This blunder is so significant that even Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary plans to use it as a case study for his business school students. He believes that the pairing of Bud Light with LGBTQ activists led to losses so massive that it was previously unthinkable.
This is an extraordinary case that I'll be teaching in business schools across America this fall. To lose 25% of the market share has never been achieved.
— Kevin O'Leary aka Mr. Wonderful (@kevinolearytv) July 31, 2023
We're still talking about this situation months later, and they continue to lose share! pic.twitter.com/P4pDSN1lta
From Western Journal:
“This is an extraordinary case, and one I’ll be teaching in business schools across America this fall,” O’Leary told the hosts.
“Beer is essentially the same. What differentiates it is brand. … You have to ask yourself on a campaign that really brings you into a discussion around gender identity, ‘Is that the right thing for my beer brand?’” O’Leary said.
He went on to answer his own question: “Well, apparently not. … To lose 25 percent market share has never been achieved, and it’s impossible to even dream it.”
“[A] widely held view amongst my CEOs is that if you get a bad social media story, it’s going to go away in 24 to 48 hours. But that didn’t happen here. We’re still talking about this situation months later, and they continue to lose share.”
“You’ve really got to understand who your constituency is. What they did there was very damaging,” O’Leary concluded.
That's really the key point here: Bud Light did not understand their target audience.
The average, middle-of-the-road American is the main consumer of this type of beer, and clearly, they don't want far-left ideology shoved down their throats.
