Why Big Retail Brands Are Insulting Their Users: The Risky Gamble of ‘Woke’ Marketing

And yet they continue to do so. Bud Light, whose cases of beer languish unsold in stores, has just announced for the pride month a new partnership and a $200,000 grant to the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC), the exclusive certification body for LGBTQ-owned businesses created “to continue to support economic opportunities and advancements for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs.”

It’s not the best time. Because the boycott of Bud Light is not an isolated case, and this year we are beginning to see signs of weariness in the face of the incessant offensive wokeas evidenced by the fact that the documentary What is a woman? by Matt Walsh, free for a weekend on Twitter, has already been seen by a whopping 175 million people. to the wokeand especially in its sexual aspect, the seams are being seen everywhere and, above all, its totalitarian and censorship spirit is being seen, which is leading to a consumer revolt.

Consumers are up in arms, the trend has changed and this does not seem to be a flash in the pan. In fact, it’s not even appropriate to talk about boycott, at least in the case of Bud Light. simply, the brand has been associated with an image that the consumer rejectsand it is likely that he will never recover from this blow.

So? The pandemic has helped a lot capitalism woke. During the confinements and restrictions, there was a chain of bankruptcies and closures of small companies, leaving a huge gap that was immediately filled by the big ones, which grew significantly. Now, big companies are more dependent on governments and, therefore, are more docile to their ideological guidelines. Besides, with the little ones gone, who are you going to buy from if you boycott us, if we’re all in the same boat? You better find yourself a cave. A handful of corporate giants control nearly 80% of the food Americans eat; four or fewer companies control at least 50% of the market for 79% of groceries. For almost a third of the purchase items, the major companies control at least 75% of the market share.

Then there is the financing. Businesses ultimately depend on their users for money, but first, depends on loans and investments, that is, on the world of financeand are subject to ESG cheat (acronym for Environment, Social, Corporate Governance). Funds BlackRock, State Street y Vanguard (who together manage $20 billion) have an irresistible incentive to favor the government’s ideology and impose it wherever they have influence, which is everywhere. Thus, they have created the ESG and DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) indices with which they value companies and judge which ones deserve credit. Companies, with record debt levels, have to jump through hoops or face bankruptcy. The consumer will have to wait.

It is the risk that companies like Target or Bud Light are willing to take to secure financing.. They know perfectly well that their identification with radical causes makes them unsympathetic to their consumers, but it compensates them to please their main shareholders.

Ultimately it is a gamble, a chicken game with your consumer, to see who gets tired first. They hope that this irritation of the public that boycotts them will be temporary, as it has happened up to now, moreover.

But the tide has turned, the pendulum swings against tyranny woke And consumers have finally realized that they have the upper hand, and they’re not going to let go. Businesses would do well to take note.