Comments on: Good Intentions and Bad Executions

By: Ariyah

Ariyah — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:34:56 +0000

Get a hair piece dude.

By: virtual assistant staff

virtual assistant staff — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:21:35 +0000

Stephen’s thought did a great impact specially on Miller consumers. Good job! for being such an observative person and engaging yourself to current events. Keep up. Great article.

By: Virtual Assistant Staff

Virtual Assistant Staff — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 03:01:42 +0000

Sharing your own point of view will help or educate somebody. However, you can’t please anyone by your own opinion because in reality, we have our different thoughts. Still, you did a great job and hardwork on your article.

By: Paul Barsch

Paul Barsch — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 20:22:36 +0000

Stephen, an incredibly cogent and intelligent argument. Thank you for being bold and sharing.

By: Cam Beck

Cam Beck — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 17:41:25 +0000

“(Can’t believe Cam didn’t weigh in. Wierd, huh?)”
Eerie.
I don’t know what Miller’s market looks like (other than I’m not in it), but other companies that have seemed to endorse this sort of thing have seen themselves boycotted by Christian organizations. So far, they have claimed credit for Ford’s problems, and Levi’s has had its troubles, too, but Disney is still doing alright.
IMO, companies should be who they are and not pander one way or the other. If they truly believe something is right, they should stand by it. If it isn’t something the vast majority of decent employees can be proud of as a whole, stay faaaaaaar away.
Sponsorship can come across to many as an endorsement, but something like this might not be a big deal to the beer crowd. To the car and jeans crowds, on the other hand…
Either way, I’m still not buying Miller. That’s just not my crowd.

By: gowri

gowri — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 10:13:58 +0000

By the way check this company MDFI. Their stock is set to increase because of their association with Apple iphone and Complete Care Medical. Find more about this company and stock http://www.growurmoney.com/medefile/

By: virtual assistant staff

virtual assistant staff — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 07:55:31 +0000

this post is important because it helps us to aware in our environment as well as diseases etc. you guys are great keep it up.

By: Stephen Denny

Stephen Denny — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 01:11:13 +0000

Sorry to join the conversation so late — thanks to all for the insights shared above.
Roland: ask Michael Jackson if ‘any publicity is good publicity.’
CK: if SABMiller did provide further cause education, it sure got lost in the leather. I mean shuffle. Whatever.
Anna: amen.
Jasmine: couldn’t agree more. As (I think, at least) Andrea might say, this is “pink” marketing at its absolute worst.
Chris: for full editorial disclosure, my whole family didn’t go to the event. The photos were enough to support other venues for the weekend. Whatever the intent of the event, groking the reality might present a bit of a brand quandry for SABMiller. Unless SABMiller feels that this is where they want their brand to be. Back to Roland’s point above, sponsoring a gay pride parade isn’t the same thing as sponsoring HIV/AIDS prevention and isn’t sponsoring this event.
Lewis: as always, thanks for your thoughts. I’d find it hard to believe if the marketing team at SABMiller looked at this and declared victory for the brand.
(Can’t believe Cam didn’t weigh in. Wierd, huh?)
Marketing to the gay market isn’t the issue: SABMiller has a great story to tell — and they’ve left the opportunity to tell it on the sidelines because of a very questionable sponsorship. The risk far, far outweighed the potential reward. That’s the problem.

By: Lewis Green

Lewis Green — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 18:28:40 +0000

Stephen,
I am conflicted by your post, which by the way is incredibly well-written. Its argument is logical and good points are made.
However, my wife and I lived for 10 years in what at the time was the 2nd largest Gay and Lesbian neighborhood west of the Mississippi River. I know of what you speak. But I was not offended by leather nor by implied S&M. Although not my cup of tea, everyone seemed to be having lots of fun, including well-known brand sponsors and locally elected officials.
Will SAB Miller suffer from its sponsorship of this SF event? I don’t know but I doubt it, as I agree with Chris: “I have a feeling that the majority of Miller’s base doesn’t actually care.”
Should SAM Miller continue its sponsorship. I think they should revisit their sponsorship guidelines, as you suggest, and do a potential problem analysis.
Thank you for your courage in writing a provocative post. We need more writers willing to take on the hard questions.

By: Chris Lynn

Chris Lynn — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 18:09:31 +0000

First: Folsom St Fair is not a gay event. It is a leather event. Sure, there may be segments of it that are strongly identified as gay, but that’s not the point of the event. It is, to some extent, like Mardi Gras in New Orleans; there are sections of the fair that may be considered “obscene” but heterosexual families with children go to it. My whole house went.
Second: Miller brewing company was boycotted by homosexual groups in the 80s and early 90s. This market drinks a lot of beer. Miller has since sponsored gay events all across the country in an effort to boost its image with this segment.
Third: I have a feeling that the majority of Miller’s base doesn’t actually care.

By: Jasmine

Jasmine — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:23:51 +0000

As a transgender person struggling to make a normal life for myself, I find this type of event extremely offensive. It does not help our cause at all. It only serves to point out the reasons why straight people should be offended by gay people. It is wrong to have this in public, plain and simple, and I can’t believe a company like Miller would sponsor such a travesty. Events like this send a very clear message that the gay community is a bunch of freaks, and we are not! I would pay good money to see some gay people getting out in public and acting like the normal, boring people that they really are.

By: anna

anna — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:56:29 +0000

this is heavy stuff and this is definitely hard to believe that they did it that way!

By: CK

CK — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 16:39:13 +0000

A question first: besides sponsoring the event (banners everywhere) did Miller provide an information booth on its cause-related programs?
I’ve not followed this story so what I first want to understand is whether Miller has stated that this was a sponsorship based on their social responsibility pledge (since I’m thinking they sponsor a lot of festivals in general, not just for their cause).

By: Roland Poulin

Roland Poulin — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:23:38 +0000

Two things:
1. I live in Vancouver BC where we have had a successful gay pride parade for a number of years that has raised funding for anti HIV campaigns and awareness groups. If you don’t want to see the parade, don’t go.
2. This is a great example of how sponsoring such a controversial event will lead to people talking about it. any publicity still creates brand awareness even if it is not 100% of your target market.
Good Job to SABMiller for stepping up and trying something different.