Beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev on Thursday will focus on and oversee marketing campaigns centered around sports and music following controversy over the promotion of Bud Light with transgender influencers. It was announced that senior management would be assigned.
Anheuser-Busch reports first-quarter earnings before interest, taxes and other charges increased 13.6% to $4.7 billion. Global revenue rose 13.2% to $14.2 billion from the same period last year, largely due to higher prices, despite declining beer volumes in many markets, including North America.
In a call with analysts to discuss the results, Anheuser-Busch executives were bombarded with questions about the rebound. They repeatedly noted that the publicity was limited to influencer Dylan Mulvaney and one social media post, and that beer cans displaying her image were not manufactured for mass distribution.
The company said senior management will oversee all marketing campaigns before they are rolled out, focusing primarily on advertising and marketing related to sports and music. The company said it sponsored the recent NFL Draft and the Stagecoach music festival in California last week.
“Everything we do has to be about beer and beer advertising,” Anheuser-Busch Chief Executive Officer Michelle Dukelis told analysts.
“Beer is always on the table when a debate is taking place, but the beer itself should never be the focus of the debate,” he added.
Bud Light by Mulvaney posted a video In her post, which took less than a minute on her Instagram account to promote the Bud Light March Madness Contest to her 1.8 million followers, she said the company had sold a tall can of Bud Light featuring a photo of her. I said I sent it. I edited the image of the can and made it into a video.
The social media posts generated a lot of reaction as conservative celebrities and politicians called for a boycott of the brand. Soon there were calls for a boycott or buyout to the contrary, urging people to buy Bud Light to show their support for the marketing.
Bud Light’s sales dipped in early April, prompting concerns among investors that the post would hurt both Bud Light’s position in the market and that of other Anheuser-Busch brands. According to Beer Business Daily, Bud Light’s sales for the week ending April 15 were down 17%.
Management downplayed the decline, noting that it accounted for about 1% of the world’s total and that it was too early to tell if it would continue.
Anheuser-Busch shares rose nearly 3% after the call to $65.56, up 10% for the year. The company’s stock fell to a low of about $63 in April when data began to show declining sales.
In late April, the company announced it had put two executives involved in the promotion on leave: Alyssa Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing for Bud Light, and Anheuser-Busch, who will oversee marketing for mainstream brands. Daniel Blake.
