Why Bud Light is still struggling to repair its image

Bud Light has been real quiet since their marketing blunder last year that resulted in a boycott and huge hit to their sales. That campaign also led a firestorm of anti-trans backlash toward influencer Dylan Mulvaney.

I mean, the only place you can go from rock-bottom is up, right?

And I suppose 'up' in this scenario is pandering to the very audience you pissed off.

Still in the throes of the anti-transgender boycott, Bud Light announced their new partnership with 'anti-woke' comedian Shane Gillis earlier this week.

The beverage corporation, Anheuser Busch, announced the partnership in an Instagram post of Gillis at a Budweiser brewery. The caption read, 'Welcome to the team, excited to be part of your 2024 tour.'

Shane is no stranger to 'bouncing back' from cancellation himself. Back in 2019, Saturday Night Live announced he would be joining the cast. But shortly after the announcement, old racial and homophobic jokes he made in his podcast resurfaced and he was very quickly fired.

He has since become popular with conservatives particularly for both his praise and impersonations of former President Trump in the recent Netflix special Beautiful Dogs. The series itself was named in tribute to a purported Trump quote.

Bud Light seems to be trying to restore its popularity with conservatives, its main consumer group, by using pro-America advertising and sponsoring Gillis.

However, the response has been mixed. Many conservatives believe Gillis 'sold out' by taking the deal, doubting it will save the brand.

Sheesh, tough crowd.

However, it does beg the question, how do you repair your brand image after a scandal of that scale?

A report by Harvard Business Review found that celebrity endorsements tend to affect sales and even stock returns. We saw this with Bud Light last year.

This is because consumers select brands that match their self-image. So a 'positive' public role model (in your audiences’ eyes anyway) associated with your brand helps facilitate this comparison. New media campaigns can also help recalibrate brand perception.

But if that doesn’t work, as is the case with Bud Light currently, where does that leave you?

Harvard Business Review offers these solutions to rebuilding your brand image:

1. Distance yourself immediately from any unofficial public figure, celebrity, or group endorsers.

2. Show that you care about the people who may suffer from any adverse actions linked to the unwanted brand ambassador or user group. (This is what Loro Piana did, mentioning support for Ukrainian people).

3. Do not comment on any financial impact the harmful public figure or group may have on your brand (e.g. sales revenue drops or increases).

4. Consider additional PR initiatives (positive role models, ad campaigns reinforcing the desired image). These may be able to offset the potential implied adverse brand association.
   

Unfortunately for Bud Light, they seem to have exhausted these options, to no avail.

Their saving grace may have very well been an adequate response in the midst of the backlash. But it’s too late for shoulda-coulda-wouldas now. And not addressing either upset party seems to have left the brand with no one on their side, as seen with this futile attempt to win back their original audience.

That’s because the long-term consequences of a bad marketing/ PR move can be detrimental and hard to come back from. And rebuilding requires patience and persistence.

Every business is going to deal with bad press one way or another, whether it’s a negative article or poor customer review. Bud Light teaches us the importance of knowing how to respond and handle with care, before it's too late.

-Sophie, Writer