‘Doing nothing is right’ in case of Corona’s infamous name
Damage for beer maker seen not as bad as jokes and memes link it to Wuhan virus
The marketing campaign for Ayds, an appetite-suppressing candy, was simple but effective enough to make it a household name in the United States during the 1970s. The pitch was that consumers could lose weight while still eating chocolate mint and butterscotch-flavoured sweets.
It was a hit — at least until the AIDS epidemic swept through the U.S. in the 1980s. Even a name change to “Diet Ayds” couldn’t rescue the product.
Massachusetts-based Isis Pharmaceuticals found itself in a similar position five years ago as the terrorist group of the same name rose to global infamy. The drug company, too, chose to change its name — to the less-charged Ionic Pharmaceuticals.
The two tales of brands gone bad — due to no fault at all of their purveyors — have been revived in recent days amid a flurry of online posts connecting Corona beer with the Wuhan coronavirus, which has now infected almost 10,000 people around the world.
The good news for Constellation Brands, Inc., the maker of Corona, which has been the subject of an absurd, unending stream of jokes and memes juxtaposing it with the similarly named but completely unconnected virus, is that the damage this time is nowhere near as bad.
“I think Corona will be fine by virtue of the type of product it is,” Ryerson University marketing Prof. Joanne Mcneish said in an email. “Beer is a not ‘serious’ food but associated with good times and relaxing. They should continue with business and promoting the brand as usual.”
Constellation did not respond to a request to comment and has only appeared to speak about the issue once on record, telling Business Insider that “we believe, by and large, that consumers understand there’s no linkage between the virus and our business.”
That silence is likely purposeful, according to Jane Shapiro, senior vice-president of corporate and crisis communication at Hill + Knowlton Strategies.
“If I were them at this point, I think doing nothing is right,” Shapiro said. “You do nothing visibly but monitor really actively behind the scenes ... for misinformation and any stronger correlation between their brand and the disease.”
Shapiro, like the company, does not think that anyone truthfully believes that the beer is actually spreading the virus and so “it doesn’t require them to do anything.” That can change, she said, depending on if the jokes evolve into a conspiracy theory and if accounts with tens of thousands of followers are sharing them.
Mike Van Soelen, the managing principal at Navigator, a Toronto-based crisis communications firm, suggests Constellation may even consider using the situation to earn positive PR.
“I think there’s an opportunity to acknowledge public health education is very difficult and given this unfortunate coincidence in the naming of the virus, maybe there’s something they can do around education and giving some money to appropriate organizations,” said Van Soelen, who cautioned that the move would have to align with Constellation’s own values or else it may risk not appearing authentic.
Charles de Brabant, the executive director of the Bensadoun School of Retail Management at Mcgill University, remembers working with cosmetics company L’oreal S.A.’S Chinese division when a deadly earthquake hit Chengdu. The company knew there would be victims suffering from burns and other skin issues and decided to donate creams to those who were affected.
“That was one case that totally backfired on us,” de Brabant said. “The reaction was disastrous. They’re saying we have people dying and homes that are destroyed and you think creams are going to help us?”
De Brabant also sees a charity donation as a solution for Constellation — but suggests they’ve got to be careful.
Earlier this month, Maple Leaf Foods Inc. successfully performed such a manoeuvre by offering Toronto Maple Leafs tickets to a Montreal boy who received a birthday cake featuring the packaged meats company’s logo when he had asked for one of his favourite hockey teams.
“You’ve got to really think about it so you’re unbelievably sensitive towards the people affected,” he said. “If you can do that and touch their hearts, then odds are you will come out the bigger person.”