Corona Beer’s Branding Went from Positive to Negative After People Associate It With COVID-19

Would you drink a beer called SARS Light?

Probably not, because you subconsciously think that drinking it would lead to you contracting the SARS virus, even though that is irrational.

But then again, people are irrational. And if a beer sounds remotely like a new virus that’s spreading all over the world, they’ll avoid it like the plague (or coronavirus).

Corona Beer’s Branding Went from Positive to Negative After People Associate It With COVID-19

When people first heard the term “coronavirus” they immediately thought of this:

Can get virus from beer meh?

Yes, I’m talking about Corona beer. Unfortunately for the beer brand, people couldn’t help but associate the beer with the COVID-19 coronavirus because of the “corona” in coronavirus.

And now Corona has become the subject of memes on social media as the toll from the virus continues to climb worldwide, reported The Star.

But let’s be objective and look at numbers instead to back up our claims.

According to data from YouGov Plc, purchase intent among adults in the US has plunged to the lowest in two years.

And the damage seems to have become worse in recent days as infections spread. Shares of Corona-maker Constellation Brands Inc. fell by 8% this week in New York.

But that’s not all.

Corona’s buzz score – which tracks whether American adults aware of the brand have heard positive or negative things about it – has dropped to 51 from a high of 75 at the beginning of the year, YouGov reported.

Survey

One survey conducted by 5W Public Relations showed that 38% of beer drinkers insisted that they would not, under any circumstances, buy Corona as the deadly disease spreads across the world.

It’s so bad that 14% of respondents who said they regularly consume Corona beer admitted in the survey they would not order the beverage in public.

Then again, 16% of those surveyed said they were not sure whether the virus is related to Corona beer.

Are people really avoiding Corona beers because they think they’ll contract the coronavirus?

Well, maybe not.

Viewed as a summer drink

According to one YouGov business data journalist, the fall in purchase intent could be attributed to the fact that Corona beer is viewed as a summer beverage associated with beach holidays (it’s currently the winter season in America).

So, maybe this whole thing was blown out of proportion. Or maybe people actually think they Coronavirus was named so because the virus lives and breeds only in bottles of Corona beer.

Only time will tell.