On International Beer Day, Let’s Also Raise a Glass to Transparency

Campaigns build narratives. Answers build trust.

There are pale beers, dark beers, amber ales, hazy brews, filtered lagers, craft beers, and industrial ones. Some contain alcohol, others do not. That diversity is part of what makes beer so interesting.

Transparency is much the same. It comes in many forms. And one of its rarest—yet most revealing—is the kind that explains how decisions are made.

A few weeks ago, the government of Nuevo León announced a series of activations to help build excitement for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. One of them involved Grupo Modelo offering free beer in public spaces. The announcement naturally prompted questions—not out of suspicion, but out of simple logic. Whenever a private company partners with a public authority, it is worth understanding the framework. Was it a donation? A sponsorship? A commercial activation? What commitments did the agreement include? What responsibilities did each party assume?

So we asked.

Through its public relations agency, Grupo Modelo provided a clear—though broad—response outlining the company’s position: responsible consumption, vendor training, the promotion of alcohol-free beer, and measures to encourage safe social environments. It was a helpful answer.

When we followed up seeking another layer of information—the nature of the agreement, whether any consideration was involved, and the mechanisms for ensuring compliance—that information never came.

The story, in itself, ended there.

What is interesting begins afterward.

Grupo Modelo is part of Anheuser-Busch InBev, one of the world’s largest brewing companies. Its purpose states: “Dream Big to Create a Future with More Cheers.” Behind that statement is a serious commitment to sustainability, ethics, and responsible drinking. Precisely because of that, questions like these should not be seen as an inconvenience or an annoyance, but as an opportunity to give substance to that commitment.

After all, not every journalistic question is looking to uncover a problem. Many are simply trying to understand a decision.

Companies have become highly effective at communicating what they do: circular economy initiatives, regenerative agriculture, human rights, diversity, responsible consumption. Those conversations are already happening—and that is a good thing.

Perhaps the next step is to communicate, with the same openness, how those decisions are made.

Communicating actions builds reputation. Explaining decisions builds trust. They are related, but they are not the same.

Corporate communications teams and public relations agencies excel at building bridges. The challenge is making those bridges work both ways—not only to deliver a message, but also to answer the questions that were never included in the press release.

Today, organizations are no longer judged solely by what they do. They are also evaluated by their willingness to explain why they do it, who they do it with, and under what principles. Perhaps that is one of the conversations that lies ahead.

Today is International Beer Day. Many of us will probably raise a glass. While the foam sits on top, the beer looks one way. Once it settles, something different comes into view.

Corporate communication works much the same way.

Campaigns capture attention. Narratives generate interest. But transparency becomes visible when the foam disappears and you can still see the bottom of the glass.

Because transparency is not about controlling the conversation. It is about being willing to expand it.

This is not intended as a complaint or an accusation. Rather, it is a reflection on how the reputation of a major brand is ultimately tested through small decisions.

For a company as influential as Grupo Modelo, opening the conversation about how and why its partnerships are formed would not weaken its narrative. On the contrary, great brands are measured not only by the impact of their activations or the quality of their products, but by the strength of the trust they are willing to cultivate with their communities.

So, on this International Beer Day, let us raise a glass to a future in which the answers are every bit as transparent as the purpose that inspires them.