#the rumors etc by TG are damaging and i get that!!!

[cthoniian]

for the last fucking time. JACE LUKE AND JOFFERY ARENT BASTARDS OR USURPERS TO THE THRONE BC THEYRE THE SONS OF RHAENYRA AND LEGALLY CLAIMED BY LAENOR, and !!!!! by corlys & viserys!!!!!

[nickgerlich]

Fit To Be Tied...I Mean Pride

Just when you thought it was safe to be in the field of marketing, the world explodes with manufactured fury over something that has actually been going on for years. But that doesn’t matter, because marketing is now in the crosshairs. All I have to do is say the names “Bud Light” and “Target,” and you know exactly what I mean.

All this in just the last two months.

And because I think it is critically important for my students to give considerable thought to how they might handle crisis communication and marketing in the face of controversy, this summer term I am pushing all y’all—that’s Texan for you guys—into the frying pan. You get to be the team that crafts a marketing response for your pick of these two companies.

For the sake of a quick review, it all started unraveling in early April when Bud Light—owned by the Belgian AB InBev—sent a one-off beer can to Dylan Mulvaney that featured her image. Dylan is a transgender woman and TikTok star. But Bud Light has promoted Pride Month for a long time, and in recent years released rainbow-colored 16-ounce aluminum bottles. It’s just that the hive thought that Bud Light had gone a little far with the Mulvaney thing, and the result being a consumer boycott and a steep 15% or more decline in their stock price.

Meanwhile, and more recently, Target released its in-store support of Pride Month with a large selection of pride-themed merchandise that is featured in a mini-boutique format. Target endured mob scenes in which protesters damaged those in-store displays, as well as organized more boycotts. One item in particular piqued the wrath of conservatives, that being the bikini bottom for TG women so that they might “tuck” and have a better chance of passing. Incorrect rumors spread that there were also versions of this bikini in the kids section.

While I do not consume Bud Light (I am a beer snob, and I have my standards, you know), they have not missed my “boycott” one bit, simply because I was never on their radar. But Target? Yeah, I know that one better. On a recent very long road trip, I stopped by about a half-dozen Target stores across the nation to see how they were handling the crisis.

One store still had the Pride Month display in the very front of the store, while others had moved it farther back, and in the women’s section. The marketer in me was fascinated, and I’m sure I raised some eyebrows whilst perusing the merch, taking photos, etc.

Consumer boycotts are truly a nickel a dozen these days. While they are not a new phenomenon, they have grown thanks to social media and the increasingly divisive society in which we live. Historically, though, consumer boycotts are a mixed bag in terms of their effectiveness. When it comes to brands and stores, they seldom last more than six months. People either forget or move on to the next object of their rage. Non-profits, though, like the Livestrong Foundation and Susan G. Komen, took big hits after their controversies a decade ago, and have never fully recovered.

Some will argue that companies should never target—bad pun—special interest groups, especially when they are such a minority. While I have long said that companies as well as individuals such as celebrities and sports stars should never mix politics and religion into what they do, I will also argue that many see LGBTQ matters as being about civil rights, not religion, and certainly not politics.

The sad reality, though, is that in our polarized world, you really can alienate 50% of your audience in a heartbeat, even if you are doing the right thing. And remember, that “shoving it down our throats” thing only has meaning when it is something you just don’t like in the first place. If it’s a message with which you agree, then it’s kind of like someone sharing their ice cream cone with you. No problema, right?

According to recent stats, about seven-percent of Americans now identify as LGBTQ. Similarly, about five-percent identify as vegetarian and three-percent as vegan. Tally those two and you have about the same percents of the population. But no one seems to be complaining too much about all those plant-based foods. Well, except for last year when Cracker Barrel announced it was adding the Impossible plant-based sausage patty to its breakfast menu. Die-hard CB fans went ballistic, even though no one was making them eat even one of them.

I suppose if you’re actively looking for something to complain about, it’s not all that hard these days. And marketers are left defending their every move. Companies simply want to serve more segments of the market. And while only seven-percent identify as LGBTQ, there are many more who consider themselves allies and supporters. Have a family member who is gay or TG? Yeah, you might think very differently from the person using their Bible as a cudgel. And maybe you just want to eat a little less meat part of the time? There ya go.

The solution for humankind is really simple: If you don’t like what you’re seeing, then don’t look at it. Don’t touch it. Don’t buy it. Don’t eat it. But please, stop all the knee-jerk boxers-in-a-bunch complaining. And that’s for all y’all (I’ve been working on my Texan). Left or Right, please just calm down and take a deep breath, because you’re not helping matters any. And—this is important here—our culture has shifted, as it always does. Whereas we once used biblical writ to justify subservience of women and holding slaves, we got past that. We need to keep moving along.

It’s just that we marketers are left with egg on our face no matter what, as long as the boycotting mindset continues. It practically guarantees job opportunities in the field, but also long hours putting out fires, and strengthening your resolve not to cave in to the protesters.

Which means please don’t pour any Bud Light on those fires. It’s going to take some creative thinking. And that explains why I have put my MBAs on to this for the summer term. Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines. You have work to do.

Dr “Proud Of My Field“ Gerlich

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