Bud Light has taken a "staggering" sales hit following the beer brand's controversial marketing partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, with the latest data showing an alarming 17% drop, according to an industry research firm .
The latest sales data from NielsenIQ and Bump Williams Consulting shows that Bud Light sales fell 17% in dollar terms, while volume fell 21% in the week ending April 15.
That's well above the 6% drop in sales dollars and 11% drop in volume that Bud Light suffered during the week ending April 8, the seven days immediately following the April 1 launch. from Mulvaney's controversial social media campaign.
“These numbers are staggering,” according to an April 23 report in Insights Express, a beer-focused newsletter. “Right now, this is an extremely difficult scenario for Anheuser Busch, the Bud Light brand and AB distributors.”
Mulvaney's campaign has unleashed a torrent of negative publicity for Anheuser-Busch, which announced Friday and over the weekend that the marketing executives responsible for choosing Mulvaney: Alyssa Heinerscheid and daniel blake — are taking leave of absence.
Meanwhile, Bud Light's competitors are cashing in on the mess. Bud Light lost 6.7% of market share last week, while Coors Light and Miller Lite rose 18%, according to the bulletin. A week earlier, Coors Light's market share increased 10.6% over the same period and Miller Lite 11.5%.
“Coors Light and Miller Lite were once again big beneficiaries,” according to Insights Express.
Anheuser-Busch dealers will meet with the company in Washington, DC, on Tuesday.
Dealers, some of whom have canceled marketing events featuring the iconic Budweiser Clydesdale Horses“They are looking for a much more precise and well-developed blueprint for how Anheuser-Busch could stem the flood of negative attention and sales trends,” according to Insights Express.
