Bud Light

[DJT]

On 6/7/2023 at 7:44 AM, WrestlingRasta said:

True story, pulling into grocery store yesterday.  Dude coming out wearing jorts, nascar hat, and two cases of bud light in the cart.  My thought: "well.....that didn't last long"

Sounds like my neighbor across the street. Was he shirtless? And was this at like 7am on Tuesday?

I stopped home from work at about 9am on my way to a jobsite the other day, and he’s in his driveway, shirtless, beer in hand and grilling… I come home 7-8 hours later, he’s still in his driveway, shirtless (now sunburned to shit), beer in hand, passed out in a lawn chair. I start walking to my mailbox, and I hear, “No mail. Drove by. Didn’t stop.” “Thanks, Chris. You should probably get out of the sun. You look like a f’ing tomato. Or not.. YOLO.”

[mspart]

I look at Yahoo Financial everyday and saw this and thought it was interesting:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bud-light-only-itself-blame-164336807.html

Bud Light only has itself to blame for sales plunge after caving to ‘extremist bullies,’ argues main LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD

Anheuser-Busch can only blame itself for the ongoing boycott of Bud Light after caving to “extremist bullies,” according to the main U.S. advocacy group for LGBTQ people.

Following consumer retaliation against Bud Light for hiring a transgender influencer to promote in April what its former marketing boss called an increasingly “fratty” and “out of touch” brand, group management kowtowed to the pressure, leaving them vulnerable and without support from either side.

“I think we need to reframe this,” Sarah Kate Ellis, CEO of GLAAD, told CNBC on Thursday when asked about the backlash. “Companies that did back down to bullies actually saw this escalate.”

Had the brewer only stood its ground—like many other companies supporting Pride Month—the LGBTQ community and its allies would have come to its aid and prevented the precipitous drop in demand that saw Bud Light lose the title of America’s favorite beer last month.

Asked whether she felt Bud Light’s 27% plunge in sales came as a direct result of caving to the criticism, Ellis replied: “It’s absolutely from them backing down.”

In fact, she went so far as to say her community joined in the pile-on and may even be the actual driving force behind Bud Light’s troubles. People don’t want to support a brand that won’t support them when the going gets tough, Ellis argued.

“LGBTQ bars have stopped serving it. [Anheuser-Busch] didn’t stand with us,” she said. “I think they’re taking credit—the extremists—for the drop in sales, when I think it’s actually the other way around.”

I'm thinking that this is giving too much credit but perhaps they are right.   Anyway, an interesting alternate take on the situation.  Also interesting is that Yahoo is saying AB/InBev stock is a buy right now because it is so low.  JRoss - you may have a winner here!!

mspart

 

[BobDole]

You are obsessed with this aren't you? You should attend a drag show if you like trans people so much.

[mspart]

I remember somewhere on here I said this is an example of how not to do things that will be taught in business schools.   What do I know about business school?  Nothing, so I must be absolutely wrong on that, which was the consensus on here of some.   So I give you the following:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/unprecedented-kevin-oleary-says-bud-155603390.html

'So Unprecedented': Kevin O'Leary Says Bud Light Is The Gift That Keeps On Giving, Plans To Teach Its 25% Market Share Collapse To College Students

Bud Light is in the headlines again.

The CEO of Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD), the multinational brewing company behind Bud Light, is reportedly planning to go on a tour this summer to listen to consumers. But “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, also known as Mr. Wonderful, doesn’t believe it will turn things around.

“I don’t think that’s going to work,” O’Leary said in a recent interview with Fox Business. “He’s going to get an earful, there’s no question about it. The problem with that tour and that idea is it keeps it as a frontline press item.”

Mr. Wonderful then highlighted how Bud Light’s situation is unprecedented in the beer industry.

 

“Beer brands take decades to build and usually are fighting [for] 1% to 2% share per year by spending hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising,” he explained. “This has never happened before. No beer brand has ever lost 25% market share in a matter of hours. It’s so unprecedented that there’s no playbook for this.”

...  O’Leary pointed out why Bud Light has been facing such strong headwinds.

“Beer is a commodity, the only difference is brand, so you really have to protect your brand every way you can,” he said.

“If you don’t understand who’s buying your brand and you enrage them, which seems to be what happened here, you don’t know the outcome. And now we can measure it — 25% market share.”

O’Leary also intends to share the insight with his students.

“This is so extraordinary that I’m planning to teach it this fall in the colleges that I visit and guest lecture at. I’ve never seen a brand case like this one,” he said, later adding that “Bud Light is the gift that keeps on giving.”

mspart

 

[Plasmodium]

21 minutes ago, mspart said:

I remember somewhere on here I said this is an example of how not to do things that will be taught in business schools.   What do I know about business school?  Nothing, so I must be absolutely wrong on that, which was the consensus on here of some.   So I give you the following:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/unprecedented-kevin-oleary-says-bud-155603390.html

'So Unprecedented': Kevin O'Leary Says Bud Light Is The Gift That Keeps On Giving, Plans To Teach Its 25% Market Share Collapse To College Students

Bud Light is in the headlines again.

