Does Corporate Activism Work

By Madeline Reilly

Host Intro: Boycotts are nothing new, but there is a certain relationship consumers have with companies they want to trust. Our reporter, Madeline Reilly,  explores corporate activism and how brands and companies have retracted their activism over the past two years to be more appealing to a wider group of consumers, 

REILLY:  In 2023, during March Madness, Bud Light did something that seemed pretty straightforward for a beer company looking to boost its image/more beer. It sent a case of beer to a TikTok influencer with a special set of cans with her face printed on the side. There was just one thing: the influencer, Dylan Mulvany, was transgender

Dylan Mulvany tape: day 365 of womanhood, and Bud Light sent probably the best gift ever, a can with my face on it

REILLY: But not everyone was a fan of Bud’s Move. Including the musician Kid Rock…he was quite critical about the move. And, as you’re about to hear he even shot cans of the beer brand on social media.

KID ROCK TAPE: F*** Bud Light and F*** Anheuser-Busch 

REILLY:And conservative consumers came out on TikTok “claiming” Budweiser as an alternative brand to Budlight’s “woke affiliations,” not noting, of course, that both brands are owned by the same company.  The backlash went viral

Waterfall: Bud Light is trying to regain its spot as America’s top-selling beer. After sales dropped 23% last month compared to the same period last year. Analysts blame the plunge on a Bud Light Ad posted on Social Media by a transgender TikTok Star. 

REILLY:So why were consumers so upset? Social and political issues aside, our values shape our relationship with brands and companies, and some saw Bud Light’s actions as activism they didn’t agree with.

Columbia University Business Professor Lorie Yue has been conducting research on this very thing for the past few years. She says one big concern that consumers have is when businesses are inconsistent with their messaging, which is what she says happened with Auhierser Bush..

YUE: So, for example, in the Bud Light controversy in 2023. I think the audience are generally know about the company, social media campaign, featuring a transgender influencer. 

REILLY: But Yue says the company flip-flopped. After appearing to support her, Anheiser’s CEO seemed to back away. MULVANEY TAPE 2 :  For a company to hire a trans person and not stand by them is worse, in my opinion, than not hiring a trans person at all. What transpired from that video was more Bullying and Transphobia than I could have ever imagined. REILLY: Things ended with the CEO saying that the company didn’t intend to be part of this controversy

YUE: So this item will really create confusion for both, you know, the consumer on the left and consumer on the right, and so what is the impedance message the company is sending out to the consumers? I think that is a big part that the company, when they're taking side, they should really need to understand

REILLY: When It comes to activism, some brands just want to look good for marketing, but for others, it can be intentional.  Which can be important now, because increasingly, consumers are spending on brands that represent values they align with. Here is Yue’s research partner, Ishiva Minefee.

MINEFEE: . Very much we definitely we see boycotts and buycotts. Like who am I actually going to support and who am I actually going to punish? 

REILLY:  Take Ben and Jerry’s. Which is known for putting Their money where their mouth is. The company shares progressive and inclusive values, including in their mission statement “to advance Human rights and economic justice.” Andn ice cream flavours like“Save Our Swirl Now,” a non-dairy climate justice Ice cream. Yesterday, one of the company’s foudners, Ben Cohen was arrested “disrupting a Senate hearing where Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr was Speaking.  But while some consumers may applaud those actions and buy more ice cream because of it, being outspoken can also backfire. 

REILLY: 

Minefee says  unhappy  consumers are also withholding cash

REILLY:Recently, Target which once had a whole line of clothing made for Pride Month and rolled back its DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives. Companies aren’t awlays sure how best or even fi they should engage.  Minefee says in the past,  Some companies would advertise how sustainable they were by sharing fossil fuel usage. But he says today, many have stepped back from publishing that data.

But what happens when companies take activism to the to the next level? Case in point, Tesla, whose CEO, Elon Musk, has gotten heavily involved in politics. It turns out even if you align yourself with the country’s most powerful politician, it can still backfire with consumers.  

Tesla shares have dropped sharply, car owners have sold them at a loss and crowds of protestors have spoken out against the company like earlier this year in downtown Manhattan. (Protest Ambie) 

REILLY: For now, Minefee and Yue say the relationship between consumers and companies will remain value-oriented. Meaning not just how much a product is worth, but also what it represents.

Madeline Reilly, Columbia Radio News.