Well, news to us, but MDC Partners-owned Vitro has been tapped to handle a redesign of Budweiser.com, and here is the end result. From what sources tell us, there was a pitch for the business, which has been worked on by the likes of Anomaly–but note that Vitro’s remit calls just for the redesign, not actual site content. We’ve put in inquiries to Anomaly, which as far as we know is still on Bud’s agency roster, but have yet to hear back. For you techies and/or curious folks out there, here’s what Vitro accomplished, verbatim, for Budweiser’s refurbished site:
“As for our thinking, we set out to create a global web property for Budweiser that positions the brand as a patron and catalyst of great times. We wanted to create a dynamic and easy-to-update site/’publishing platform’ that can keep up with the the myriad of activities Budweiser is involved in, and is a part of. We knew we must be action driving (driving engagement with our young customer base, both physically and digitally), allow for quick interactions, maintain a ‘live’ feeling, and provide richness in terms of content, visuals and community. So, Budweiser.com is meant to serve as a quick stop for a ‘great times’ dose, a snapshot of the Bud world and community, a starting point for great experiences, a passion platform for the brand.
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In order to achieve the above, we focused on a flexible visual experience that meets the demands of any browser. You’ll find responsive design and parallax scrolling throughout, which help make transitions smoother and, we think, more enjoyable to the eye. content filtering is also taken up a notch, letting visitors easily find the areas of the site most interesting to them.
There’s also a bit of magic happening on the back end, which we designed specifically to meet the brand’s needs. Scalability was vital here because the plan is to roll the site out globally, meaning lots of varied content across markets – which can be a challenge to monitor. One feature we included is a content index, making sure we know what content is enjoyed most, allowing the site administrator to constantly adapt the site content. And if a piece of content is hot in the US and Australian wants to publish on their site, we planned features like content sharing across markets into the back end to meet those needs.”
Update: Sources familiar with the matter tell us that Anomaly has never handled web work for Budweiser. That side of the business, from what we’re hearing, has been left in the past to AKQA and another, yet-to-be determined St. Louis agency.