The CEO of Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE: BUD), the multinational brewing company behind Bud Light, is reportedly planning to go on a tour this summer to listen to consumers. But “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary, also known as Mr. Wonderful, doesn’t believe it will turn things around.

“I don’t think that’s going to work,” O’Leary said in a recent interview with Fox Business. “He’s going to get an earful, there’s no question about it. The problem with that tour and that idea is it keeps it as a frontline press item.”

Mr. Wonderful then highlighted how Bud Light’s situation is unprecedented in the beer industry.

 

“Beer brands take decades to build and usually are fighting [for] 1% to 2% share per year by spending hundreds of millions of dollars on advertising,” he explained. “This has never happened before. No beer brand has ever lost 25% market share in a matter of hours. It’s so unprecedented that there’s no playbook for this.”

...  O’Leary pointed out why Bud Light has been facing such strong headwinds.

“Beer is a commodity, the only difference is brand, so you really have to protect your brand every way you can,” he said.

“If you don’t understand who’s buying your brand and you enrage them, which seems to be what happened here, you don’t know the outcome. And now we can measure it — 25% market share.”

O’Leary also intends to share the insight with his students.

“This is so extraordinary that I’m planning to teach it this fall in the colleges that I visit and guest lecture at. I’ve never seen a brand case like this one,” he said, later adding that “Bud Light is the gift that keeps on giving.”

mspart

 

According to the article, it took a matter of hours to lose 25% of market share.  What act was so egregious it should be a subject in business school?

[mspart]

2 minutes ago, Plasmodium said:

According to the article, it took a matter of hours to lose 25% of market share.  What act was so egregious it should be a subject in business school?

Perhaps you should be asking that of O'Leary?   Remember I'm too stupid to know since I know nothing of business school curriculums. 

But seriously Plasi, what BL did was for no good business reason at all.  They offended 25% of their customer base going after what would amount to a less than 1% of sales chasing another demographic.   They didn't know they were doing that, but then again, how could they not have known?  Who does a stupid thing like that?  

I think that is where O'Leary is also.  You should ask him because again, I'm not smart enough to really know now am I?

mspart

[Plasmodium]

52 minutes ago, mspart said:

Perhaps you should be asking that of O'Leary?   Remember I'm too stupid to know since I know nothing of business school curriculums. 

But seriously Plasi, what BL did was for no good business reason at all.  They offended 25% of their customer base going after what would amount to a less than 1% of sales chasing another demographic.   They didn't know they were doing that, but then again, how could they not have known?  Who does a stupid thing like that?  

I think that is where O'Leary is also.  You should ask him because again, I'm not smart enough to really know now am I?

mspart

The stated rationale for printing the promotional rainbow can was solid business sense - expanding their market.  The fact that it was grossly counter-productive means they were correct in the need to do so but didn't understand the depth of the prejudices of their existing customer base.

[Offthemat]

Adum Shiff on board. 

[mspart]

1 hour ago, Plasmodium said:

The stated rationale for printing the promotional rainbow can was solid business sense - expanding their market.  The fact that it was grossly counter-productive means they were correct in the need to do so but didn't understand the depth of the prejudices of their existing customer base.

Expanding their market - Yes, that is what every company should do.    But the effort was counter productive (as you say) in a way that should have been considered in their strategy meetings.   It wasn't.   They had no clue.   Again, fodder for business school lessons on the hard knocks of being oblivious to your clientele. 

That VP of Marketing talking down to her clientele like they were rubes, unworthy, and "fratty" with their infantile humor had an effect.   She felt like they needed to entice a higher type of being to drink Bud Light.   You know at least 50% of the people are going to be not amenable to something political, either left or right, or being belittled.   There is no denying that Transgenderism has become political and no denying that she belittled her clientele.   That's the lesson for the business schools to teach.   This whole situation is why you don't discuss politics or religion generally and why businesses should stay away.   Just make and sell your stuff and leave the politics, culture, and religion discussions to others. 

Let's say AB did it different and disparaged Transgenders.   Would they have lost 25%?  Maybe.   But why get into it?  

mspart

[mspart]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ab-inbev-announces-new-ad-campaign-as-bud-light-sales-continue-to-crater-120039088.html

AB InBev announces new ad campaign as Bud Light sales continue to crater

Sales of Bud Light declined 28.5% during the week ending June 17.

Bud Light's parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) is out with a new ad campaign highlighting the workers behind its products as sales continue to take a hit following its campaign with influencer Dylan Mulvaney earlier this year.

On Wednesday, the beer giant announced the new campaign, called "That’s Who We Are." The first ad, dubbed "We Make the Beer," includes a 30-second and a 60-second spot that features more than 140 Anheuser-Busch employees, growers, wholesalers, and partners in the campaign's ad.

AB InBev's Bud Light brand lost its top spot in the US beer market to Constellation Brands' (STZ) Modelo and is now going into its third month of declining sales following its partnership with Mulvaney, a transgender influencer and TikTok personality, which prompted a boycott among certain US consumers.

