USA, TX: AB InBev opening an Austin office to tap into region's marketing talent

Beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev is coming to Austin to tap into the region's marketing talent, the Austin American Statesman reported on August 20.

The St. Louis-based company has chosen Austin as one of four cities for what it calls "regional consumer hubs" for marketing efforts. The other hubs will be in St. Louis, Los Angeles and Miami.

The Austin office will open in downtown this fall, with plans to start with a team of 20 employees in the first year, Marcel Marcondes, Anheuser-Busch chief marketing officer, told the American-Statesman. The office will consist of a mix of existing employees and new hires, with the goal of growing over time, he said.

"These new hubs will give us a great advantage in two ways," Marcondes said. "First, it helps us get even closer to consumers by unlocking deeper insights into local consumer tastes and preferences. And second, the new offices have the added benefit of increasing flexibility and opportunity for our teams and allowing us to hire more local talent."

While Anheuser-Busch will maintain its central marketing site in New York, the new hubs will allow the company to better connect with customers, Marcondes said.

“The regional hubs will be home to multifunctional marketing teams in roles such as insights, innovation, digital, and analytics that will inform our strategies both locally and nationally," he said. "These hubs will also become an important part of our culture. And just like our office in New York City, they will take on some of the personality of these amazing cities.”

Marcondes said Austin fits with Anheuser-Busch's new marketing strategy.

"Austin was a natural choice for a regional consumer hub because it’s a growing community that’s brimming with local talent, and already well known as a tech and innovation center of excellence," he said.

"We chose cities that we believe will dictate the trends of the future, where consumers are already influencing culture. The closer we are to consumers in these key markets, the better positioned we’ll be to lead future growth," he said.

Anheuser-Busch is among a recent number of companies opening shop in Austin to tap into the labor market. This week, financial tech giant Green Dot announced it is relocating is headquarters from Pasadena, Calif., to Austin.

Corporate and individual migration to the metro area continue to be a driver for Austin's economy, according to research firm JLL.

"Of the 53 headquarters that left California in the first half of 2021, 20% of those companies chose to relocate to Austin," JLL said in a recent report.

Anheuser-Busch merged with Belgium’s InBev in 2008 in a $52 billion deal. The combined company is now Anheuser-Busch InBev, and Anheuser-Busch operates as a subsidiary of the beverage conglomerate.

The Belgium-based company's portfolio includes over 400 beer brands, including Budweiser, Corona, Michelob and Stella Artois.

Anheuser-Busch has seen a sales decrease across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region amid stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic. The company has also faced logistical challenges during the pandemic, such as rising transportation prices and procuring cans.

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