Global Current Events. Please respond to the following:

Anheuser-Busch, which has been described as “an American icon,” is now under the ownership of a company based in Belgium. Responding to reports that some consumers planned to boycott Bud products to protest the deal, one industry observer said, “Brand nationality is all about where it was born, and also the ingredients of that beer and how they make the beer: Basically, it doesn’t matter who owns it.  We are in a global world right now.”  Justify why this is the case.

Anheuser-Busch is a quintessential American brand, one that resonates with consumers all over the world as a tried and true, red, white, and blue establishment. August Busch III has even admitted that he did not have the business acumen to run a multi-national organization. He said he did not know how he would run a global business from One Busch Place, the storied headquarters of Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis, MO. “(August III) resisted an aggressive international strategy because he didn’t know how to micromanage the rest of the world from One Busch Place,” says Bill Finnie, a former Anheuser-Busch executive who teaches at Washington University’s Olin Business School”. (Berfield, 2011)

Because of this thinking, AB had a historically ethnocentric view. There was not enough effort put into globalization, and American’s tastes were changing. While this ethnocentric view was successful for many years, globalization soon began to eat into AB profits. AB was also guilty of not adapting to the changing tastes of even American consumers. In the face of declining stock prices, AB was a victim of a hostile takeover by InBev. Although InBev is a foreign organization, they had plans to take a more geocentric approach with AB, which is exactly what should have happened many years before the takeover.

Although there was some backlash with the American consumer, especially those who felt “betrayed” by AB for selling to a foreign company, InBev agreed to keep all American breweries open and to continue to run operations out of St. Louis. I believe this decision from InBev was very intelligent. The decision sort of “eased” the minds of the AB faithful who could have walked away from the brand that “betrayed” them. With AB/InBev now focused on a geocentric approach, they will reap enormous benefits through globalizing the brand and entering more foreign markets. Berfield, S. (2011, July 17). The Fall of the House of Busch. Retrieved October 9, 2011, from Bloomberg Businessweek:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43704785/ns/business-us_business/t/fall-house-busch/#.TpG5uOvd6jU

Ben & Jerry’s Homemade is a quirky ice cream marketer based in Burlington, Vermont.  Founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are legendary for enlightened business practices that include a three-part mission statement: product mission, financial mission, and social mission.  When the company was acquired by consumer products giant Unilever, some of the brand’s loyal customers were alarmed.  Identify and explain strategies that could be put in place to address these concerns.

Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream has a very strong brand and an intense group of followers. Being acquired by an enormous global organization such as Unilever would certainly prompt concern among the brand’s faithful. Would this merger eliminate the “quirkiness” of the B&J brand? Would their focus on social issues be lost in this global empire?

It important to note that B&J’s was a small organization that needed the resources of a multi-national brand in order to grow globally. They got these resources by merging with Unilever. However, due to the nature of B&J’s business, I feel it is very important to run the two businesses separately. While Unilever provides the resources necessary to make B&J’s into a multi-national brand, they do not want to get too tied up in the running of the business because it could dilute what makes B&J’s so unique. So while I feel the merger was necessary, operating the two entities separate from one another is necessary. B&J’s needs to continue to provide quirky brand identity messages and continue its focus on current social issues to remain true to what has made it a top ice cream brand.