Anheuser-Busch Rolls Out Club Bud In Beijing
Budweiser is ready to roll out the red carpet and throw down in Beijing.
The beer company and Beijing Games sponsor will open its largest Olympic party venue ever tonight in the northeast part of the city, giving journalists a first look at Club Bud during a viewing party for the opening ceremony. Company executives hope the venue becomes the highlight of Olympic nightlife.
In Beijing, Budweiser has doubled the size, the invite list and number of parties it will throw at Club Bud. The first Club Bud for Torino 2006 was 1,800 square meters, held 1,000 people and hosted four parties, but Beijing’s is 3,600 square meters, holds 2,000 people and will host eight parties.
Club Bud helped raise the brand’s awareness in Italy, and executives expect it to do the same in China, where it has been worked into point-of-sale promotions in Shanghai and Guangzhou. Budweiser held a sweepstakes that will give 170 people from each city a flight to Beijing, tickets to an event and a night at Club Bud.
“To set something up like this in Beijing where we’re not as strong as we are in Shanghai and the south of the country has allowed us to have a presence in this market and start establishing the brand a little bit,” said Bruce Hudson, senior director of international sports marketing.
The Beijing parties will run from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. and be held every odd day during the Olympic Games. The guest list for parties will include athletes, local celebrities, customers and hospitality guests.
The opening party is the MTV China party on Saturday, Aug. 9. It will be followed by theme nights featuring each Feng Shui element (metal, wood, water, fire and earth), a red dragon and a gold medal celebration.
“There are certainly American elements to the club, like the dance floor, but it was important for us to integreate some of the Chinese culture into what we’re doing,” said Mike Thompson, senior manager of international sports marketing. “We really wanted to expose some of our international guests to the culture of China.”
The 2008 Club Bud is located in the National Agricultural Exhibition, a massive conference center that is roughly four stories high. Invited guests will walk down a red carpet past a barricade and stage for the media before entering a circular grand entryway.
A bar with two draft towers for Budweiser are on the far side of the room and a 360-degree video screen encircles the room. The screen will feature images tied to the theme for each party.
“This is the area that sets the mood for the evening,” Thompson said. “The minute people come in they will get a sense of what the evening will feel like.”
From the lobby, guests can exit to one of three areas: a club area, a lounge area or an outdoors area with a swimming pool. Each has its own bar and DJ booth.
The club area features 18 seating areas with the classic Budweiser red seats wrapped around low coffee tables. A DJ booth at the far end of the room is flanked by two LED screens that will feature video mixed by the DJ throughout the party.
“This is the heartbeat of Club Bud,” Thompson said.
The lounge area is on the opposite side of the grand entryway. It features more traditional Chinese themes. Bamboo rises from spaces in the floor and statues of Bhudda and a replica of a terracotta warrior sit on coffee tables adjacent to seating areas. Floor-to-ceiling posters feature images of the Great Wall and fishermen on the Yangtze River.
“This is an area more conducive to hanging out with friends,” Thompson said.
A door leads from the lounge area outdoors and features a canopied bar, lounge chairs and a swimming pool. A large screen covers a fence behind the pool and features a beach scene with the word Budweiser scribbled in the sand.
Image Design Studio out of Italy designed the club.
Budweiser Sales Up In Beijing
Anheuser-Busch sales were up 36 percent last week in Beijing compared with the same week a year ago, and executives credit the Beijing Games with helping pump up sales.
“How’s that for some ROI, huh?,” Hudson said.
