AB InBev set to triple media spend to tackle Bud Light sales decline
By Joseph Ekeng
Brewery giant AB InBev has said that it will triple its media spend this summer as the company battles declining sales from one of its major brands -Bud Light.
Far-right activists in the U.S. have led an organised boycott of the brand to protest what they perceive as Bud Light support for the gay community in the North American country.
The problem started when popular American influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who is a transgender woman, posted a video of a can of Bud Light with her image on it. The product was sent to her by the company as part of its ‘March Madness’ campaign. The video went viral and prompted outrage from some U.S. consumers of the beer.
The company has earlier announced that it will restructure its global marketing team. But apparently, the restructuring may not be enough to put out the fire, therefore, it plans to ramp up media spend also.
According to ABinBev CEO, Michel Doukeris, the aggressive media spend was necessary to reignite support for the brand and counter the narrative out there about the company.
“We will need to continue to clarify the fact that this was one can, one influencer, one post and not a campaign, and repeat this message for some time,” he said.
Speaking further, the CEO said the crisis has escalated because of social media. According to him, in an age of social media, brands, especially big consumer brands, can be easily brought into these debates. While the company can “be at the table” when issues like this are being debated, “the beer itself should not be the focus of the debate,” he said.
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