Briefs

CNN (Feb 25, 2004) reports on Anheuser-Busch successful efforts on using data mining for beer marketing. (Ed: no relation to the famous diapers and beer story here)

... Nightly data feeds from beer distributors allow Anheuser-Busch managers to constantly adjust production and fine-tune marketing campaigns. ...

The last time you bought a six-pack of Bud Light at the Piggly Wiggly, Anheuser servers most likely recorded what you paid, when that beer was brewed, whether you purchased it warm or chilled, and whether you could have gotten a better deal down the street.

Anheuser uses the data to constantly change marketing strategies, to design promotions to suit the ethnic makeup of its markets, and as early warning radar that detects where rivals might have an edge.

"If Anheuser-Busch loses shelf space in a store in Clarksville, Tennessee, they know it right away," says Joe Thompson, president of Independent Beverage Group, a research and consulting firm. "They're better at this game than anyone, even Coca-Cola (KO)."

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Here is the rest of the story.