In the week ending June 17, sales of Bud Light declined 28.5%, according to Nielsen data received from Bump Williams Consulting. That's an acceleration from the 26.8% decline seen in the week prior.

Volumes were also down 31.1% compared to a 30.3% decline the week before....

That will take care of it.   A new ad campaign will bring back the 25% of lost beer sales.  Heck fire, why didn't we think of this sooner!!  

mspart

[Plasmodium]

2 hours ago, mspart said:

Expanding their market - Yes, that is what every company should do.    But the effort was counter productive (as you say) in a way that should have been considered in their strategy meetings.   It wasn't.   They had no clue.   Again, fodder for business school lessons on the hard knocks of being oblivious to your clientele. 

That VP of Marketing talking down to her clientele like they were rubes, unworthy, and "fratty" with their infantile humor had an effect.   She felt like they needed to entice a higher type of being to drink Bud Light.   You know at least 50% of the people are going to be not amenable to something political, either left or right, or being belittled.   There is no denying that Transgenderism has become political and no denying that she belittled her clientele.   That's the lesson for the business schools to teach.   This whole situation is why you don't discuss politics or religion generally and why businesses should stay away.   Just make and sell your stuff and leave the politics, culture, and religion discussions to others. 

Let's say AB did it different and disparaged Transgenders.   Would they have lost 25%?  Maybe.   But why get into it?  

mspart

The politically incorrect remarks about the customer base were way after the promotion.  The commentary was bad business because it complicates recovery from the situation, but the accuracy of the comments is the cause of the boycott.  Pride beer cans aren't normally political, which is the part AB missed badly.  Thus, your premise is correct.

[WrestlingRasta]

I can only imagine the sensation that goes through the bones when the copy/paste lightbulb clicks

[Offthemat]

Now there’s an illuminating contribution. 

[WrestlingRasta]

I mean….is there really much more to contribute to a four page thread about bud light drinking trannies??

 

[Plasmodium]

1 hour ago, WrestlingRasta said:

I mean….is there really much more to contribute to a four page thread about bud light drinking trannies??

 

The people that hate them are in the house and demanding attention.  Noteworthy?

[jross]

The "we make the beer" commercial is good.

[GreatWhiteNorth]

All press is good press... and it is a whole lotta press.

Seems like Bud Lite team has all you folks beat.

[Plasmodium]

8 hours ago, GreatWhiteNorth said:

All press is good press... and it is a whole lotta press.

Seems like Bud Lite team has all you folks beat.

Are you rating AB a strong buy?  Passes the ESG sniff test!

[jross]

It's a buy for me at ~$45 with a one year price target of $72.  The culture wars will dictate how quickly this goes back to $80 and $100.

[mspart]

18 hours ago, WrestlingRasta said:

I can only imagine the sensation that goes through the bones when the copy/paste lightbulb clicks

If I were to say what the article says, someone on here would say, how do you know that?  Prove it!!!!

So to not punish everyone to go through that, I paste the article so everyone knows how I know it and then I comment on it a little.  

You may not like that WR, but that is why I do it.    No doubt you would be one of those asking me to prove my point.   Well, you aren't saying that are you.   Because I put it out there.   All you can complain about is that I put it out there.   Weak sauce. 

mspart

[WrestlingRasta]

8 minutes ago, mspart said:

If I were to say what the article says, someone on here would say, how do you know that?  Prove it!!!!

So to not punish everyone to go through that, I paste the article so everyone knows how I know it and then I comment on it a little.  

You may not like that WR, but that is why I do it.    No doubt you would be one of those asking me to prove my point.   Well, you aren't saying that are you.   Because I put it out there.   All you can complain about is that I put it out there.   Weak sauce. 

mspart

My apologies for the confusion mspart. You must have me mistaken for someone who believes ‘proving’ anything on an anonymous chat board , is of any kind of priority. 

[mspart]

31 minutes ago, WrestlingRasta said:

My apologies for the confusion mspart. You must have me mistaken for someone who believes ‘proving’ anything on an anonymous chat board , is of any kind of priority. 

Ah, I see the conundrum.  

mspart

[BobDole]

19 hours ago, WrestlingRasta said:

I can only imagine the sensation that goes through the bones when the copy/paste lightbulb clicks

We don't need to hack @mspart's computer to get his search history, he just posts it here free of charge. He obviously googles transgender quite a bit.

[Plasmodium]

Cancel culture works.  This situation is pathetic.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/glass-bottling-plants-forced-shut-down-600-employees-jobless-amid-bud-light-controversy

Modelo is probably hiring and struggling to keep up with demand.

[mspart]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bud-lights-troubles-may-extend-into-fall-oktoberfest-season-160336461.html

Bud Light's troubles may extend into fall Oktoberfest season

Corona and Modelo maker Constellation Brands expects to benefit if Bud Light sales continue to drag going into the fall.

mspart