In the wake of the Corona Virus, is the beer brand ‘Corona’ facing an ‘Ayds’ moment?
“ A Brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is — it is what consumers tell each other it is ” — Scott Cook
Fears sparked by the outbreak of the Corona Virus, has led to an economic slowdown as evidenced by a bad week for the Wall Street. Dow Jones’ weekly selloff suffered a 13.56% drop, one of its worst in recent times.
China being one of the biggest beer markets in the world, it is no surprise that beer makers were badly impacted by the virus. One company that has been in the spotlight for no fault of its but has been subject to memes & parodies by virtue of its name is the beer brand ‘Corona’.
What the name ‘Corona’ meant then and now?
Corona has always projected itself as an explorer brand. Earlier, when I used to hear the name ‘Corona’ the first imagery that came to my mind was that of me sipping the beer in a beach on a summer day, with a little lemon wedge while chilling in the company of good friends.
Now, the association I have with the name ‘Corona’ is that of people being quarantined, wearing masks and being isolated from friends and family. Although there is no connection between the virus and the beer brand, when I now hear the name ‘Corona’ I tend to associate it with virus first.
Keyword searches for ‘Beer Virus’ & ‘Corona Beer Virus’ continues on search and social platforms
Some people tend to have developed associations of the beer brand, ‘Corona’ with that of the Corona Virus. Google Trends data suggest that despite the articles clearing the negative association of the beer to the virus, some people continue searching for the keywords such as ‘Beer Virus’ & ‘Corona Beer Virus’.
According to Twitter analytic insights from trackmyhashtag.com, 97 posts with the #Coronabeervirus with a potential impression of 1.05M was tweeted on the 28th of February alone.
The Ad released by ‘Corona’ :Coming Ashore Soon
The beer brand couldn’t have asked for a better moment to distill the negative imagery that the brand off-late has been associated with. In pushing hard for its new Seltzer flavors and in using the tagline ‘Coming Ashore Soon’, Corona missed a beat in improving its declining brand equity. When countries are cancelling flights to the epicenter of the Corona outbreak, the tagline was seen in a negative light by many.
A look back at history — How the AIDS virus lead to the downfall of ‘Ayds’, a diet suppressant candy
Not a lot of millennials would have heard of the weight loss candy, ‘Ayds’. In the late 30’s, a time when there was a fad around grapefruit and bread diets, Ayds positioned itself as a miracular weight loss candy with no drugs & no harmful ingredients. Roping in stars of the day — Hedy Lamarr & Zsa Zsa Gabor, the brands’ popularity peaked in the 70s.
Despite being a well-recognized brand and having been in the market for 40 years, the decision of medical officials to name the immune deficiency virus AIDS that sounded similar to the brand name ‘Ayds’ turned into a huge marketing challenge for the company. Competition for OTC drugs at that time increased. The parent company’s poor performance along with the failure to rebrand ‘Ayds’ ultimately lead to the company’s downfall.
Is ‘Corona’ facing an ‘Ayds’ Moment?
Its too early to jump into any conclusion as to whether ‘Corona’ will turn into another ‘Ayds’. Having said that, the social media memes coupled with the timing of its poorly executed campaign, with an insensitive tagline, isn’t helping the brand. The share price of the Constellation Brands, Inc (STZ) has been continually falling this week.
As a huge fan of the ‘Corona’ beer, I wish that the beer maker doesn’t go into the historic annals of branding as another ‘Ayds’. I am happy to see that the company has removed the controversial promotional Ad from its Twitter page, a step in the right direction. Hoping to see ‘Corona’ revive its glory days and continue creating the fun and freedom it stood for.
References
2. https://www.trackmyhashtag.com/
3. https://thefunnybeaver.com/21-funny-corona-memes/
4. https://tedium.co/2018/09/20/ayds-candy-branding-problem/
5. https://www.reddit.com/r/PRTwitter/comments/fai5so/corona_really_should_have_laid_low_for_a_while/
