Brief:

• Bud Light is asking football fans to uphold their tradition of booing NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell during the player draft even as the coronavirus pandemic prevents the league from hosting the event with a live audience, according to materials shared with Mobile Marketer.
• The Anheuser-Busch brand announced in a Twitter post that it will donate $1 to the NFL Draft-a-Thon every time someone tweets a video of themselves booing the commissioner. To participate in the fundraiser, Twitter users need to include the #BooTheCommish hashtag and the @budlight handle in their videos by April 25, when the draft ends. Bud Light will donate as much as $500,000 to the Draft-a-Thon, which this year is raising money for COVID-19 relief.
• The NFL Draft this year is being held remotely after the league canceled plans to host the live event in Las Vegas. The draft starts at 8 p.m. EST on April 23, and will air ABC, ESPN and the NFL Network. It will also stream on the WatchESPN app and the NFL Mobile app, along with Sling TV and YouTube TV, per the NFL.

Insight:

Bud Light's #BooTheCommish campaign on Twitter is a lighthearted effort to engage fans during the NFL draft while raising money for a good cause. The appearance of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell at the draft has turned into an occasion for fans to vent their frustrations with the league, SBNation reported.

Goodell appears to take the opprobrium in stride and even owns it, as Bud Light's video announcing the #BooTheCommish promotion shows. With its campaign, Bud Light can participate in social media conversations about this year's draft picks, while extending the campaign's reach organically as Twitter users share their videos with family, friends and followers.

The NFL Draft will be without an important tradition. And we just can't let that stand. Record your boos then post & tag @budlight and #BooTheCommish. We’ll deliver the boos to the Draft, and for each #BootheCommish thru April 25, we’ll donate $1 to NFL Draft-a-Thon up to $500K. pic.twitter.com/fnvcYDpZPW

— Bud Light Seltzer (@budlight) April 20, 2020

Bud Light's push includes a cause-driven component with the fundraiser for COVID-19 relief, as brands change the tone of their advertising and highlight efforts to help others during the pandemic. Eighty-four percent of consumers want to see brands contribute to society and 80% want brands to show empathy, per a recent Morning Consult survey of 2,200 U.S. adults. That sentiment has led to a 41% surge in cause-related marketing, the Interactive Advertising Bureau found in a recent survey of advertising executives. By showing its commitment to COVID-19 relief, Bud Light can create a positive impression about its brand that lasts after the crisis ends.

The change in tone is pronounced for beer brands whose advertising typically focuses on fun get-togethers that have become an impossibility amid lockdown orders on public gathering places. Bud Light has revamped its messaging in the past month, including an effort to help consumers find local bars and restaurants that remain open for takeout orders. The campaign followed an announcement by parent company Anheuser-Busch that it would redirect spending allocated for sports and entertainment to nonprofits working to fight the pandemic.

Other brewers have revamped their campaigns to reflect the public mood and provide practical services or entertainment to people sheltered in place. Michelob Ultra, also owned by Anheuser-Busch, last week started a livestreamed series of workout videos to reach its target market of health-conscious consumers stuck at home, while raising money for out-of-work gym employees. The brand also challenged Twitter users to share videos of their best indoor golfing trick shots to help raise money for COVID-19 relief. As part of its "Ultra Indoor Open," Michelob Ultra donated $1 to United Way's COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Fund for every video posted.