XPost: misc.consumers, alt.politics.homosexuality, alt.transgendered   
   XPost: alt.politics.republicans, talk.politics.guns, sac.politics   
   From: esg-dei@gmail.com   
      
   Bud Light’s multinational parent company AB InBev, the world’s largest   
   beer producer by volume, is eating an American-size portion of humble pie.   
      
   In reference to the ongoing boycott that has decimated sales of the once-   
   dominant U.S. lager, the megabrewer’s global chief marketing officer   
   indirectly admitted on Monday that his team had failed in an attempt to   
   broaden the brand’s appeal beyond its core demographic.   
      
   A single Instagram post using transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney to   
   promote the beer to less “fratty” consumers resulted in a catastrophic   
   plunge in sales. Even the support of country music icon Garth Brooks   
   couldn’t prevent America’s favorite beer from losing the crown to Modelo   
   Especial in the month of May, the first full month of the impromptu   
   boycott.   
      
   “In times like this, when things get divisive and controversial so easily,   
   I think it’s an important wake-up call to all of us marketers, for us to   
   be very humble,” said Marcel Marcondes, addressing an audience of peers in   
   Cannes, according to trade publication AdWeek.   
      
   The native Brazilian was in the south of France on Monday to accept on   
   behalf of AB InBev a coveted “Lion” award as the most creative marketer   
   the second year running—the only brand to earn this distinction in the 69-   
   year history of the advertising world’s version of the Oscars.   
      
   The organization praised its “reputation for producing brave creative and   
   innovative marketing solutions,” citing how its U.S. operations served as   
   a best practice blueprint for other territories. It announced the award in   
   mid-March, about two weeks before the April 1 post by Mulvaney on   
   Instagram sparked controversy.   
      
   Management needs to ‘really understand’ Bud Light consumers   
   With the 2024 election season already effectively underway, business has   
   found itself in the crosshairs of the political debate as Republicans and   
   Democrats clash over the question of whether corporations should serve any   
   deeper purpose beyond earning profits for shareholders.   
      
   “It’s tough to see all the controversial and divisive debates happening in   
   the U.S. the last couple of weeks involving lots of brands and companies,   
   including, especially, Bud Light,” Marcondes noted, saying his company was   
   reminding itself of the need “to really understand our customers.”   
      
   While other companies like Target and Starbucks have been thrust into the   
   spotlight as a result of Pride Month, Bud Light unwittingly became the   
   focal point of a broader conservative backlash over diversity and LGBTQ   
   issues in particular.   
      
   Last month the Wall Street Journal went so far as to call it a “case study   
   in how not to handle a culture-war storm,” while analysts at JPMorgan   
   believed there is a “subset of American consumers who will not drink a Bud   
   Light for the foreseeable future.”   
      
   One possible reason why the boycott of Bud Light has been so successful   
   compared to other attempts to punish companies that step out of line is   
   that most ubiquitous, mass produced beers compete on the strength of their   
   brand image and can be readily substituted.   
      
   By comparison, an attempt by progressives to boycott a Harry Potter video   
   game backfired, creating more awareness for what critics called a uniquely   
   immersive experience exploring JK Rowling's Hogwarts School of Witchcraft   
   and Wizardry.   
      
   New ad campaign along with financial aid for distributors   
   At the start of June, an Anheuser-Busch president in charge of sales and   
   distribution that left the company last year warned his former employer it   
   now faced the risk of losing retailer shelf space permanently to other   
   rivals like Miller Lite if it didn’t act soon to stop the bleeding.   
      
   Two weeks later, the CEO of AB InBev’s U.S. arm announced fresh measures   
   to recapture sales with a new summer advertising scheduled to launch in   
   the course of this week.   
      
   “You can look forward to Bud Light reinforcing what you’ve always loved   
   about our brand,” Brendan Whitworth said in a statement last Thursday.   
      
   He also said the company would provide financial assistance to its   
   independent wholesalers. According to a report by ABC News, the typical   
   salespeople at one Florida distributor that wished to remain anonymous   
   lost roughly $2,000 worth of commissions as their sales of Bud Light   
   plummeted by as much as 60% over Memorial Day.   
      
   For Whitworth, time is of the essence. On July 4th, Americans across the   
   country gather to celebrate one of the most hallowed holidays in the U.S.   
   calendar, Independence Day.   
      
   This story was originally featured on Fortune.com   
      
   https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/ab-inbev-s-chief-marketing-exec-   
   calls-boycott-over-its-bud-light-beer-an-important-wake-up-call/ar-   
   AA1cNMwl?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=3fc4ea0aad4f4e288f65d75a679e95ab&ei=32   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)