Blog Post

When your brand; Corona Beer suddenly gets linked to the deadly Coronavirus

By January 28, 2020 No Comments

The coronavirus is currently a trending topic online and a major public health hazard worldwide. But at the same time, it also does not do much good to the Mexican beer brand of the same name. Being linked to something like the coronavirus is something you absolutely don’t want as a brand. So what are the current effects for the Corona Beer brand after this outbreak?

Now that the number of deaths from coronavirus in China continues to rise and the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan is isolated, the fear of investors is also rising. Stock prices in China, Japan, and Hong Kong are therefore falling.

Many investors fear the effects of the virus and have started selling shares. Many companies are expected to be financially affected by the virus.

The beer linked to the virus

Building up a good name, as a brand is hard and takes a lot of time and investments. The virus is terrible for everyone affected by it, and it has made many victims. Beer brewer ABInBev, the owner of Corona Beer has also turned to one of the unfortunate victims.

In India people even started searching for ‘Corona Beer Virus’ Instead of Coronavirus After Outbreak.

But why did a virus like this get the name Corona and got linked up together with the beer brand?

The name coronavirus comes from the Latin word corona, meaning crown or halo. Under an electron microscope, the image of the virus is reminiscent of a solar corona. It is very unfortunate, but there is nothing Corona beer can do about it. It’s just pure bad luck.

Corona memes

No matter how troubling the context might be, people always tend to make memes of items that dominate the news. The virus is no exception, especially due to its name.

Corona is often drunk in cafes. Many people see you with the bottle in your hand. Making silly comments, or negative serious comments can be made easily. It always hurts Corona itself.

For the past weeks, many memes appeared on the internet connecting the beer with the virus. Some examples are shown below.

Consequences for the beer brand not clear

As the virus is still not contained or cured the saga continues. Therefore it is hard to map the consequences at the moment.

It is not expected that the sales or brand image will be heavily affected outside Asia. However, it is hard to say how much negative psychological effects the virus will have on the name Corona in Asia.

Source: https://boingboing.net/2020/01/27/no-coronavirus-has-nothing-to.html

As seen in the above Google Trends graph in the last few days, there has been a spike in people searching Google for the words corona, beer, and virus. Below are the results mapped onto regions of the world.

Source: https://boingboing.net/2020/01/27/no-coronavirus-has-nothing-to.html

Time will tell what the real effects will be for the brand Corona Beer in Asia and the rest of the world.  

Marco de Groen

Marco de Groen

A flying Dutchman who is Graphic Designer  Multimedia Designer | Webdesigner | Blogger | Illustrator | Infographics | Social Media | Brand Manager | Branding | Owner/Founder Asian Customs and The Daily Roar and Blackstone Design

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