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capitalizing on mainstream trends of the day and hoping we maximized them in time. Occasionally, a game came to market too late to meet earnings expectations. The “fad” was over or the machine’s theme had passed its prime. Every slot operator has confronted that situation. Most recently, two of America’s most popular companies failed
to understand that concept and just sell their goods. I’d put money down to bet their “genius” marketing staff viewed themselves as hip and enlightened when designing these two failed campaigns. The swift and public backlash has devastated their bottom lines. Anheuser-Busch’s blunder has cost them billions in stock value.
The giant beer company, maker of Bud Light, the #1 selling brand nationwide, is learning that recovery is daunting and could prove impossible. What happened? Bud Light partnered with a transgender social media “influencer” named Dylan Mulvaney. So, what is an influencer and why would anyone pay attention to them or what they’re influencing? I don’t get it. Mulvaney’s image as a woman in an updo hairstyle, makeup
and jewelry appeared on Bud Light cans to celebrate a year of “transitioning.” The immediate backlash has crippled sales and devastated its distributors. Millions of consumers have switched to other brands. What seemed short-lived continues months later. Most experts wonder if they can recover, but a few think they can. Even so, and it may take a long time, it was a self-inflicted
wound. No one can recapture those lost sales. It’s like a broken slot machine or video game. Those lost plays are forever. Ours is a business based on time. Anheuser-Busch miscalculated and misjudged, believing
their message meant more than most of their customers’ feelings. When someone patronizes a bar or opens a beer can at home, they don’t want political or social messages in their
10 JULY 2023
face… they just want to sit back and enjoy the beer. The Bud Light marketing strategists are on leave-not sure if
they’re being paid-but anyone who cost my company billions would be out the door pronto. Target, whose product lines set it above other mid-range
retailers, is the second business fiasco. They too have lost billions in market share and tanking stock pricing. They prominently placed adult LBGTQ swimwear, including those complete with anatomical fabric adjustments, in their PRIDE displays. This resulting social media reaction pushed Target to move the
merchandise to another location on the sales floor on restore order in many locations. Now, law enforcement is getting involved in many states to protest policies that deem as discriminatory. These are the realities of 2023. Casinos are more vulnerable
businesses because they are 24-hour “stores” who offer multiple experiences to customers. Gaming’s commercial and tribal casinos should learn this
lesson… always focus on their property’s uniqueness. In Las Vegas and other tourist destinations, international customers may require more culturally sensitive policies in some venues while being more flexible in others. Smaller casinos in rural communities may welcome fewer
out-of-towners, which makes their local marketing focus a must. Tribal properties operate under the traditions and mores of their tribal councils. Beer sells for home use or as part of a social experience at a
bar. Retail stores are destinations to buy merchandise and leave. That’s their only purpose. How could singer Bob Dylan have imagined life in the 2020s when he wrote “The Times They Are a-Changin” in 1964? But the times are changing and smarter companies will take things slowly.
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