An Anheuser-Busch executive says the brewer decided to end its sponsorship of the Busch Series and its role as official beer of NASCAR so it could devote more money to the entertainment and digital world, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Tony Ponturo, vice president of global media and sports/entertainment marketing for Anheuser-Busch, said in delivering the keynote speech Tuesday at the Online Media, Marketing & Advertising Conference & Expo that the company would increase its online media spending by 2 to 5 percent. That would amount to around $500 million, the Hollywood Reporter estimated. Also, while Ponturo said Anheuser-Busch wanted to end its official NASCAR sponsorships to spend money on advertising elsewhere, the Reporter said, “The company did not want to pay the higher sponsorship fees NASCAR was seeking.” The Reporter estimated Anheuser-Busch was spending around $15 million on its officials sponsorships, which it said is the same amount on its sponsorship of Gillett Evernham Motorsports and Kasey Kahne in 2008.(SceneDaily.com)(9-26-2007)
