AB InBev stealthily builds its own in-house creative agency

According to reports, Anheuser-Busch InBev has been building its own in-house creative agency, Draftline.

It seems that the agency uses “data-driven insights to produce creative that is more local and personalized with greater agility”.

Marketing Dive reports that the company has currently 50 employees and after initially focusing on digital and social, the company is now expanding its focus.

It now works on packaging, cans, sign-making, out-of-home, digital video, GIFs, memes, display, data collection and audience segmentation,

They will also focus on email marketing, radio, programmatic media buying, analytics, influencer marketing, social listening, community management and more.

The agency has now worked on more than 42 brands in the company’s portfolio.

Anheuser-Busch’s move to create its own agency is in response to the industry wide push towards data driven marketing.

Other companies such as PepsiCo also revealed recently that it was building its own in-house media planning team with a focus on CRM, ad tech and data.

Apparently, Draftline has been constructing a significant creative team, it will be focused more on branding than in-house strategies focused on data, social and media planning.

As more companies look towards in-house moves in a bid to cut costs and save on overheads that are commonly attributed to outside agencies and partners, there are of course greater concerns as well.

For a long time, there has been a lack of transparency in agency fees and digital media supply chains.

Most recently, P&G famously saved nearly US$ 1 billion in agency fees and production costs by moving businesses to in-house departments.

Reinvesting savings into marketing, the company has also seen a sales boost in terms of its product lines as well.

João Chueiri, who is leading Draftline, has been actively rethinking how AB InBev can help save the legacy of its most popular brands.

Recently, he discussed how a focus on creating curated, localized experiential promotions can create lasting impressions with consumers.

By building culturally-led experiences in sports arenas, music venues and elsewhere, he said that brands could get attention in ways that traditional sponsorship and advertising can’t in the digital age.

Source: Marketing Dive