New reports indicate Bud Light is in “serious trouble” as the boycott on the company continues. According to industry experts, the backlash has put such a dent in Bud Light’s sales it could even lose its status as the top-selling beer.
In early April, Bud Light enacted a controversial brand sponsorship with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney. Since then, a massive boycott among conservatives has led to a significant decrease in sales. Fox News reported:
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published a scathing story, “Bud Light sales continue to plummet after transgender marketing controversy,” that put a spotlight on the massive decline.
Bud Light in-store sales have dropped 26% during the week that ended April 22, the Post-Dispatch reported, citing data from Connecticut-based Bump Williams Consulting, which specializes in the beverage alcohol industry.
Conservative commentator Collin Rugg weighed in on Bud Light’s collapsing sales figures. He tweeted, “Absolutely insane. The Bud Light boycott is working. Bud Light sales (outside of restaurants and bars) are down 26.1% for the week ending in April 22nd compared to the previous year. Sales were down 21.1% for the week prior. Volumes are down 8% for the year. Coors Light and Miller Light are picking up the slack as their volume was up 13.3% percent 13.6% for the same time frame. Go woke go broke.”
Absolutely insane. The Bud Light boycott is working.
Bud Light sales (outside of restaurants and bars) are down 26.1% for the week ending in April 22nd compared to the previous year.
Sales were down 21.1% for the week prior.
Volumes are down 8% for the year.
Coors Light and… pic.twitter.com/8lM7Y0MwMT
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 2, 2023
Bump Williams, CEO of Bump Williams Consulting, noted that Bud Light is still the top-selling beer in the country, but it could soon lose this status if it can’t get a handle on the decline in sales. Williams said, “Bud Light is in serious trouble this year. I think it runs the risk of losing that No. 1 position at the end of calendar year 2023 to Modelo Especial,”
The problem started for Bud Light when VP of Marketing Alissa Heinerscheid decided to make the beer a more “inclusive” brand. She said, “So I had this super clear mandate, like we need to evolve and elevate this incredibly iconic brand and my what I brought to that was a belief in okay, what is what are we what does evolve and elevate mean? It means inclusivity it means shifting the tone. It means having a campaign that’s truly inclusive and feels lighter and brighter and different and appeals to women and to men and representation is it sort of the heart of evolution, you got to see people who reflect you in the work and we have a hangover.” Heinerscheid continued, “I mean, Bud Light had been kind of a brand of Friday. Kind of out of touch humor, and it was really important that we had another approach.”
Meet Alissa Heinerscheid, Bud Light’s VP of Marketing. She explains her strategy of using “inclusive” marketing to promote the brand to young people. pic.twitter.com/hFpe8YnbBc
— Catch Up (@CatchUpFeed) April 9, 2023
Alissa Heinerscheid and her boss, Daniel Blake, who oversees marketing for Anheuser-Busch’s brands, have both taken a leave of absence after the disastrous Mulvaney marketing promotion that has cost their company so much. Reportedly, Anheuser-Busch has hired consultants in conservative organizations to advise the brand going forward. Bud Light learned the hard way that ignoring your customer base to pursue a woke agenda is not good for business. Perhaps other companies will take note.
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