2PM - No. 931: Bud, Bevo, and Survival

Deep Dive: Sometimes, the idea can be right. The strategy can be sound. And the tactic to implement the strategy, with the aim of achieving the big idea, can be incomplete at best or ill-advised at worst. This is how I perceived the Bud Light controversy, one exacerbated by a deepening cultural divide defined by race, gender, ethnicity, and even geography.

Anheuser-Busch is based in St. Louis, Missouri. The Bud Light marketing team is conveniently located in New York City. I suspect that the two arms of the organization failed to communicate beyond the big idea (reach more consumers, be more inclusive) and strategy (appeal to non-core customers). Two corporate cultures, two cities, two disparate meanings of “non-core,” and – likely – a difference in how that mandate should be met.

Alcoholic beer consumption is an American pastime that rises and falls with times. In some ways, the preferences for it are out of the control of those most responsible for its sale and distribution. Sometimes, the rise in popularity is self-induced. And other times, the fall in popularity can be self-inflicted. But, history has shown, it always bounces back.

In 1770, the average “American” drank 3.5 gallons of alcohol per year. By 1790, that number rose to 5.8 gallons. It peaked at 7.1 gallons in 1830. It varied between 1.7 and 2.5 gallons between 1850 and the beginning of World War I. And then, Prohibition was enacted.

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How Bud Light blew it

The excerpt that inspired the essay: The company’s marketing hub is about 950 miles away in a sleek building in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. Employees can brainstorm in the break room while helping themselves to beer on tap, or take a drink up to the roof deck. 

How a DTC veteran made a showerhead a hot item

Excerpt: When Ryan Babenzien launched his sneaker brand Greats in 2014, about three of every 10 creators he sent shoes to would end up posting about the brand. Back then, most of Babenzien's direct-to-consumer peers were buying ads on Facebook and Instagram to supercharge their sales, and a word-of-mouth-based strategy wasn't as effective by comparison.

Temu is becoming the new online dollar store

Excerpt: This Chinese-owned, but US-headquartered e-commerce platform, is run as a marketplace where sellers – who are predominantly based in China – sell products to customers in the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It consists of an app and website and has made waves in the US since its launch in September.

Nike's partnership Foot Locker has had negative consequences

Excerpt: Foot Locker purchased 65% of its inventory from Nike in 2022, according to Foot Locker's most recent annual report. In March, Foot Locker touted it had renewed the partnership after Nike had previously eased back on accounts of wholesale partners. 

Updated For May 17: 802 brands covered. Today’s breakout is the top brands in coffee covered in the database. The leaders are Chamberlain Coffee, Black Rifle, and Dirtea. Shopify is being used by all but one which aligns well enough with our data on platform penetration: Shopify 73.5% of the list, Custom is 18.2% WooCommerce is 3.28%, Salesforce is 1.26%, Magento is 1.14%, SpreeCommerce is 1.01%, Squarespace is .5%, and BigCommerce is .379%.

Digital Brands Group sees potential for 50 retail stores

Excerpt: Digital Brands Group CEO Hil Davis said on a call Monday that the company expects to reach positive EBITDA by this fall. Davis said the company will launch a proprietary affiliate program in August and grow its multi-brand store footprint, using free cash flow to open five stores annually for the next few years. The chief executive said Digital Brands Group believes it can operate over 50 stores.

How Colgate-Palmolive's upskilling is leading to dtc growth

Excerpt: As with other consumer goods companies, today’s new commerce and work environments means Colgate-Palmolive is embedding digital capabilities across all functions of the organization. King says that teams have “truly upskilled themselves” thanks to commitments to both the corporate mission and professional development. 

Meta fined record $1.3billion over US data transfers

Excerpt: The Meta fine coincides with the fifth anniversary of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, widely seen as the world’s benchmark for privacy. Since May 2018, regulators in the 27-nation EU have had the power to wield fines of as much as 4 percent of a company’s annual revenue for the most serious violations.

Also: Meta's next round of layoffs begins next week 

Member Brief: In 1964, a Canadian-funded expedition led by Montreal physician Stanley Skoryna sailed to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) to conduct an unprecedented ecological survey of its biosphere led to the discovery of rapamycin, launching an enduring field of biomedical research. Known by the science community as a life-altering, life-extending drug, “Rapamycin is the most effective known cancer-preventive agent in mice. It has even been suggested that rapamycin extends lifespan by preventing cancer.” (NLM)

The drug is known to mimic calorie restriction. It works by inhibiting mTOR. mTOR sends signals to cells affecting growth, metabolism, and autophagy (a process that clears old cells in favors of new ones). How do I know any of this? And why do I even care? I am certainly not alone.

Ask ten college-bound students with top-percentile ACT scores what they plan to major in and you may hear “neuroscience” or any other biological science. I would guess that you would hear this more than you would have a decade ago, when that same student may have replied with “computer science” or “engineering.”

Let’s call it the Huberman effect.