Cyabra’s Post

What if the Bud Light/Dylan Mulvaney boycott had never happened? The marketing world would look very different today. Here’s why: 1. Risk Aversion Would Be Lower: Brands wouldn’t be second-guessing every campaign with controversial elements. The backlash showed how quickly public sentiment can impact sales—and it made marketers cautious. 2. Cause Marketing Would Be Louder: More brands would be taking bold stands on social issues, betting that aligning with cultural movements outweighs the risks. Without the Bud Light fallout, fewer companies would be pulling back on divisive messaging. 3. The Focus Would Be Elsewhere: Instead of talking about how brands handle polarizing topics, the conversation would still be on creativity, innovation, and connecting with customers. But here’s the thing: the boycott reshaped marketing, for better or worse. It proved that knowing your audience is more critical than ever. Marketing is about trust, not just stunts. When brands forget that, customers hold them accountable. So, what’s your take? Did the fallout help the industry refocus—or just make us too cautious? #marketingstrategy #brandtrust #lessonslearned 

The Culture War. Like any true and important fact of modern life, legacy media has insisted for years it is both “not happening” and “good, actually,” depending on how it serves them at the time. It’s also responsible for many unforced errors from brands. Let's explore another case study in authenticity and integrity like we did yesterday. - - - - - - - - - - One of the biggest modern boycotts came from Bud Light’s partnership with Dylan Mulvaney—CEO of the uncanny valley. On some level, I can see Bud LIght's line of thought. Bud Light is an Everyman brand archetype. • Friendly, humble, and approachable. • Belonging and connection with the masses. That's the concept. The reality is that Bud Light’s audience is mostly male sports fans and middle-class Americans. Regular Joes who live in flyover country with traditional beliefs and lifestyles. The same people who are tired of antagonistic politics being shoved into every aspect of their lives against their will. Dylan is also not friendly, humble, or approachable. He’s weird, fake, and off-putting. When this partnership happened, backlash was immediate. • Kid Rock famously shot up a few cases of their beer. • Travis Tritt removed their products from his tour rider. • Various influencers and media outlets called for a boycott. • Memes mocking Bud Light and Dylan sprang up everywhere. One of the largest modern boycotts materialized seemingly overnight. Executives were put on leave. Mainstream rags lectured the unwashed masses about their bigotry. By June, Modelo Especial unseats Bud Light's long-held position as the top-selling beer in the U.S. I remember seeing photos from NFL games of coolers all around the country filled to the brim of Bud Light. No one was buying them. Even today, Bud Light has still not regained its spot as the top beer. In fact, it's fallen to third place, behind Michelob Ultra (another Anheuser-Busch product). This was never going to kill Bud Light, but it has done significant damage to the brand's reputation. - - - - - - - - - - What can be learned from this? 1. Don't alienate your base. If you're going to try to branch into a younger generation, don't do it at the expense of those that have supported you the longest. 2. Choose your collaborators carefully. Attention is currency, but it's not all worth the same. Some brands thrive on negative attention, but it's not the norm, nor is it easy to do. 3. Theory is not reality. You never know until you try, but some things should be obvious to you without having to try. Discernment through experience is a major asset. - - - - - - - - - - Is your brand top secret or most wanted? Assess it in 30 mins or less with my free checklist. https://lnkd.in/gUvfxA2g

Trigger warning: some viewers may find this distressing: TikTok has just DESTROYED this US Turkey brand overnight. One video has just killed off the company for good: Thanksgiving in the US is tomorrow, and parents around the country are rushing around trying to find Turkeys to feed their families. But they’ll be one brand they’ll be avoiding - Butterball. Butterball is a US turkey brand which prides itself in making sure ‘everyone feels great about what they eat’. So PETA sent an undercover reporter inside their premises to investigate. What they found, and subsequently posted on TikTok, was shocking. - Employees sexually abusing animals - Breaking their bones by manhandling them - Popping their eyeballs 6 million views later, Butterball is seeing the commercial repercussions: - Comment sections filled with angry customers - Stores left with stock they’re unable to sell, with other Turkey brands flying off the shelves - A boycott spreading across America The video has hit all the major news channels and the traditional press in the last 24 hours, and the whole country is talking about it. And those who have already bought a Butterball turkey… will be left with a sour taste in their mouths. All of this, stemming from ONE short-form video. TikTok can literally make or break you overnight. Now that shows you the power of the platform.

🚨Attention all brands with a strong social presence🚨 I found this article article today which discusses how you can receive backlash & boycott calls for reasons beyond your control, which can make it feel like a minefield when deciding what to post. The phrase 'you're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't' comes to mind! This quote particularly struck me whilst reading the article: 'if you’re waiting around to see what the economic impact is, it’s a little too late.' If you have concerns about the growing frequency of social media backlashes, and want to learn more about protecting your brand on socials, drop me a DM - Respondology can help. #brandprotection #socialmedia

This time last year, #marketers watched in real time as the Bud Light #boycott put a spotlight on #influencermarketing, brand boycotts and a backlash to so-called “woke” #advertising. The impact of the boycotts had marketers quickly moving to be more risk averse in their marketing and advertising efforts. Even so, brand boycotts continue apace this year with the likes of Planet Fitness, McDonald's and others grappling with their own boycotts in recent months. While the reasons for the #boycotts vary, there’s a recognition among marketers now that a brand boycott could happen regardless of their efforts – and for reasons outside of #marketing and advertising – that will need to be dealt with. In this piece by Kristina Monllos, we speak to Audrey Chee-Read of Forrester, Tom Ghiden, Ellie Bamford of VML, Sadie Dyer of Siegel+Gale, and Nick Primola of Association of National Advertisers.

