Anheuser-Busch InBev lost $1.4B in sales

[92tide]

'Epidemic' of anti-transgender violence highlighted in new report

Thirty-three transgender and gender-nonconforming people have been killed in the U.S. since last year's Transgender Day of Remembrance, the Human Rights Campaign said.

abcnews.go.com

 

[Jon]

'Epidemic' of anti-transgender violence highlighted in new report

Thirty-three transgender and gender-nonconforming people have been killed in the U.S. since last year's Transgender Day of Remembrance, the Human Rights Campaign said.

abcnews.go.com

33 killed to "protect the children"

If that was their legit concern they should be targeting lots of other groups first

Who's Making News?

Tracking News Reporting of Sex Crimes Against Minors

www.whoismakingnews.com

 

[Jon]

adding this better view from the data above

 

[Bamabuzzard]

and a tribute to the absolute fragility of dudes on the right. They made a couple of cans for a trans woman. The horror

Whether it be a marketing campaign to reach a specific religious group, social group, etc. Anytime something like this is done the risk of what happened to BL increases a thousandfold. The principle applies regardless of who's doing the marketing campaign for whatever cause.

How the customers reacted is completely irrelevant. Sure, we can all have opinions and I'm glad we do, but the purpose of getting into business is to do business and once steps are made to serve another purpose than "doing business" things like this are bound to happen. I've told this story before, but a local restaurant in my area that a lot of people liked ended up closing because the owner started injecting his politics and religion into his customer's dining experience and they got tired of it and quit going. As he walked around making sure "everyone was doing okay" he'd routinely strike up conversations where he gave his political and religious opinions. My wife and I got tired of it and tired of hearing it when we were there and quit going. Apparently we weren't the only ones. And the funny thing was I agreed with the majority of his views. But I didn't want it in my dining experience. I go out to eat with my wife to enjoy time with her, not to be exposed to and confronted with politics and religion.

 

[Bodhisattva]

I don’t know quite how to get it through to you that I don’t care about AB. I do care about trans folk. You may not. Ok.

I don't know quite how to point out to you that this thread is about Bud Light and one of the greatest marketing blunders in the history of marketing. Your deflection and use of a strawman doesn't change that.

 

[Bodhisattva]

Bodhi: So, Mr. Smith, you are applying to be the head of marketing of my company. Tell me about your professional experience.

Smith: I was most recently the chief marketing officer at Bud Light. The leader in its space for decades. BL had become synonymous with sports, BBQs, , family and friends, and all things blue collar.

Bodhi: Sounds like the easiest job in the world. So, why are you here?

Smith: I decided that I was smarter than the BL core audience. And then when they pushed back, I insulted them.

Bodhi: So, you doubled-down on stupid. Do you really have any experience in marketing? Take any classes on the subject?

Smith: I love trans people.

Bodhi: Ok, but ...

Smith: I love the trans lifestyle.

Bodhi: Well, good for you. But, um, I'm looking for someone to lead our marketing team.

Smith: You hate trans people?

Bodhi: No. Again, this is a marketing job. Sell more stuff tomorrow than you did yesterday. If you were applying to Ben & Jerry's or REI, would you suddenly do some MAGA branding thinking that it would increase overall sales?

Smith: Absolutely not! That would irritate the core. We'd lose market share and a lot of money. We might never recover.

Bodhi: I'm going to pause this conversation and see if this sinks in.

 

[NationalTitles18]

I don't know quite how to point out to you that this thread is about Bud Light and one of the greatest marketing blunders in the history of marketing. Your deflection and use of a strawman doesn't change that.

So trans people had nothing to do with that?

It's OK.

It's been done before. Nothing is new under the sun.

White Citizens' Councils | American Experience | PBS

White segregationists who opposed school integration channeled their ire into a new movement: Citizens' Councils.

www.pbs.org

The councils picked up momentum and legitimacy in 1956 when the Mississippi legislature formed the State Sovereignty Commission. The Sovereignty Commission contributed funds to the Citizens' Councils and formed a covert network that tracked blacks and whites. Blacks in favor of integration or seen trying to register black voters would lose their jobs, their homes, even their lives. White businessmen would face boycotts and politicians would lose votes if they were believed to be sympathetic to African Americans' efforts at integration.

The Citizens' Councils claimed they did not sanction violence, but the venom spouted at their meetings and from their leaders, particularly Mississippi's segregationist senator and plantation owner James O. Eastland, fostered a violent, reactionary climate where punishment against blacks was sanctioned.

You can continue to gloat over AB taking a hit and I can continue to lament how poorly people treat each other. I'm certain the thread is big enough to discuss the entire topic.

 

[Bodhisattva]

You know, it's ok if you just acknowledge that the BL marketing team made a mistake and then doubled-down. They cost BL the top spot after 20 years. They cost the company $1.4B. People lost their jobs. You can be sympathetic to the trans community and still comprehend the marketing blunder. I am, and I do. Or, you can just stay tribal and accuse the other side of being nazis .....

