Digital Publishing
1 min read

Brand as publisher: Is Anheuser-Busch InBev’s investment in beer magazines risky?

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Brands are increasingly getting into the storytelling business, and that means that content has arguably never been more important to them.

While this has fuelled the rise of spend in content marketing, some brands are taking their content investments a step further by investing in content-focused websites that serve their markets.

For example, Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer, runs a venture arm called ZX Ventures that has quietly funded a number of beer websites, including RateBeer and Pitchfork’s October. The latter is owned by Conde Nast.

ZX Ventures’ investment in RateBeer was apparently made in October of last year, but only became widely publicized last week by Good Beer Hunting, an unaffiliated craft beer website, after some LinkedIn sleuthing.

RateBeer bills itself as the “most in-depth, accurate, and one of the most-visited source for beer information.” With a focus on craft brewing, it offers its users the ability to rate and review beer as well as businesses that serve beer, such as bars and breweries. It also operates community forums and publishes news stories.

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