Straight question: Can you put yourself into the shoes of the exec responsible for fixing this mess and think out loud about possible steps to make such a fix?
As a writer, I like to invent impossible problems to solve, and this is better than many I can imagine. My own thoughts:
1. Cut your losses. Disavow Dylan and the original brand manager. Bad beer is not even an LGBTQ concern. There are no consumers there. These are Angry Orchard folks.
2. Apologize. (Should be #1.)
3. Announce that the brand is to be buried. Yes, kill Bud Light so you can save your other brands.
4. Invent an alternative to light beer, something with actual flavor. Maybe even some color.
5. Launch it a couple years from now. Heavy appeal to the “fratty” types.
6. Give the inventory away. Maybe to Canada. Or the Pentagon. The SecDef’d take it.
Your thoughts?
They’ve been taking on water for years. Over all beer sales in this country have been dropping at nearly 3% a year. BUT craft and import beer sales have been growing at a little over 2% a year. Which means what’s really shrinking is the big dogs. This is why they keep trying to find “new” markets with various ad gimmicks. Really they need to reboot, all their beers suck, they need to admit it, and make better beers. Worked pretty well for Domino’s, although their pizza still isn’t very good, but better than it was and so are sales.
“3. Announce that the brand is to be buried.nd”
Good option. I personally do not want to be seen walking around with a bud light. No way.