Are Canadian Men Experiencing a Friendship Recession? Budweiser Canada Champions the Importance of Male Friendships
- The inaugural Budweiser Friendship Survey provides Canadian-specific insights around male friendships, highlighting that most men see their friends less in-person as they get older.
- To raise awareness nationally, the brand is giving away 20,000 restaurant gift cards to inspire buds getting together.
TORONTO, July 26, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, in advance of International Friendship Day on July 30, Budweiser Canada released the Budweiser Friendship Survey, conducted by Ipsos (June 2023)*, which found that almost 70 per cent of men see their friends less in-person as they get older.
Based on internal research, 34 per cent of beer servings were consumed alone in 2022 in Canada, an increase of 14 per cent over the last decade. As the leading beer brand in Canada known for bringing buds together, this prompted the question: are Canadian men getting together less with their friends? This sparked Budweiser to seek external, third-party insights to shed light on male friendship trends today.
The Budweiser Friendship Survey – which surveyed over 1,000 men across Canada of legal drinking age or above – found that almost 80 per cent say they have close friends, but that the majority see them less in-person as they get older. Additionally, half (50 per cent), stated that they see their friends once a month or less, proving male friendships exist, but they're missing opportunities to get together.
Further, three-quarters (75 per cent), of respondents expressed that spending quality time with their close friends improves their overall well-being. The data also found, that when male friends do get together, eating a meal/having a drink at someone's house or out at a restaurant/bar are the preferred activities (71 per cent).
"There's no denying that as people get older – especially men – they see their friends less, but it doesn't have to be this way," said David Sheedy, Senior Marketing Director, Budweiser Canada. "Thanks to our data, we now know that men feel spending quality time with friends improves their wellbeing, so as a leading brand in Canada, Budweiser is aiming to inspire friends nationally to make time for their buds."
With this in mind, Budweiser Canada is encouraging men of legal drinking age to take action with their newest campaign.
- To tease the launch, the brand temporarily removed "Bud" from its social channels, partnership branding with Sportsnet, as well as a limited run of its iconic bottle labels, turning key visuals of 'Budweiser' (or rather _weiser), into a reminder to connect with your buds.
- To help amplify the message, Budweiser released a powerful hero film interviewing several Canadian men, which emphasizes how important friends are in our lives. View the spot here.
- To create a call-to-action for Canadian men, the brand launched a new website that provides incentives and text reminders for those who sign up to connect with their friends, highlighting the importance of comradery. To learn more, visit: ThatsWhatBudsDo.ca.
- To engage consumers nationally, Budweiser is giving away $25 restaurant gift cards to 20,000 Canadians who sign up on the website to further inspire spending time with a bud.
- Canadians can also visit the site for the chance to win additional prizes such as tickets to remaining 2023 Budweiser Stage concerts and Toronto Blue Jays games, Budweiser branded merch, and other surprise and delight opportunities throughout the summer (some exclusions will apply, see site for details).
"Male friendships are often described as 'shoulder to shoulder' meaning we get together through structured activities, like watching sports," said Sheedy. "Our goal is to motivate men to deepen their connections and turn expressions like, 'let's grab a beer' into action. We hope consumers coast-to-coast take advantage of our ticket giveaways and gift card offerings to enjoy a beer with their friends this summer, because that's what buds do."
For more insights from the Budweiser Friendship Survey, see below:
Be sure to follow @BudweiserCanada on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and head to ThatsWhatBudsDo.ca for your chance to get your buds together.
About Budweiser Canada
Budweiser – the King of Beers – has been brewed since 1876 under the highest quality standards. Brewed in Canada for more than 35 years, Budweiser uses only the finest ingredients without any artificial ingredients, additives or preservatives. Budweiser is distinguished by its clean, crisp, distinctive flavour, the result of a unique beechwood aging process. As the perception of no- and low-alcohol beer evolves and the category continues to grow, the iconic Budweiser now also offers a new beer to meet consumers' ever-changing preferences: Budweiser Zero.
*Survey Methodology: Budweiser Friendship Survey, conducted by Ipsos Canada. The Budweiser Friendship Survey, an omnibus study of 1,000 males LDA+ that was conducted online across Canada from June 19th to 21st, 2023. The results are considered accurate to within +/- 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
SOURCE Budweiser Canada
Veronica Bart, Senior Communications Manager, Labatt Breweries of Canada, [email protected], 647-926-5028; James Lamont, Vice President, Veritas Communications, [email protected], 416-859-5870
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