That's precisely what's happened with Bud Light and Target, as their marketing departments missed the mark. Fox Business reported both companies combined have lost $28 billion in market value.
Timothy Calkins, associate chair of the marketing department at Northwestern Kellogg, told Fox Business, "These are both cases where brands have gotten in the middle of some really controversial issues. I think we'll see more brands be very cautious about getting into the middle of some of these really controversial issues."
He continued, "It was pretty clear, with Bud Light, that decisions were made by the team working on the brand, but not by more senior executives. And so, there wasn't really a line in there. I think, in hindsight, a team would say, you really don't want to get involved in that controversial an issue. The problem is it just takes your brand into a space that it doesn't need to be, and it just creates a lot of strong feelings about something that isn't really related to the product or its brand."
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Last week, Target made a move that dropped $9 billion from the company's market value. After pushback on their LGBTQIA+ product line, including tuck-friendly female-style swimsuits, hit the stores, the retailer took steps to mitigate the issue. Still, shares dropped over 12.6%.
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A spokesperson for Target told Fox News Digital, "For more than a decade, Target has offered an assortment of products aimed at celebrating Pride Month. Since introducing this year's collection, we've experienced threats impacting our team members' sense of safety and well-being while at work. Given these volatile circumstances, we are making adjustments to our plans, including removing items that have been at the center of the most significant confrontational behavior. Our focus now is on moving forward with our continuing commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community and standing with them as we celebrate Pride Month and throughout the year."
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Calkins said, "I believe Target is still very much going to support Pride. And I think we'll see lots of organizations do that because that is an issue that has broad support across the country and that isn't as controversial as transgender issues."
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