Echo of Coronavirus Didn't Keep Beer Drinkers From Corona
22 December 2020 - 10:16AM
Dow Jones News
By Nat Ives
A series of headlines early in the coronavirus pandemic
suggested that its many impacts could include damage to a beer
brand with a suddenly awkward name.
"Corona beer can't catch a break amid coronavirus fear," read
one in February, for example.
Marketing executives responsible for selling Corona didn't shrug
off the reports, according to John Alvarado, senior vice president
for brand marketing at the beer division of Constellation Brands
Inc. "By and large we were experiencing many of the same challenges
as other marketers," he said. "But we had the added layer and the
pressure that this virus was using the name 'corona.'"
As the year nears its end, however, Corona sales in stores have
held up.
In-store spending on Corona-branded beer and hard seltzer in the
U.S. comprised 6.78% of the category this year through Dec. 6,
essentially unchanged from the equivalent period a year prior,
according to IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm.
Excluding fast-growing spiked seltzers -- such as Corona Hard
Seltzer, which was introduced during the pandemic -- the story was
the same: Corona's share of in-store beer sales through Dec. 6 held
steady with a year earlier, IRI said.
"There wasn't really any kind of negative impact on Corona
sales," said Vivien Azer, managing director and senior research
analyst at investment bank Cowen Inc. "That's clear in the
data."
The brand's popularity and familiarity helped it weather any
potential damage, Ms. Azer said.
"During the early days of the lockdown, consumers gravitated
toward large, trusted brands," she said. "If you're only going to
the store once or twice a week, are you going to load up on a craft
beer you've never tried before or are you going to get a beer you
know?"
Some of the news coverage that suggested a hard year ahead for
Corona cited research by data and analytics company YouGov PLC,
which reported in February that consumer sentiment around the brand
was deteriorating.
YouGov said Monday that the situation changed soon thereafter.
"While YouGov BrandIndex measured a dip in Corona's Buzz score --
which measures brand sentiment across all media -- last spring
among beer drinkers, it was short-lived and soon returned to its
previous level," it said. "The data also show that there was no
notable change in their purchase consideration or overall brand
impression during the spring and its scores have remained on a
pretty even keel as the year progressed."
Data-intelligence firm Morning Consult backed that up. Corona's
favorability score among consumers 21 years old and up dipped
earlier this year, perhaps reflecting some confusion or association
between the brand and the coronavirus, according to Victoria Sakal,
managing director of brand intelligence at Morning Consult. But
consumers are just as likely as before to say they might buy it,
she said.
To navigate the year, Constellation Brands bolstered its regular
efforts to monitor consumer sentiment and brand health for Corona,
but found that few people were associating the brand with the virus
that causes Covid-19, Mr. Alvarado said.
It tried to avoid giving the subject more public attention,
largely limiting its visible response to a statement at the end of
February that Corona was still selling well, Mr. Alvarado said.
"For the remainder of the year we maintained a quiet posture and
did not do much external press," he said.
But Corona continued to advertise this year, following a pause
early in the pandemic that was common among marketers.
It tailored some campaigns to the situation, altering its usual
Cinco de Mayo marketing push to urge consumers to celebrate "Cinco
at Home" and adding a live-stream benefit concert for the
Restaurant Employee Relief Fund.
It delayed a planned "Protect Our Beaches" campaign until 2021,
but proceeded with a campaign to promote all the Corona brands,
themed "La Vida Más Fina" and featuring entertainers Snoop Dogg and
Bad Bunny. The effort began shooting before the pandemic, and
didn't allude to it.
Corona is again running its "O Tannenpalm" Christmas ad, which
made its debut in 1990 and has appeared each year since, according
to Constellation Brands.
"We're an optimistic brand, and this season certainly plays to
that, and when you think about all that has gone on this year, I
think that message is even more needed," said Ann Legan, vice
president for Corona brand marketing at Constellation Brands.
Write to Nat Ives at nat.ives@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 21, 2020 18:01 ET (23:01 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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