The brewer Anheuser-Busch, one of the world’s biggest sports sponsors, will increase its spend on sports properties this year, but not by much. The company is targeting opportunities the recession has opened up where other companies have vacated the sports industry.
Reuters reports Dan McHugh, Anheuser-Busch’s vice president of media, sponsorship and activation, saying, “It’s slightly up. We’re not talking about dramatic numbers.
“In this environment ... for us to say we’re actually increasing our spend against sports in ‘09 is a pretty incredible story.”
Keith Levy, Anheuser-Busch’s vice president of marketing, said, “It is a bit of an opportunity to make your dollars go a bit further as you find other big sports sponsorships or other marketers coming out of certain properties or reducing.”
