You might not be old enough to remember “New Coke”. A bunch of marketers at Coca-Cola in Atlanta tried to juice sales by a brand extension, marketed under New Coke. It was 1985. This was in response to a successful ad campaign by Pepsi.
It turned out to be one of the dumbest marketing moves ever made.
I didn’t think marketers could be that bad anymore. They make mistakes, but usually, they are around the edges. Anheuser Busch took it to the next level.
At least with New Coke, no one was offended. They just didn’t like the taste and could fall back on old Coke. The marketers misread the market and it didn’t take them long to recover. New Coke became Coke II, and finally petered out leaving shelves in 2002. The one asset Coke received was shelf space which is highly competitive in retail. They could pull one brand, and substitute another.
My brethren on the trading floor in Chicago, especially South Siders from Beverly, made Bud Light their beverage of choice. Often, they drank it in place of water.
Let’s put some numbers around the market. Light beer sales were valued at $285,334 million in 2019, and are expected to garner $338,833 million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 2.9% from 2021 to 2027.
This is from the linked article:
There is a significant rise in consumption of beer by people aged between 18 and 25 years. The approximate number of middle- and old-aged men has more or less remained the same, whereas there is an increase in the number of women. According to the United Nations, the global youth population is expected to rise by 7% to 1.3 million before 2030, which in turn is expected to drive the light beer market. The trend of drinking among women has been gaining acceptance across the globe due to financial independence and increase in social and professional gatherings. This factor majorly fuels the light beer market.
Interesting, because in 2014 the data showed that wine was outpacing beer. Layer in this information.
According to Numerator, 90% of Millennials purchased alcohol during the 52-week period ending in May 2021, compared to 84% of 21 and older Gen Z shoppers. Gen Zs reasons for not buying included "alcohol's impact on their mood, level of alertness, and even image on social media."
Additionally, compared to Millennials, Gen Zs:
Spent 40% less on alcohol,
Made five fewer trips per year to purchase alcohol, and
They were less likely to consume wine and beer regularly.
Nearly half of both generations, 47% Gen Z drinkers and 48% Millennial drinkers, consumed alcohol to relax. Slightly more Gen Z drinkers indicated that alcohol "helps me have a good time," 49%, and "gives me a buzz," 45%, compared to Millennial drinkers, 38 and 37%, respectively.
Gallup says this about the primary market for beer. They are: Men, consumers between 18 and 34, not college-educated, and those with an income less than $40,000 and between $40,000 and $99,999.
This is interesting. Since 2011, AB has lost market share in the US.
Hence, you can see why the marketing team at AB is worried. If we take the top ten per capita consumption states in America, the average human consumed just under 36 gallons of beer. Budweiser was the preferred brand. I can’t get really good stats on age, or separate out Bud Light vs Bud.
But, this stat shows that Men consume significantly more beer than Women. The age group that consumes it is 25-44, and people aged 45-55 aren’t far behind.
From all the data, we could conclude you are marketing to men ages 25-55. You could layer on other trends in beer, like microbrews etc that compete for market share in segment. Certainly, microbrews are putting a dent in light beer sales. But still, your target market is men, age 25-55 and you can try to segment inside that market to position yourself.
What did Budweiser’s marketing team see in their data analysis that told them putting a transexual on the label would drive more sales in any demographic? Instead, people are pouring Bud Light down the sink. The boycott is on.
This was funny. (Substack isn’t letting us embed Tweets for some reason)
I have to share something hilarious with you guys. I’m in Iowa with hundreds of voters tonight for a rally. There was an open bar that RAN OUT of beer… Except for one brand…
Go woke, go BROKE. Sad!
As Iowahawk will tell you, Iowans can drink a lot of beer.
The question is, can Budweiser recover? How does it get customers to forgive them? It would be a good reason to short their stock. It looks like Nike might be next.
I haven't purchased a Gillette product since they came out with their anti-men ad. I remember this time well. Some crazy things happened with Harry's razers too.
https://thefederalist.com/2019/01/15/gillettes-latest-commercial-anti-man-dumpster-fire/
Occasionally my son-in-law asks me to pick up Bud Light.... No more.
Marketing is a funny profession/trade, especially consumer focused marketing. I think it’s scientific equivalent is sociology. I believe that it’s recently been shown that many soc experimental results can’t be reproduced and are basically fiction designed to get attention and grants. When I look at the data in the marketing studies that you quote, I wonder who is answering the questions about how many beers you drink, why do you drink them, etc. and does that data come from a 12 person focus group, a 100 person email chain, the marketing person’s friends or a large rigorous study? And who answers them honestly?
I think that in many instances marketing people create studies and data to support predetermined results that can give them greater visibility in an organization. Much like the media, their real audience is their own discipline at other companies and not the executives in their own company who they pretend they are advising. It’s like HR. HR preens to itself rather than addressing legitimate business concerns within its own company. Marketing people get attention and awards and then sales drop after everyone moves on to the next topic. I think this is more prevalent in B2C than B2B marketing, to be clear.