It would appear that the rumors of the death of Bud.TV have – in the words of Mark Twain – “been greatly exaggerated.”
The Wall Street Journal (subscription) reports, “Despite earlier suggestions that it might scrap its struggling online entertainment channel, Anheuser-Busch has decided instead to revamp the Web site to make it edgier.”
Instead of reinventing the way consumers – particularly young male consumers who drink beer – use the Internet, A-B seems to have figured out those web surfers already know how they want websites to work.
While during the site’s rollout Anheuser-Busch touted its slickly produced original content, Bud.TV will also now begin pulling videos and content from other sites. Its aim is to become an aggregator of cool information for beer drinkers. One idea the brewer is toying with: a “joke of the day.” Anheuser-Busch is also hoping to have Bud.TV content appear on other sites such as YouTube and Yahoo as a way to drive traffic.
A-B need look no further than Rogue Ales for an idea how to do that right.