Serious question: If you could go back in time and be in that marketing room when the BL big brains said, "We have a great idea," would you have advised them to re-think that strategy or to go for it?

 

[NationalTitles18]

You know, it's ok if you just acknowledge that the BL marketing team made a mistake and then doubled-down. They cost BL the top spot after 20 years. They cost the company $1.4B. People lost their jobs. You can be sympathetic to the trans community and still comprehend the marketing blunder. I am, and I do. Or, you can just stay tribal and accuse the other side of being nazis .....

Serious question: If you could go back in time and be in that marketing room when the BL big brains said, "We have a great idea," would you have advised them to re-think that strategy or to go for it?

And if you could talk to people at large and tell them how stupid their bigotry is would you?

 

[Bodhisattva]

And if you could talk to people at large and tell them how stupid their bigotry is would you?

I generally mind my own business; I don't go looking for a conflict. But, if one is forced upon me (e.g. if my wife is subjected to unacceptable behavior) I will confront it if at all possible. Lots of different forms of bigotry out there.

Now, are you going to answer my question above?

 

[NationalTitles18]

I generally mind my own business; I don't go looking for a conflict. But, if one is forced upon me (e.g. if my wife is subjected to unacceptable behavior) I will confront it if at all possible. Lots of different forms of bigotry out there.

Now, are you going to answer my question above?

I generally don't care about marketing, so I'd likely not say a thing.

However, were I forced to be there and the subject was broached, I'd probably state that there could be a backlash from bigots. What they did with that would be up to them.

Of course, when I've had conversations with trans people who are considering wearing clothing that some would not like because it is generally accepted for the opposite sex to which they were born I've had to give advice that it might not be a good idea until the person realizes the backlash of hate and potential violence that might ensue.

So the harm to the company caused by bigots boycotting them or the marketing strategy success/failure are not my main concerns, although it is bad that bigots caused that harm as well.

 

[Bazza]

and a tribute to the absolute fragility of dudes on the right. They made a couple of cans for a trans woman. The horror

More of a tribute to the stupidity of Anheuser-Busch, IMHO.

Just my perspective as a sales guy.......

 

[Bazza]

I don't know quite how to point out to you that this thread is about Bud Light and one of the greatest marketing blunders in the history of marketing. Your deflection and use of a strawman doesn't change that.

Thank you, Bodhi!

You could also say that the Trans community would have been better served without this idiotic attempt by AB to be hip and cool or whatever they were trying to be - I don't really even know.....

 

[crimsonaudio]

This marketing blunder is why I generally recommend businesses stay in their lanes. Regardless as to how you feel about the subject at hand, if it doesn't pertain to the business, it's a massive risk to get involved.

 

[Bodhisattva]

I generally don't care about marketing, so I'd likely not say a thing.

However, were I forced to be there and the subject was broached, I'd probably state that there could be a backlash from bigots. What they did with that would be up to them.

Of course, when I've had conversations with trans people who are considering wearing clothing that some would not like because it is generally accepted for the opposite sex to which they were born I've had to give advice that it might not be a good idea until the person realizes the backlash of hate and potential violence that might ensue.

So the harm to the company caused by bigots boycotting them or the marketing strategy success/failure are not my main concerns, although it is bad that bigots caused that harm as well.

I appreciate the response, and I don't disagree with your sympathy towards the trans community. I don't want anyone physically mistreated. But, I started this thread to discuss marketing. And for someone who doesn't care about marketing, you certainly have a lot of opinions. I also find it interesting that anyone who disagrees with you is labeled a "bigot" or worse. Is it possible to just have a difference of opinion? I don't get in a twist over some blue collar guy who has extreme product loyalty to his beer not wanting that beer to associated with someone like Dylan Mulvaney. (I'm kind of busy living my own life.) That's his opinion, and if he wants to start buying Modelo instead, ok. And Dylan is fine - made millions in follow-on endorsements.

If there was a widget that Alabama fans were loyal to for generations, and all of a sudden the marketing big brains decided they wanted to increase market share by making the widget orange and using Rocky Top as the widget's theme, would you think this was a good idea? And if you didn't would you then describe yourself as a bigot towards all things orange and UT? If the widget marketers doubled down and called you and like-minded Alabama fans "morons," would you be ok with that? IMO (as long as one doesn't do any violence) any Alabama fan who abandoned said widget for something else would be acting as I would expect them to. And as a result of these actions, if the widget maker took a massive hit financially, I wouldn't be surprised by that either.

 

[Bodhisattva]

Thank you, Bodhi!

You could also say that the Trans community would have been better served without this idiotic attempt by AB to be hip and cool or whatever they were trying to be - I don't really even know.....

When I first heard about this, I thought it was an odd fit - like MAGA ice cream at Ben & Jerry's. I have a concentration in marketing from my b-school. A goofy strategy like this was certainly not suggested in my course of study.

