Bud Light Plans to 'Spend Heavily' on Re-vamped Marketing Campaign After Dylan Mulvaney Controversy
April 27 2023, Published 6:00 p.m. ET
Bud Light is expected to "spend heavily" on marketing in the wake of backlash from its brief partnership with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The popular beer company was heavily ridiculed by conservatives after Mulvaney, 26, a TikTok creator and transgender woman, posted an Instagram with the adult beverage in a sponsored post.
After celebs like Kid Rock and Travis Tritt rallied fans on social media to boycott Bud Light over the partnership, the beer's parent company, Anheuser-Busch, has prepared to dramatically increase its marketing budget to recoup losses.
After beer sales plummeted, Anheuser-Busch distributors feared for their livelihoods and job security.
According to Benj Steinman, editor of Beer Marketer's Insights, Bud Light's parent company vowed to make up for economic losses.
In a closed-door meeting on Monday, Anheuser-Busch executives told distributors from across the country that they planned to "spend heavily on the brand after spending fell off a cliff last year," Steinman told the Post.
Steinman stated that the new marketing efforts would be rolled out as early as this week.
In a report to clients in regard to the meeting, Steinman said that Anheuser-Busch "did promise to spend lotsa dough on Bud Light [marketing] this spring and summer, starting with big push this week for the NFL draft."
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As Bud Light's parent company worked overtime to repair its public image — and relationship with partners impacted by drop in sales — Anheuser-Busch also hosted private Zoom meetings with distributors nationwide.
"There will be an improved screening process before any marketing hits the public," a distributor from the Northeast said of their meeting with the company. "Executives will have to go through a more rigorous screening process."
The promise appeared to directly hit at Alissa Heinerscheid, vice president of marketing for the brand, who was placed on leave as a result of the controversial sponsored post.
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In addition to Heinerscheid being placed on leave, Daniel Blake, her boss, was also reprimanded as the brand attempted to please outspoken critics.
