A few days back, I gave August Busch IV, chief executive "everything" of the monolithic megabrewing assassin Anheuser-Busch, a hard time for prattling on in CEO-speak about his company's sterling performance.
Hide that Cabernet: High octane Busch (no, not "Bush") blather.
I yawned, and two readers differed, which is not a bad thing at all, but permit me to reiterate that while captains of our surging craft beer industry might well be able to speak such an obtuse language and even comprehend some of the impenetrable jargon, it's likely that they don't enjoy doing so any more than Czechs and Hungarians cherished speaking Russian in the company of their Soviet hegemonists circa 1984.
That's because craft brewers have another option: Waxing rhapsodic about the praiseworthy products they've had a hand in creating, and doing so in a way that Bud Light will never hear itself wooed.
Then there's this concise statement of brewing and marketing principle, as provided to the world by the good people at Founders Brewing Company in Michigan. Makes me wish I’d thought of it.
To bring you truly great beer, we have focused our efforts to one simple pursuit ... ignore mainstream.
We brew the beer we want to drink.
In this pursuit we have found lower efficiencies, higher cost, less yields and smaller market share. This may seem like an unsound business model, but in our pursuit for bigger and better beer we have discovered a subculture of microbrewery aficionados. People like you, who enjoy beers that push the envelope of creativity.
Amen, brothers. Anyone up for a Founders night at NABC/Rich O’s/Sportstime?
Hint: Four Sticks isn’t on the invitation list … and no sum of his company’s donations to charity stands to be able to change that fact.
How’s that for a successful “improvement initiative?”
Showing posts with label August Busch IV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label August Busch IV. Show all posts
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Hide that Cabernet: High octane Busch (no, not "Bush") blather.
Enjoy this clearly rendered, impassioned testimony from former Bulgarian communist leader Todor Zhivkov … no, wait; it’s actually emanating from the personal word processor of Anheuser-Busch’s somewhat boy wonderish August “Four Sticks” Busch, the company’s head honcho, and he who is incessantly promoted by the corporation's Pyongyang-educated shills as a specialist in all aspects of beer.
Didn’t he invent the aluminum alloy used in the company’s cans? Maybe, maybe not, but as this paragraph clearly illustrates, he sure knows how to talk pretty about beer.
"The positive outlook is based on the favourable pricing environment, our broadened US beer portfolio to access high-margin growth opportunities, successful productivity improvement initiatives that are mitigating cost pressures and enhanced earnings contributions from our international beer segment."
Gee. If that's not love, I don't know what is.
Didn’t he invent the aluminum alloy used in the company’s cans? Maybe, maybe not, but as this paragraph clearly illustrates, he sure knows how to talk pretty about beer.
"The positive outlook is based on the favourable pricing environment, our broadened US beer portfolio to access high-margin growth opportunities, successful productivity improvement initiatives that are mitigating cost pressures and enhanced earnings contributions from our international beer segment."
Gee. If that's not love, I don't know what is.
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