Bud Light sales still haven't recovered from the boycott against the brand after it partnered with trans-influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Drexel University Associate Professor of Marketing Daniel Korschun and University of Toledo Professor of Geography Neil Reid joined Yahoo Finance to discuss the marketing conundrum for brands. Korschun says that the Bud Light backlash is "sticking around a lot longer than we normally see for a boycott like this. Korschun says there has been a "galvanizing" of support for this boycott, that he says has been partly driven by "some media channels that are reminding consumers" about the issue. Korschun adds that he thinks this boycott could go on "for months, if not years." Reid agrees, saying "I don't think they are going to get back these beer drinkers that have abandoned them for another product." "Beer drinkers are creatures of habit, so those who made that switch, say, from Bud Light to Coors Light, they're going to stick with Coors Light," Reid adds.

Korschun says part of AB InBev's (BUD) problem is that they've been trying to talk to both sides of the issue, and, as a result, lost customers who were upset over the initial Mulvaney partnership, but also didn't gain any because of the company's apology for it. As a result, Korschun says, there's a "wishy-washiness" that shows they "don't really have a strong idea of what the brand is."

Video Transcript

JARED BLIKRE: Back in April of this year, beer company Bud Light, owned by AB InBev, they released new marketing material with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney. The backlash was instantaneous with customers boycotting the brand. The disagreement about Bud Light's next steps following the ad was also wrought with challenges.

As companies think about marketing during such a polarized time, what light can be shed on the Bud Light backlash, and what does it mean for marketing moving forward? Let's bring in now Drexel University Associate Professor of Marketing Daniel Korschun and University of Toledo Professor of Geography Neil Reid. And staying with us right now, of course, is Brooke DiPalma.

Daniel, I want to begin with you. This thing seems like it has some legs. This is sticking around. Tensions have been raised, and there could be some long-term consequences here. What are your thoughts?

DANIEL KORSCHUN: Yeah, thanks for inviting me. This is really sticking around a lot longer than we normally see for a boycott like this. I mean, usually these things kind of tend to peter out even when they hit a political nerve like this. But here we're seeing-- I mean, there's a real galvanizing of support for this, I guess, we could call it a protest movement that's partly driven, I think, from some media channels that are, you know, reminding consumers that this is an important issue. So it really has a lot more staying power than I expected, but I think it's going to be going on for months, if not years.

BROOKE DIPLAMER: And Neil, really what's so interesting here is that they're doubling down on saying that we're a beer company. We're here to serve everyone. Do you think that's the right move to make here?

NEIL REID: Well. Yeah, I think going forward, they really got to think about the message that they send to consumers. And I think what they did with the Mulvaney is they kind of got out of the lane, and I think they've really got to get back into the lane and focus on the fact that this is a beer for everyone, stay out of politics, stick to the sports and other types of advertising that we're familiar with. And I think that's one of the keys going forward. But like Daniel said, I don't think they're going to get back these beer drinkers who have basically abandoned them for another product.

JARED BLIKRE: Daniel, it seems that Bud Light AB InBev has kind of walked back some of their comments, and at the end of the day, they're a little bit indecisive. Just wondering how that fits in, and how that's affected their marketing campaign in general? Does that put people off?

DANIEL KORSCHUN: That's the worst place you can be is kind of stuck in the middle trying to speak to both sides. And that's been, I think, a big issue, and it's a reason why, in this case, even though they alienated some consumers, they didn't pick up anyone on the other side because people on the other side were upset that the company even apologized for having a partnership with a trans influencer.

So it's that wishy-washiness that consumers were picking up or at least that they were thinking that they were picking up. And that wishy-washiness means that they don't really have a strong idea of what the brand is. And I think that's what they were saying in that announcement, that quote that you played earlier that they need to focus on what the brand is about.

I don't think, though that they can avoid politics altogether. I don't think that that's-- you know, in my research, you know, I find that that's not a realistic way to go about it. The trick is to find the issues that make sense with the brand. And here they overstepped a little bit, and they weren't explicit about how this partnership might relate to other things that people know about the brand. And that is part of what caused this controversy to blow up so big.