Ever noticed how some products become everyone's must-have, while others just don't make the cut? Recent boycott movements gave us a crucial lesson: the true value of a product isn't just in its specs or features. It's about whether the consumers choose to embrace it or not. This eye-opener has revealed the massive impact our choices have on shaping the market. But why does this matter so much? Because understanding the motives behind our decisions is the key to success or failure in today's competitive market. This isn't just about the price or quality of products and services but about aligning it with consumer values, needs, and lifestyles. Companies that grasp why consumers are drawn to certain products, or why they might boycott others, can innovate and adapt in ways that connect on a deeper level. This alignment between product offerings and consumer expectations is what ultimately defines market leaders in a crowded marketplace. Genuinely understanding consumer desires is essential in today's marketplace. By focusing on the reasons behind consumer choices, businesses can speak directly to the hearts and minds of their target audience, turning potential buyers into loyal followers and shaping the future of their brands in the process.

How a Hashtag Shook the Beverage Industry in Bangladesh? What started as a call to boycott Coca-Cola turned into a wave of criticism against the entire beverage industry. In Bangladesh, this movement gained significant traction, with religious and cultural sentiments amplifying the call for a boycott. At DeepDive, we conducted a social audit by leveraging our proprietary social listening AI to understand the scale and implications of this phenomenon, and the findings are eye-opening. Here’s what we found. From Oct 23' to Nov 24' over a 5 months period, the hashtag #BoycottCocaCola led to over 124,769 conversations on social media, with Coca-Cola dominating the mentions at 78.45%. But the impact wasn’t limited to Coca-Cola alone. Pepsi accounted for 16.13% of the mentions. Sprite followed with 4.03%. The movement was strongest in urban areas, with Dhaka contributing 72.77% of the engagement, followed by Chittagong and Sylhet. Social media played a big role in driving these conversations, with posts and hashtags trending for over a month. While global brands were under fire, local brands like Pran, Aarong, Mojo capitalized on the situation. Mojo gained 39% in market share, positioning itself as a trusted local alternative during the backlash. On the other hand, Coca-Cola saw its market share drop by 23%, showing how quickly consumer sentiment can impact business performance. The boycott wasn’t just about products—it was tied to deeper cultural and religious sentiments. Influential voices, including religious leaders, spoke out, calling for people to stop supporting multinational beverage companies. This narrative resonated widely, especially in a country like Bangladesh, where shared values and collective action carry significant weight. The sentiment also spread differently across platforms. Facebook: Long-form posts and discussions drove the most engagement. Twitter: Hashtags like #BoycottCocaCola kept the movement visible and trending. WhatsApp: Personal conversations and group messages added a grassroots dimension to the campaign. This wasn’t just a boycott of CocaCola it became a moment of reflection for consumers and brands alike. For the brands in Bangladesh, the message is clear: public sentiment can shift rapidly, and it has a real impact on market dynamics. At DeepDive, this analysis is a testament to the power of social data to uncover insights that go beyond numbers, revealing the human stories that shape markets #SocialListeningAI #SentimentAnalysis #MediaMonitoring

In our modern, interconnected society, brand boycotts have become a potent mechanism for consumers to express discontent and demand accountability from companies. With an increasing emphasis on transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct, navigating the landscape of brand boycotts presents a significant challenge for businesses striving to maintain their relevance and sustainability. According to a recent YouGov poll spanning 17 international markets, Canada ranks fourth in consumer propensity to boycott companies for various reasons. The top triggers identified include products posing health risks, engagement in unethical practices, and sudden price hikes. Understanding and monitoring brand reputation, attention, and buzz are crucial for business executives and risk managers to make informed, data-driven decisions that can effectively manage and mitigate crises and their impact on both brand perception and financial outlook. #BoycottCulture #BrandReputation #CrisisManagement #DataDrivenDecisions

To all the Creatives out there who are following bigger ‘cooler’ brands and feel influenced by what they are doing with their busineses. To boycott days like black/green Friday because a girl crush of yours announces she doesn’t partake in such things -because she loves her customers too much ( still out on that - but hey everyone to their own!) is not necessarily the correct tactic for your business. The key message is: don’t make business decisions based on social posts from brands that… 1. Are at very different stages of business to yours 2. Have obvious partnerships, several product lines and influencer deals so don’t rely on promotional events like these for income 3. Are not YOU! Look at your own data. Align to your own brand values. Check in with what feels right before feeling shame or guilt for doing what ‘Collio and the gangio’ said NO to! Put on those blinkers! Do what is right for YOU!

Who is on your brand blacklist? 🤔 And why? YouGov did some research on this in February and found “that over 7 in 10 consumers across 17 international markets say they would boycott a brand – should the company or its leaders act in ways they object to.” I’m intrigued by this because I’ve had a brand blacklist for years. It aligns my personal values with the behaviour of the brands and organisations I buy from, or use. I thought it was just me 😊 As a teen, it started with animal testing, then into how brands treat people, nature and communities. Often, you can find alternative brands. Sometimes it’s a matter of holding your nose. This research shows that I’m not alone! In Britain: ➡️82% of people say they will boycott brands ➡️9% say they’ll never do this and ➡️9% don’t know The main reasons given by Brits for boycotting brands are: 1️⃣ Products pose health risk (over 50%) 2️⃣ Engages in unethical practices (over 50%) 3️⃣ Does business with countries I disapprove 4️⃣ Suddenly raises prices 5️⃣ Is environmentally polluting The USA has the same order – except for number 4. Their number 4 is “Acts against social causes I support” You can see the results here https://lnkd.in/eqFu8TFg So, this research shows that brand values, a moral compass and north star DO play a role in brand choice. Have you got a blacklist of brands to boycott? #brandvalues #brandboycotts #research