Case Study · CPG · Live Brand Experience
Budweiser: 7+ Point Brand Power Improvement
How Emotion Intelligence helped Budweiser identify the experiential moments that build lasting brand connection — delivering a 7+ point improvement in brand power score from emotionally optimized live activations.
7+
Brand Power Points
The Challenge
Budweiser executes live brand experiences at scale — concerts, sporting events, cultural moments, and brand activations that place consumers in direct contact with the brand at its most expressive.
The challenge was connecting those experiential investments to brand outcomes. Brand tracking studies measure brand power at the market level — they can tell you whether your brand is growing or declining, but they can't tell you which specific activation elements drove the change, or how to replicate success.
Without insight into which moments actually created emotional connection versus passive attendance, the creative brief for the next activation was written on assumption — not evidence.
Ether's Approach
Ether deployed Emotion Intelligence measurement across Budweiser live activations, capturing emotional response at every stage of the consumer experience. Using Glimmers touchpoints embedded within the natural flow of the activation, the platform measured which moments created genuine emotional connection — the kind that builds brand memory and brand power.
01
Experience Mapping
Ether mapped the activation journey and identified the key emotional touchpoints — the moments most likely to create lasting brand associations.
02
Emotional Signal Capture
Glimmers measured consumer emotional response at each touchpoint in real time, identifying which moments drove peak emotional engagement and brand connection.
03
Brand Power Attribution
Emotional signal data was correlated with brand tracking outcomes, giving Budweiser's team a clear view of which activation elements drove brand power improvement.
The Results
7+
Brand Power Points
Activations optimized using Emotion Intelligence insight produced a 7+ point improvement in Budweiser's brand power score — a meaningful shift for a global brand where incremental brand power gains represent significant competitive advantage.
Beyond the number, Budweiser's team gained a replicable insight framework: a clear map of which activation elements create lasting brand connection versus which produce transient attention. That framework now shapes how activations are designed, briefed, and evaluated going forward.
The result is an experiential marketing program that compounds over time — each activation informed by the insight from the last, continuously building toward stronger brand power outcomes.
Measurement Methodology
Every Ether engagement follows the same four-step logic:
An experience created interaction
Budweiser live activations created high-energy consumer touchpoints at cultural and sporting events — exactly the environments where emotional brand connection is formed.
Emotion Intelligence interpreted emotional response
Glimmers captured in-moment emotional signals across the activation — measuring the intensity, valence, and memory encoding of each brand touchpoint.
Insight revealed intent and motivation
The platform identified which specific activation elements drove the strongest emotional connection to the brand — the kind of connection that builds brand power over time.
Business impact could be explained and defended
Brand power improvement was linked to specific activation moments, giving the Budweiser team defensible ROI data and an evidence-based brief for future activations.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Ether help Budweiser improve brand power by 7+ points?
Ether deployed Emotion Intelligence measurement across Budweiser brand activations and live experiences, capturing real-time emotional response from consumers during events. By identifying which specific activation elements drove the strongest emotional connection to the brand — and which fell flat — Budweiser's team could optimize the experience design to maximize brand power impact. The result was a 7+ point improvement in brand power score, directly attributable to the emotionally optimized activation approach.
What is brand power and how is it measured?
Brand power is a composite metric that reflects a brand's strength in the market — typically combining aided and unaided brand awareness, brand preference, consideration, and emotional affinity. Improvements in brand power score indicate that a brand is strengthening its position in consumers' minds relative to competitors. Emotion Intelligence contributes to brand power by identifying and amplifying the experiential moments that create the strongest emotional connection.
How does experiential marketing contribute to brand power for global brands like Budweiser?
For global CPG brands like Budweiser, experiential marketing creates direct, emotional encounters between consumers and the brand. Unlike advertising, which is passive, live experiences create personal memories — and memories formed with strong emotional charge are the most durable brand associations. By measuring which experiential moments create the strongest emotional encoding, Ether helps brands like Budweiser invest in the moments that build lasting brand power, not just short-term attention.
Ready to build lasting brand power?
See how Emotion Intelligence can turn your activations into a compounding brand power asset.