Budweiser announces its packaging will now include QR codes as part of its 'Track Your Bud' digital campaign that allows consumers to follow creation of their individual beer

Lorena Madrigal

ST. LOUIS , March 1, 2012 (press release) – Budweiser, the iconic global beer brand, today introduced “Track Your Bud,” a digital campaign integrated with packaging that will allow consumers to trace the origins of the beer they hold in their hands to one of Budweiser’s 12 U.S. breweries.

By using their Smartphone to scan the QR code on Budweiser packaging, downloading the free “Track Your Bud” app or visiting TrackYourBud.com, consumers can enter the Born On Date found on bottles and cans and be taken on a guided tour of the creation of their individual beer by the Budweiser brewmaster responsible for it.

“Track Your Bud” content will provide beer drinkers with visibility into the source and selection of ingredients, Budweiser’s seven-step brewing process, when their beer began Beechwood aging and which brewmaster tasted it multiple times throughout its brew cycle to ensure their beer meets Budweiser’s high quality standard.

“People respect Budweiser for its heritage, full flavor and legendary consistency,” said Rob McCarthy, vice president, Budweiser. “Budweiser has a great story, and we want to tell it in a new way that demonstrates the pride, passion and craftsmanship at our breweries that’s been the backbone of Budweiser for generations.”

The “Track Your Bud” platform includes a social application, available now on iTunes and later this week on Android Market, that integrates with Facebook to connect beer drinkers across the country with each other through the Budweiser they hold in their hand. Users also will be able to access video content, collect badges from each U.S. brewery and name batches of beer if they’re the first to track a beer from that particular batch.

In addition to its flagship brewery in St. Louis, “Track Your Bud” will showcase Budweiser’s state-of-the-art breweries in Merrimack, N.H.; Baldwinsville, N.Y.; Newark, N.J.; Williamsburg, Va.; Cartersville, Ga.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Columbus, Ohio; Houston, Texas; Fort Collins, Colo.; Fairfield, Calif.; and Los Angeles, Calif.

“There are a lot of great people behind every bottle of Budweiser, and ‘Track Your Bud’ gives our consumers a way to meet our brewmasters and see firsthand how passionate they are about making great beer,” said Jane Killebrew-Galeski, director of brewing, quality and innovation for Anheuser-Busch. “Because great beer starts with great ingredients, Track Your Bud also gives consumers insight into where Budweiser’s raw materials come from – which includes barley farms in Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin; and hop farms in Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Germany.”

The site also details other facts about the Budweiser brewing process, including that brewmasters use the original Budweiser yeast culture strain from 1876 and still practice the time-honored process of Beechwood aging, which was commonly used by German immigrants to the United States in the 19th Century. Anheuser-Busch is the only major brewer that continues to use Beechwood aging.

“There’s a lot of attention to detail that goes into making Budweiser,” McCarthy said. “Track Your Bud gives consumers transparency into how and where the beer is made and the brewmasters responsible for it all. Budweiser is a national brand, obviously, but our geographically diverse network of breweries and agricultural facilities also make us a local beer in so many places all across America, thanks to the people who make our beer and grow the ingredients. Track Your Bud highlights some of those people.”

Anheuser-Busch’s network of breweries and family of wholesalers give the company an advantage in getting the freshest beer possible to consumers. But if a consumer were to track a Budweiser through Track Your Bud that isn’t within the recommended freshness range, the program also offers a feedback mechanism to let Budweiser know.

“Track Your Bud” is the latest in a series of initiatives from the brand. In 2010, Budweiser introduced a unifying global creative campaign – “Grab Some Buds” – and last year debuted a new global packaging look designed to fortify Budweiser’s bond with consumers around the world and highlight Budweiser’s iconic bowtie.

For more information about the new Budweiser “Track Your Bud” program, check out www.TrackYourBud.com or download the app.

About Anheuser-Busch

Based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch is the leading American brewer, holding a 48.3 percent share of U.S. beer sales to retailers. The company brews the world’s largest-selling beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Anheuser-Busch also owns a 50 percent share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s leading brewer. Anheuser-Busch is a major manufacturer of aluminum cans and has been a leading aluminum recycler for more than 30 years. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the leading global brewer, and continues to operate under the Anheuser-Busch name and logo. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com.

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