October 14, 1989

Anheuser-Busch to Be Major Force In Amusement Industry in Future  

By Vicki Vaughan and Susan G. Strother
Sentinel Staff Writers
(Reprinted in the Tulsa World)

There's a story in the U.S. beer industry that an executive at Miller Brewing Co. installed a carpet in his office bearing Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc.'s distinctive "A and Eagle" logo. The Miller executive said he wanted to "walk all over" Anheuser products.

It was a fantasy that didn't come true. In 1979, Anheuser was the biggest U.S. brewer, with a 26 percent market share that compared with No. 2 Miller's 20 percent. A decade later, it greatly increased its dominance.

From 1979 to 1989, Anheuser spent heavily on advertising and marketing to snare 42.8 percent of the U.S. beer market. By contrast, Miller, the next-biggest brewer, watched its market share grow only slightly in the decade, from 20 percent to 21.8 percent.

Central Florida tourism leaders and former Anheuser employees believe that Anheuser will bring its considerable marketing and advertising prowess to bear in the amusement industry, making it a competitor to reckon with in coming years.

In November, Anheuser is expected to complete its $1.1 billion purchase of six theme parks owned by Orlando-based Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc., including Sea World parks in Orlando; San Diego; Aurora, Ohio; and San Antonio, Texas. It also will buy Boardwalk and Baseball near Haines City and Cypress Gardens in Winter Haven, Fla.

After the sale, Anheuser will be the nation's second-largest operator of theme parks. Tourism experts say it is unlikely, however, that Anheuser will topple Walt Disney World from its No. 1 spot as the nation's top tourist attraction.

Barry Kenney, director of marketing at the Miami Metrozoo and Sea World's sales manager from 1972 to 1976, said, "People come to Orlando for Disney, and I don't think that will change."

The six HBJ parks that Anheuser is buying had about 21 million. That would still put Anheuser behind Walt Disney Co., which had 1988 attendance at its U.S. attractions of more than 37 million.

Anheuser now owns Busch Gardens "The Dark Continent" and a water park, Adventure Island, in Tampa, along with Sesame Place, a children's place, near Philadelphia, and Busch Gardens "The Old Country" in Williamsburg, Va.

Although theme parks represent only 2 percent of Anheuser's total sales, the company has long wanted to expand its entertainment business, for, despite its unquestioned dominance in brewing, the company faces a diminishing U.S. beer market in coming years.

Since 1981, beer consumption has dropped nearly 4 percent. Community reaction to drunken drivers, along with concerns about alcoholism, have resulted in declines in beer consumption per capita, a fact that beer makers began recognizing some years ago. Also, gains by Anheuser will be harder to come by in future years because the company has already pushed a number of smaller regional brewers out of the market.

And, as declining Michelob sales show, yesterday's beer drinkers have switched to imported beers and wines. The number of barrels of Michelob shipped last year fell more than 9 percent, while barrels of Michelob Light dropped 5 percent, said Jerry Steinman, publisher of "Beer Marketers Insight," a newsletter in West Nyack, N.Y.

To help offset declining beer sales, Anheuser has wanted to expand its entertainment empire. Even before it agreed to buy the HBJ parks, the company had become more aggressive in the field. It announced in May that it will build a $300 million theme park near Barcelona, Spain.

Anheuser's theme parks are now a small part of the company. Their sales for this year are projected to be about $194 million, while operating profit _ projected to be $25 million _ will be about 2 percent of the company's total earnings.

John Gerner, a principal at the Fort Lauderdale office of Economics Research Association, a leisure-time consulting company based in Los Angeles, said, "As happened with smoking, Anheuser feared that people were going to cut back" on beer-drinking.

As early as the late 1970s, Gerner said, "they have been looking for the right (entertainment) property to come along. The HBJ parks were the right ones."

Gerner, who worked for Busch Gardens in Tampa and in Williamsburg, Va., as a productivity supervisor from 1977 to 1984, said Anheuser looked at acquiring Six Flags Corp. in the late 1970s and a few years later considered buying Opryland, the entertainment and hotel complex in Nashville, Tenn.

Former employees and tourism leaders say it is too soon to tell what changes Anheuser will bring to the parks, but they are certain that it won't be afraid to spend money on capital improvements or on advertising.

Many Florida tourism leaders have speculated that Anheuser will sell off Boardwalk and Baseball, Cypress Gardens and perhaps even Sea World of Texas in San Antonio. Attendance is weakest at those three parks.

But in a earlier interview, W. Randolph Baker, president of Busch Entertainment, said the company has no plans to sell any of the six HBJ parks after the sale closes in November. Busch Entertainment is Anheuser's family entertainment subsidiary.

If changes do occur at the HBJ parks, they likely will be made with deliberation.

Rod Caborn, the marketing director at Busch Gardens in Tampa from 1975 to 1982, said Busch Entertainment "doesn't have instant solutions. They will walk around a problem many times and study it carefully before looking for quick solutions."

He emphasized that the entertainment division "has the resources and the willingness to advertise and promote the parks." Caborn is now a partner at the public-relations firm Curley & Pynn in Orlando.

Baker of Busch Entertainment said recently that Anheuser will certainly sell more of its beers inside the parks _ some are sold there already.

But experts said Anheuser may never link Shamu the killer whale, Sea World's signature draw, to the company's beers in advertisements.

Although visitors to Sea World parks will likely see more brands of Anheuser for sale there, Gerner of ERA said, they "won't walk and see big posters that say 'Drink Budweiser.' (Cypress Gardens already sells Busch and Budweiser, Baker said, while Sea World sells Michelob.)

Gerner added, "You won't see Shamu jumping over a beer can. They will never emphasize the beers too heavily."

That is because Anheuser wants to market its parks to families, Gerner said, and "they are very careful not to risk damaging that reputation."

Copyright © 1989, Orlando Sentinel.