Jorden McVeagh, Editor

Alexander Hall of Fox News interviewed the current Vice President of Marketing for Bud Light, Alissa Heinerscheid, about her role in this venture. Heinerscheid was quoted in the article saying, “I’m a businesswoman, I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light, and it was ‘This brand is in decline, it’s been in a decline for a really long time, and if we do not attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand there will be no future for Bud Light.” To appeal to the public eye, Bud Light and their parent company Anheuser-Busch partnered with transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney. They sent custom cans with her face on it to celebrate her 1-year anniversary from making the transition. 

While this has received harsh backlash from the public, Heinerscheid says that this was done with the idea of inclusivity in mind. She doesn’t want Bud Light to be seen as a beer specifically made for one gender. For some, this move was seen as heinous. Anheuser-Busch on the other hand says that this move was nothing new to the company, adding Mulvaney to a list of other influencers partnered with the brand. This was an attempt to put Bud Light into the eyes of the younger audiences they are trying to reach. 

When a 21 year old sees someone like Mulvaney drinking Bud Light, they may be more inclined to drink it themselves. It is all about what is cool and what other people are doing on social media. If the social media presence around Bud Light is positive and in abundance, more people will start drinking it. Data from Macrotrends.com shows that this new marketing scheme may indeed be working. In 2017, Anheuser-Busch’s revenue for the year reached $56,444 million USD. This number dropped all the way to $46,881 million in 2020. This shows the decline that Heinerscheid was describing in her interview. This has since rebounded to $57,786 million in 2023, which goes to show the work that the marketing team has put in to counteract that decline. 

Why does Bud Light only look at promoting their product through influencers? What other methods could they use to increase revenue? In today’s day and age, influencers play a crucial role in products being successful. However, you see brands like Corona advertising with celebrities such as Snoop Dogg. If they could increase their advertising while incorporating those public figures into the campaigns, they could stand to see a tremendous jump in revenue in the years to come. 

As of October 2022, Constellation, which is Corona’s parent company, saw a 9% growth from the Corona Extra product. I think if Bud Light were to do that and promote their Seltzer/Soda line more they would see that revenue jump they are looking for. They advertise their seltzer line as “100% Hard Seltzer, 0% Beer”. Showing the public that they are a well-rounded company with different products to suit the varying consumer tastes. Most young adults these days do not want to drink beer. They lean more towards seltzers and other low-calorie options, so getting your brand image to incorporate those products will be crucial for Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch moving forward to increase revenue.