Budweiser cuts beer prices based on St. Louis heat waves

Dive Brief:

Budweiser is running a Budweiser Chill Zone Giveaway social media promotion in St. Louis and will drop the price of beer and give away prizes based on the weather, according to details the company shared with Marketing Dive.
Every time the temperature hits 100 degrees or above in July, the Anheuser-Busch brew will award 25 social media followers in Missouri with prizes ranging from inflatable pools and lawn chairs to $20 gift cards for ice.
When the weather in St. Louis reaches surpasses 95 degrees, Budweiser will drop the price of its Bud Ice line by $1 for each degree above 95.

Dive Insight:

Budweiser's weather-driven promotion aims to drum up business in July in a playful manner that makes the most of hot days by offering discounts on cold beer.

The promotion leans into the season's hottest months in AB InBev's hometown and celebrates the dog days of summer with prizes that may compel people to follow the brand on social media. The campaign may become natural fodder online, where people often commiserate and share how they are coping with hot summer temperatures. The Chill Zone Giveaway kicks off after the Fourth of July holiday — the Black Friday of beer sales — as a way to build on the holiday's momentum and promote summer beer drinking even as many people remain close to home due to the pandemic.

Time-sensitive promotions based on external inputs create a kind of urgency and in-the-moment demand. The campaign follows a similar effort by Busch Beer from January. The fellow AB InBev brand ran a campaign to offer $1 off a case of beer per every inch of snow that fell in seven Midwest cities. By tying the promotion to the weather, the beer seller gave consumers a playful way to enjoy frigid temperatures in a region known for brutal winters.

Similarly, Alaska Airlines has run promotions based on external factors like weather. The airline ran a Swell deals campaign offering discounts on last-minute flights to Hawaii based on wave swells in November during off-peak travel times. Two months later, the airline ran a similar promotion offering discounts on flights to Alaska based on the expected intensity of the northern lights, the natural light show that appears in the night sky of polar regions.