7/8/23 – – Not to beat a dead Clydesdale, but things are not looking any brighter for Bud Light.
Sales of the troubled Anheuser-Busch brand heading into the Fourth of July holiday, a make-or-break period for brewers, were estimated to be down almost 30 percent. And Mexican light beer Modelo Especial has dethroned Bud Light as the top-selling beer in America — a position Bud Light had held comfortably for two decades.
(Warning to anyone boycotting Bud Light: Although Modelo Especial is distributed in the U.S. by Constellation Brands, its parent company Grupo Modelo, which also brews Corona, is owned by AB InBev, the Belgium-based parent of Anheuser-Busch.)
So far, all efforts by Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth to address the “Dylan Mulvaney controversy” and slow plummeting sales have failed. Bud Light customers feel insulted and betrayed. So do individuals supporting the transgender community. Both groups are demanding an apology from the company.
Whitworth, trying not to make either side any angrier, is offering no apologies. He finds himself in a predicament I describe in The Crisis Preparedness Quotient as, “Now we’ve pissed everybody off.” In today’s polarized political environment, it’s easy to get into this kind of mess, much harder to get out.
Can the Bud Light brand survive this crisis?
In Chapter 12 (“The Five Rs of Crisis Response”) we discuss the elements of effective crisis-response:
- Expressions of sincere Regret.
- Evidence of strong Reforms planned or put in place to make whatever happened less likely to ever happen again.
- When appropriate, Restitution to those hurt by the action or situation creating the crisis.
- Reaffirmation of the purpose and core beliefs that guide you.
- Assurances of Recovery, demonstrating that the crisis is over and the organization is moving on, back to business as usual.
Let’s take these one at a time.
REGRET: Brendan Whitworth owes an unequivocal apology to Bud Light’s customers, as well as trans TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney, the struggling distributors of Bud Light and their employees, and investors in AB InBev. He must say “we’re sorry” for insulting loyal customers, using Mulvaney, putting the livelihood of hard-working distributors at risk, and losing investors $20 billion.
When you’re in a “now we’ve pissed everybody off” situation, apologizing to everybody can start the healing. Even-handed regret, while it never makes hard-liners happy on either side of a controversy, can cool things off and reopen minds.
REFORMS: The company claims that marketing executives close to this debacle are on “leaves of absence.” That’s a start, as is Whitworth’s promise to demonstrate a renewed respect for and understanding of the Bud Light customer through a new advertising campaign launching later this summer into the football season. Recognizing that this highly anticipated and closely watched initiative could make or break the brand (and save Whitworth’s job), the budget has been tripled.
RESTITUTION: Anheuser-Busch is buying back the unused inventory of Bud Light sitting in warehouses across the country and is providing short-term financial support to wholesalers and distributors. They’ve also offered consumers deep discounts to lure them back (The New York Times recently reported that in a beverage store in Pennsylvania, a 24-pack of Bud Light was selling for just $8.99, while a 24-pack of Miller Lite was going for $24.99).
The only acceptable restitution for investors will be a full recovery in the stock price.
It’s harder to figure out what Bud Light owes Dylan Mulvaney, other than an apology. Newsweek, in an April 17 article headlined “Why Dylan Mulvaney Has the Last Laugh in Bud Light Controversy,” reported that her Bud Light endorsement deal had generated 87,000 new followers on Instagram and increased her followers on TikTok to 10.82 million. But in a video posted on Instagram on June 29, she said, “I was waiting for the brand to reach out to me, but they never did. I’ve been scared to leave my home.”
REAFFIRMATION: Whitworth has promised to “focus on what we do best, which is brewing great beer for everyone.” After “talking with” 100,000 customers, Whitworth concluded: “The feedback is to reinforce what Bud Light has always meant to them, which is good times, goodwill, and easy enjoyment.”
Hopefully, Anheuser-Busch understands that what Bud Light has never and will never mean to its loyal consumers is social commentary, moralizing or preaching. And rediscovering the brand’s sense of humor — what Bud Light’s former marketing chief criticized as “fratty” and “kind of out-of-touch” — would go a long way toward winning back drinkers.
RECOVERY: It’s far from certain that the brand can ever recover. The jilted Bud Light consumer has plenty of attractive alternatives to sample. And American beer-drinking preferences are changing all the time. For example, craft and light beers, so popular today, were not a factor when these popular brands with memorable jingles and slogans were dominant in ballparks and taverns:
Schaefer (“The one beer to have when you’re having more than one.”)
Falstaff (“You couldn’t buy a better beer than Falstaff.”)
Rheingold (“My beer is Rheingold, the dry beer. Think of Rheingold whenever you buy beer.”)
Schlitz (“The beer that made Milwaukee famous.”)
Hamm’s (“From the land of sky-blue waters.”) and
Blatz (“I’m from Milwaukee and I ought to know: It’s draft-brewed Blatz beer, wherever you go.”)
You can still find most of these faded brands online, believe it or not, but they represent a tiny fraction of the American beer market.
Beyond following the “Five Rs” of crisis response, here’s my unsolicited advice for Anheuser-Busch:
Dear Mr. Whitworth:
Crises are especially damaging when they force a company, individual or organization to step out of character. Apologize to everyone and get back into character by bringing back the humor and magic of Bud Light’s earlier TV commercials, which often were introduced during Super Bowl broadcasts.
Consider reprising the iconic characters Bud Light drinkers embraced — the “I love you, man” guy, the “I’m Dr. Galazkiewicz” guy, the “Whassup” friends, and the “Dilly Dilly” king. Then add a few female characters who can top them all. They can do their thing and ask customers to give Bud Light a second chance. Have fun with it, making common-sense adjustments to hold off the thought police (leave Spuds MacKenzie in retirement).
And from now on, stay out of the briar patch of politics and social commentary (that was way out of character), and double your efforts to make sure Anheuser-Busch is a welcoming, inclusive employer and business partner. Create more opportunities for minority distributors, mentor and advance executives representing all backgrounds. This is the hard, meaningful work that will make your company stronger and that social rating agencies and activist investors should value most.
Despite what your disrespectful marketing executive said in her disastrous podcast interview earlier this year, there’s a lot of equity left in the Bud Light brand. I’ve spoken with devoted Bud Light drinkers who wish they could order it again. Give them permission by getting back into character.
Wishing the best for Bud Light distributors, Anheuser-Busch, Bud Light drinkers and Dylan Mulvaney, I say,
Dilly Dilly!
Crisis Quotient Blog 