Lost in the Brew: Anheuser-Busch’s Mismanagement of the Bud Light Transgender Influencer Controversy
In April 2023, Bud Light, owned by Anheuser-Busch, has been mired in controversy over its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Conservatives boycotted the beer brand after transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney promoted the Bud Light competition on Instagram.
Dylan Mulvaney is an influencer. She has more than 10.6 million followers on TikTok and has documented her transformation online in her “Days of Girlhood” series.
Her Bud Light promotion post was less than a minute long and featured a $15,000 giveaway sponsored by the company during March Madness. She mentions that the company gave her a tall can with her head on it to celebrate a full year of her “Days of Girlhood” series.
In the month following the advertisement, Bud Light’s sales fell between 11 and 26%, while Anheuser-Busch’s sales fell about 1%. In May 2023, AB InBev’s stock price fell 20%, enough for it to be classified as a bear stock by Forbes. HSBC Securities downgraded its rating on the company from ‘Buy’ to ‘Hold’. CNBC estimated that in May AB InBev’s sales fell 18%. In the same month, Bud Light lost its position as the best-selling beer in the U.S., a position it had held for 20 years, and was replaced by Modelo Especial.
Could the brand have avoided this?
Anheuser-Busch’s intention may have been to use inclusivity as a marketing point that would resonate with relevant target audiences. However, they must consider how they anticipate and respond to potential negative reactions and anticipate outcomes and appropriate solutions well in advance, especially in today’s sensitive social environment. This incident shows that Anheuser-Busch does not understand their consumers and is overconfident. They need to do more in-depth research on their consumers and target market.
I don’t think the fault lies entirely with Anheuser-Busch, but they are responsible for most of it. Social acceptance of gender and identity is still in the exploratory stage and is not complete yet. Anything related to this topic has the potential to cause such controversy. However, the decision-making of Anheuser-Busch and execution of the campaign is undoubtedly the most significant factor in this case.
What did Anheuser-Busch do?
After the initial boycott, Anheuser-Busch InBev posted a statement in April from CEO Brendan Whitworth on its website. But the indecisive statement of apology angered people even more. It neither directly supports Mulvaney nor denies the ad. Many are angry at management’s failure to control activities or address customer concerns about sponsors.
On top of that, Anheuser-Busch has replaced its leadership as well as hired two Washington, D.C.-based conservative political consultant groups to advise the brand moving forward.
Ways of managing the crisis
There is no doubt that the way Anheuser-Busch managed the crisis was unsatisfactory. It seems to me that they have done nothing actually useful to address the crisis, but have waited for the passage of time to make people forget about it. The way they resolved it hindered the brand’s image.
When there is a controversy, brands are often expected to take clear and decisive action. Indecisive statements can exacerbate tensions and cause more backlash. Anheuser-Busch management failed to take control of the situation and address customer concerns. This lack of proactive engagement and responsiveness deepens mistrust and alienates customers.
Beyond that, it is naive to try to solve this crisis and salvage word-of-mouth simply by changing leadership and hiring conservative political consultants. For most people leadership is a long way off. We don’t care so much about what the group’s leadership looks like as we do about what behaviors their brand actually does. While these actions may have been taken to stabilize the situation or appease certain stakeholders, they may have also meant a departure from the brand’s previous values and messaging, leading to consumer confusion and disappointment.
