OPINION:
Go woke, go broke: The sequel. Actually, there are about as many versions of this these days as there are “Rocky” movies. The liberal corporate executives don’t get it because they are so disconnected from the lives of most consumers in the world.
Cracker Barrel is the most recent in a long line of public relations disasters. The latest rebranding effort removed the iconic barrels and character “Uncle Herschel” from the logo. In addition, the chain announced plans to revamp its restaurants to resemble elite car dealerships more than country restaurants.
Customers went wild, and Cracker Barrel lost an estimated $90 million to $200 million in market value because of the debacle. After initially refusing to reverse course and issue an apology, the company’s CEO announced Tuesday evening that the old logo, including Uncle Herschel, would be reinstated.
Still, unnecessary and entirely avoidable damage to the Cracker Barrel brand has been done.
Looking at Cracker Barrel CEO Julie Felss Masino’s career, I was not surprised that none of her executive roles had been in the heartland of America. From 1993 on, she has been located in New York City, Seattle, Los Angeles/Irvine or Communist China. Some might say the other locations were essentially communist too. Go woke, go broke.
Over the years, I have seen the bubble surrounding so many of the coastal elites in business, media, entertainment and politics. Remember the story of the network TV reporter who said she could not believe George W. Bush had been elected because everyone she knew had voted for Al Gore? A supposedly educated journalist living in America during one of the closest presidential elections in history admitted that she did not know anyone who had voted for the Republican candidate.
Understanding how the coastal elites live in these bubbles helps us understand why so many repeat these mistakes over and over again. It happens far too often in our world today.
Two years ago, Target displayed items that did more than celebrate Pride Month in June. A major boycott began after merchandise featuring “tuck-friendly” swimsuits for men who thought they were women. There were also significant problems with a partnership between Target and Abprallen, whose designer was known for occult and Satanic-themed merchandise.
During the boycotts and backlash, Target’s market value dropped from $9 billion to $13.4 billion. The company reported a more than 5% decline in sales for the second quarter of 2023. Again: Go woke, go broke.
That same year, executives at Bud Light messed around with their brand and found out the hard way. First, special cans of Bud Light were created for Dylan Mulvaney, who posted them on a social media platform and gained popularity for showcasing his “transition” from a man to a “woman.”
Around the same time, the vice president for marketing at Bud Light, Alissa Heinerscheid, appeared on the “Make Yourself at Home” podcast. “I’m a businesswoman. I had a really clear job to do when I took over Bud Light, and it was ‘This brand is in decline, it’s been in a decline for a really long time, and if we do not attract young drinkers to come and drink this brand, there will be no future for Bud Light,’” she said.
What really blew things up was when Ms. Heinerscheid said the company needed to “evolve and elevate” Bud Light away from its “fratty” and “out of touch” brand of humor. That quote went viral. She was attacking a core demographic for her brand.
Several Anheuser-Busch distributors told me that the real problems began when they moved the marketing decisions from St. Louis to New York City. They said that was when the brand lost some of its connection to middle America.
Sources indicate that Bud Light lost more than $1 billion in 2023, specifically in the United States, and approximately $1.4 billion in revenue. Things got so bad that the brand lost its spot as the top-selling beer in America. Go woke, go broke.
Being disconnected from their customers isn’t limited to American elites. Look at what happened to Jaguar. The corporation transitioned entirely to electric vehicles and phased out its internal combustion engine models. At the same time, it introduced a rebranding campaign that alienated many customers. Jaguar’s sales dropped 97.5% in Europe in April 2024 from the same month in 2023. Amazingly, it sold only 49 cars, compared with 1,961 the previous year. Go woke, go broke.
Brand loyalty takes years, sometimes decades, to build. Successful business leaders respect their customers. They look to add to the base, not subtract from it. Radical politics and policy have no place in the corporate world these days. Recent history has taught us one clear truth: Go woke, go broke. Cracker Barrel is just the latest example.
• Scott Walker is a columnist for The Washington Times. He was the 45th governor of Wisconsin and launched a bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. He lives in Milwaukee and is the proud owner of a 2003 Harley-Davidson Road King. He can be reached at swalker@washingtontimes.com.
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