BROOKE DIPLAMER: Neil, let's take a look forward here. I mean, we're on the crux of football season, Super Bowl right around the corner. Where does Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch largely go from here? Do they do they push more into those Sunday night football marketing? And do they try to sponsor a little more come Super Bowl time of year? Where do they go from here, and how do they ultimately gain back that share that they lost with this new reaffirmed key audience in mind?

NEIL REID: Yeah, I mean, I think, as I said in my previous comment, I think they continue to focus on those marketing types of efforts which have been successful with them before. I mean, we always look forward to the Super Bowl and the Budweiser ads, and, you know, this connection with football has been a very strong one for them. But again, going back to what I said before, they are not going to get these drinkers back who abandoned them.

I mean, beer drinkers are creatures of habit, and so those who made that switch from say Bud Light to Coors Light, they're going to stick with Coors Light. And Coors Light is very similar to Bud Light. Consumers could not tell the difference in terms of taste. Pricing is very much the same.

So I don't think they can think about getting any of these beer drinkers back. I think the focus now is kind of keeping out of those controversial topics, or as Daniel said, if they do kind of enter into politics, kind of thinking about it in a more holistic manner. But I really think they need to stick with what they're good at, which is producing beer and keeping on track with their branding.

JARED BLIKRE: And Daniel, when we think about the competitors in the field, first of all, politics has really inserted itself in a lot of brands. But is that something that brands should necessarily avoid? Could it be a good thing? Because you take a look, as you point out in your notes, that their biggest competitor, Modelo, who's now gained and surpassed their market share, well, they're a little bit political.

DANIEL KORSCHUN: Absolutely. They've been very outspoken on immigration from Mexico in particular, and it's been a positive point for them, I think. So again, I go back, and, you know, I've studied this for 20 years now and seen the development. And what I'm seeing is that customers and employees too we shouldn't forget other stakeholders.

They're looking more deeply about what drives the company? What their motivations are? And they're trying to figure out, as Neil pointed out before, there's a lot of parody in the market. And when there's parody in terms of quality, people look deeper. And what they're looking at is they're trying to find out what is it that makes this company tick? And politics is often it's a way of-- it's like a reflection of what's driving the company, what they care about, and what their values are?

BROOKE DIPLAMER: And in terms of let's talk about sales we're turning as we edge towards the summer. I think this question really for you Neil, as you sort of double down on that consumer, as you sort of say that we're going to stick to that. Do they try again to perhaps introduce more premiumization options? Do they double down on maybe their different type of audience that wouldn't necessarily be this Bud Light drinker? Or do you think that really the play here is to just stick to and not maybe sort offer up a premium brand

NEIL REID: Well, within the US, we've seen this big shift in the last 20 years towards craft, right? So there certainly is a beer drinking segment who's interested in higher-quality product. But I think in terms of Anheuser-Busch, the issue again, I say they stick with what has been successful for them in the past. And again, they can forget about getting these drinkers back. So I think what they've now got to think about is how can they perhaps promote some of their other brand beers and maybe try to gain some market share with them. And I think that might be one possibility for them.

JARED BLIKRE: Daniel, we got time for one more here. Briefly anything that we didn't cover in this discussion that you'd like to add to the conversation?

DANIEL KORSCHUN: I think-- one thing that we tend to overlook, as I mentioned just a moment ago, is the effect on employees and distributors. That's something that from what I've read, I have no inside information, but they seem to be very aware of the distributors and how they're feeling about this how it's impacting them.

They've done, from what I've seen, a pretty good job of addressing that. Employees is an issue that I haven't-- we haven't spoken at all about. But these are people that are-- if employees get turned off, then they can be not as motivated at work, maybe go to others and it could help recruiting.

So it's a much bigger issue than just the consumers and the market share, although, of course, that's what is driving the revenue.

JARED BLIKRE: Employees are very big and important stakeholders as well. Thank you Drexel University Associate Professor of Marketing Daniel Korschun and University of Toledo Professor of Geography Neil Reed.