Bud Light and Dylan Mulvaney: Traditional Brand Marketing vs. Inclusivity

As you may have heard, Bud Light recently faced widespread backlash for initially supporting and then abandoning a trans woman, Dylan Mulvaney. 

Here’s a summary: Bud Light featured Mulvaney’s likeness on a beer can as part of an NCAA College Basketball March Madness promotion. Conservatives became angry and organized boycotts against Bud Light. Bud Light then announced that two of their marketing executives were on leave and released a backpedaling statement meant to mollify the protestors, which, in turn, frustrated others. Subsequently, Bud Light lost the venerable spot of America’s most consumed beer to Modelo Especial. 

This incident highlights:

1. Bud Light’s missteps

2. What purpose-driven brands can do right

3. What you can do with your own brand

Bud Light’s Missteps

As far as I can tell, the boycotts against Bud Light are rooted in bigotry. A bunch of people didn’t like that a trans woman being involved in a YouTube promotion with Bud Light. 

Setting aside the culture war, this situation raises questions about the apparent tension between targeted marketing and promoting inclusivity.

Traditionally, marketers are taught to segment buyers and target specific segments, excluding others. You can’t be everything to everyone.

Considering Bud Light’s target customer, Mulvaney wouldn’t typically fit the description. Does this mean brands are limited and can’t reach diverse audiences? Was Bud Light wrong to engage with Mulvaney in the first place?

I don’t think so.

This tension finds resolution through brand values.

Segmentation is usually based on demographics and behaviors. Taco Bell targets young, cool kids out late at night, while McDonald’s focuses on families with young children. However, this type of segmentation has limits because targeting can also happen at the values level, cutting across traditional demographic boundaries.

I recently sat down with Sanjay Sood, my former Marketing and Brand Management professor at UCLA Anderson School of Management. Sood draws a distinction between segmentation and brand purpose:

“Bud Light missed a chance to take a values-based stance with the recent incident regarding Dylan Mulvaney (and) chose to back down under significant public pressure. Segmentation is important especially when you are starting out as a company because it gets you momentum with a core audience. But other brands have been able to grow their audiences with a shared brand purpose that they reinforce consistently over time,” he explained.

So how can we be a brand with purpose? 

What Brands with Purpose Can Do Right

Sood cited Nike and their embrace of polarizing figures like Colin Kaepernick and, decades earlier, Tonya Harding because they both aligned with Nike’s core brand equity: performance. 

Sports fans might quibble that neither of these athletes embody on-the-field (or ice) “performance” in the way other brand ambassadors like Michael Jordan or Serena Williams did.

And that’s exactly the point. In both examples, Nike found a window to speak to different notions of performance. For Kaepernick “performance” was to be a leader in social justice. In the case of Harding, Nike supported her legal fees to compete in the Olympics, even as the cloud of scandal hung over her head. For Nike, “performance” means that the right to compete is sacrosanct.

What ties Kaepernick with Harding is not demographics, but Nike’s brand purpose: honor the athlete.

Again here’s Sood: “Nike stuck by their support of Colin Kaepernick under significant public pressure at the time. When all was said and done the decision to reinforce their core brand values by staying with Kaepernick helped Nike more than it hurt.”

Now, back to Bud Light.

How could they have linked Mulvaney’s social media presence to their core brand promise?

Let’s consider what Bud Light represents. In my opinion, one word captures their brand equity: democracy.

Bud Light stands (or stood) for democracy. It aligns itself with Americans, country music, and NFL football. The product itself is an affordable, drinkable (though John Oliver would take exception) pilsner—a beer for the ordinary people that lack social standing or acclaim.

As I looked back on some of Mulvaney’s historical posts and a very moving video she posted following the kerfuffle, I saw someone who fit that same description; a person who strives to do her part despite being marginalized or disrespected by broad swaths of society. And those same ideals might also be shared by a factory worker who works hard to support their family.

In short, Mulvaney’s message could align with Bud Light at the level of values, if not demographics. And this is one aspect where InBev blew it.

In the original video that started this uproar, Mulvaney closed the promotion by saying, “Whatever team you love, I love too.” It’s a simple message of unity and acceptance that should have been received as a gift to the audience and to Bud Light.

Unfortunately, with InBev’s subsequent backpedaling, the market is left wondering about Bud Light’s true brand identity.

What Can You Do with Your Own Brand?

As a business leader, you’re likely more concerned about growing your own brand than Bud Light and Nike.

When customers think of your brand, do they feel a connection to a higher purpose?

The gym I attend has a motto “Peace Through Perspiration.” The owner shared that the name, Sanctuary Fitness, came from a time in his life where he found solace and support within the gym community. He created his gym with a purpose-driven mission in mind and class instructors share moments of hope and encouragement at the end of each class. Here the brand’s purpose is made explicit through the customer experience. 

Lastly, do you have preconceived notions about your customers and their behaviors?

Using Sanctuary as an example again, they could easily overlook older customers or those without perfectly toned bodies. However, they understand that their mission can resonate with people of all body types and ages (demographics) who align with their brand purpose.

Remember, your target customers might not be drawn to your brand solely based on race, gender, or other demographics. They may seek your brand because it aligns with their personal mission. By tapping into that alignment, you can cultivate customer loyalty that few brands achieve.

Best,

Stephen

P.S. I welcome your comments here. If you feel I mischaracterized the position of boycotters or InBev, I’d love to hear it, but I’m more interested in how you can align your brands around a shared purpose with your customers.  If you’d like to chat about your business, feel free to reach out directly.