The original beer war has been between Budweiser Budvar and Budweiser. At stake, the iconic name Budweiser. Wikipedia’s definition for the name is:  A German adjective describing something or someone from the city of České Budějovice (German: Budweis) in Southern Bohemia, Czech Republic.

Both these 2 breweries are reluctant to give up its trademarked name. In 1907 a settlement was reached where Anheuser Busch was allowed to market the Budweiser name on its beer in the US while being forced to use Bud in marketing collateral in France and confusingly enough, share the name “Budweiser“ with Budvar in the UK. Back and forth they have gone in the court system. Semantics of the dispute are whether to call your brand the “Original” or “Official” Budweiser.

Well, Budvar has a new approach and that’s leveraging social media. Using their facebook page, they are encouraging UK consumers to “like” their page and have a chance to join a  panel of 200 consumers for a  virtual taste test and win a trip to the Czech Republic. Taste tests work, just ask Miller Lite and their campaign against Bud Light in the early 90’s. I recently wrote an article emphasizing this new trend of Virtual Tasting. Click for the article here.

Both brands are storied with tradition and history. Budvar is reaching young consumers in an interactive and non intrusive manner. They are “fishing where the fish” are on facebook.  Instead of having the courts decide, they are smart by having consumers decide. The campaign is deemed “Judgment Day.” A key advantage Budvar might exploit is there twitter feed: @BudvarUK. Both breweries have an account with friends, yet Anhesuer Busch’s Budweiser has yet to tweet and interact with fans. Creating a dialogue with consumers should give Budvar an edge.