in their corporate finery are on hand to serve the most popular brands including the non-alcoholic O’Doul’s.” These free beverages are just another advertising technique by the brewing company on top of their Budweiser Beer tasting.

It’s wild to think that the “king of beers” expanded its range so much to include these parks, water parks, and aquatic parks. “Anheuser-Busch, the world’s leading beer maker, has four core businesses: beer, food, container manufacturing and family entertainment. However, 90 percent of the company’s sales come from beer and beer-related ventures.” As long as Anheuser-Busch can continue to incorporate beer into any one of their business ventures, I recon they will continue to find much success with their expansion and publicity campaigns.