 

[NationalTitles18]

I appreciate the response, and I don't disagree with your sympathy towards the trans community. I don't want anyone physically mistreated. But, I started this thread to discuss marketing. And for someone who doesn't care about marketing, you certainly have a lot of opinions. I also find it interesting that anyone who disagrees with you is labeled a "bigot" or worse. Is it possible to just have a difference of opinion? I don't get in a twist over some blue collar guy who has extreme product loyalty to his beer not wanting that beer to associated with someone like Dylan Mulvaney. (I'm kind of busy living my own life.) That's his opinion, and if he wants to start buying Modelo instead, ok. And Dylan is fine - made millions in follow-on endorsements.

If there was a widget that Alabama fans were loyal to for generations, and all of a sudden the marketing big brains decided they wanted to increase market share by making the widget orange and using Rocky Top as the widget's them, would you think this was a good idea? And if you didn't would you then describe yourself as a bigot towards all things orange and UT? If the widget marketers doubled down and called you and like-minded Alabama fans "morons," would you be ok with that? IMO (as long as one doesn't do any violence) any Alabama fan who abandoned said widget for something else would be acting as I would expect them to. And as a result of these actions, if the widget maker took a massive hit financially, I wouldn't be surprised by that either.

It’s a complete and deliberate misrepresentation of what I’ve said to state that I’ve called everyone who does not agree with me a bigot or worse.

I’ve called people who are intolerant of others who differ from them based on an immutable characteristic that is not harmful to others bigots. That is pretty much the textbook definition of what a bigot is, after all. Same applies to those who are intolerant of those who support those people (AB, for instance, for expressing support of that community). I mean, it’s not a wild accusation or baseless. It just is.

I have accused exactly no one here of being in either category.

I have called no one here a bigot. Not once.

So I’d appreciate it if you didn’t place words at my fingertips that I never typed.

 

[Bodhisattva]

It’s a complete and deliberate misrepresentation of what I’ve said to state that I’ve called everyone who does not agree with me a bigot or worse.

I’ve called people who are intolerant of others who differ from them based on an immutable characteristic that is not harmful to others bigots. That is pretty much the textbook definition of what a bigot is, after all. Same applies to those who are intolerant of those who support those people (AB, for instance, for expressing support of that community). I mean, it’s not a wild accusation or baseless. It just is.

I have accused exactly no one here of being in either category.

I have called no one here a bigot. Not once.

So I’d appreciate it if you didn’t place words at my fingertips that I never typed.

I didn't say you attached that label to anyone on this board (although you seem to suggest some are bigot-adjacent. LOL!). I'm talking about your characterization of former-BL drinkers in particular for this thread. Some certainly are. You can find bigots everywhere about anything if you have the free time. Are you bigoted towards Tennessee? I am, but I'm hoping to one day to be more tolerant tolerant to orange and diverse in my football fandom Don't give up on me!

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Let's be honest, if AB truly cared about trans people, is marketing a beercan really the best way to support them? Especially a beer that the bulk of their consumer base is middle/lower class white rednecks. Really? LOL! Does anyone really think they didn't know that? Companies that size do research about their customer base down to the type of jobs they have and the socks they wear. People, I was born at night, just not last night. What the hell did they really expect? That's like sticking your dang hand through the lion's cage at the zoo and then being appalled when the thing bites your freakin hand off. "OH GEEZE!!! Let's get mad at the lion for doing what lions do!!! OH GEEZE, what a travesty, can anyone believe this?!?! NEVER SAW THIS COMING!!" Bigots are going to bigot so knowing that about the customer base of Bud Light, why is that the focal point? LOL! Let's get all up in arms over something that anyone who can fog a mirror could have predicted happening. But they did it anyway. Unreal...

Seems to me they were making an effort to potentially monetarily capitalize on the transgender community and their supporters but forgot who their customer base was for that particular beer. There is no way in this day and age of social media that BL didn't know that by sending those cans to a person (even "privately") they would end up on social media and instant advertising would happen. They knew good and hell well that's what would happen but the problem was they didn't get the reaction they'd drawn up in their marketing meetings. Talk about a colossal failure and exercise in marketing stupidity. LOL!

 

[NationalTitles18]

I didn't say you attached that label to anyone on this board (although you seem to suggest some are bigot-adjacent. LOL!). I'm talking about your characterization of former-BL drinkers in particular for this thread. Some certainly are. You can find bigots everywhere about anything if you have the free time. Are you bigoted towards Tennessee? I am, but I'm hoping to one day to be more tolerant tolerant to orange and diverse in my football fandom Don't give up on me!

ridiculous comparison, but ok.

If they fit the definition they dit the definition.

I didn’t go looking for them. They made a big to do about it to get attention.

Feel free to ignore that part of the issue, or to ignore me for that matter if you prefer.