Summary:

To prove the business case for its green ambitions, hold fast to corporate leadership in the sustainability space, and demonstrate the commercial upside of green business, Anheuser-Busch needed more than a marketing campaign. It needed a completely revolutionary business model.

Background:

Introduced in 2018, Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold could meet this emergent market and demonstrate progress against Anheuser-Busch’s 2025 UN Sustainability Goals commitments. America’s first nationally-distributed beer using USDA-certified organic ingredients, Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold, was a hit. 300% sales growth after its first year kickstarted a crowded organic beer category.

Context:

Anheuser-Busch InBev is the 96th largest company globally. Sustainability represents a massive opportunity. 90% of consumers believe buying organic is more important than ever.

Creative Challenge:

How does the biggest beer brand in the world protect its new, disruptive success story from competition while encouraging an entire industry to follow its push into organic?

Solution:

To sustain triple volume growth for Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold we would need to attract more organic beer buyers. To satisfy their thirst for more sustainable choices, we would need more and more organic ingredients to brew.

Execution:

Fact: Sales of organic food and beverages grew 20% from 2019 to 2020. Despite surging demand, farmers are reluctant to go organic.

Insight: Farmers told us that the organic transition takes three difficult, expensive years. They worried they didn’t have the know-how, that reduced yields during the transition would decimate their earnings, that they wouldn’t find a buyer in an unfamiliar market once they earned organic certification. And there was no help available.

Strategy: Use ABI’s market power to reduce farmers’ risk while going organic to expand the supply of organic ingredients to fuel future growth and enlisting beer drinkers to prove the good created when sustainability drives business forward.

Execution: Proving that sustainability is a business model not a buzzword, we created Contract For Change, a revolutionary, long-term investment in organic. The Contract equips farmers for the organic transition by addressing the three biggest barriers they face:

? Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold commits to being their first organic customer after growers complete the three-year transition to restore the soil on their farms to a natural, organic state.

? During that three-year period of reduced yields and increased operating costs, Anheuser-Busch pledges to buy their transitional crops for use in non-organic beers at a 25% premium so farmers don’t lose money while transitioning.

? By signing the Contract For Change, participating growers receive in-depth organic training and support from our partner organizations, giving them essential new skills and knowledge to thrive as organic growers.

Then, we used Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold’s platform (and Anheuser-Busch’s marketing muscle) to amplify our pro-organic message and invite consumers to participate. Our 6 For 6 Pack Super Bowl spot pledged to convert six square feet of farmland to organic for every six pack of Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold purchased.