Corona confounds: The virus, the beer & some very perplexed Twitteratis

With the world in the grip of fear of the deadly Coronavirus, which was first reported in Wuhan in China but is rapidly spreading globally, people have been searching for more information on the virus, its symptoms, how it spreads and how to avoid getting infected on Google. These have been among the top 5 searches on Google over the past week. 

Even as the number of searches increases, a peculiar behaviour of the people have also come forth. In the past few days, there has also been a rise in searches for ‘Corona Beer Virus’. Apparently, people feel that the Coronavirus has something to do with the Corona Beer brand. These searches have been prevalent across the globe in countries like the US, Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan and New Zealand.

https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=today%201-m&q=corona%20beer%20virus,beer%20virus,beer%20coronavirus

While there is absolutely no relation between Coronavirus (a group of viruses that cause respiratory infections) and Corona Beer (which got its name from its crown logo), the common Corona reference has apparently left several people confused. And where there are confused people, there are other people trolling them on social media. Here’s how Twitteratis have been reacting to #Coronavirus and #Coronabeervirus:

Scientists at @MillerLite Medical Research are recommending that all current worldwide supplies of @Corona beer be destroyed for the safety of the planet.#CoronaBeer #CoronaBeerVirus #CoronaVirus #China #CoronaVirusOutbreak #Epidemic #VirusChina #Beer #Diseases #Outbreak #USA https://t.co/gplGBO8XU8

— The Consummate Loner (@ConsummateLoner) January 24, 2020

Mike Bloomberg wants to ban #coronabeer due to the #coronabeervirus.......no wait he just wants to take your guns and soda pops. #2a forever.@catturd2

— Keith Gayheart (@KeithGayheart) January 24, 2020

Do not be confused...know your Coronas.

Corona the beer vs. Corona the flu virus. pic.twitter.com/4wFMiz0pA1

— Realeboga Mashiane®🇿🇦 (@Toscallo) January 22, 2020

Live look at the Corona beer marketing teams office pic.twitter.com/nl8Nhgetfv

— 🧀Mike🧀 (@notthatmikeed) January 24, 2020

the owner of corona beer when the scientist named the virus pic.twitter.com/k4cBsrH80p

— postoffice (@lilpostoffice1) January 26, 2020

thank god im muslim can’t mess with this corona stuff because beer is haram alhamdullilah 🤚🏾

— mustafa (@ahaamustafa) January 25, 2020

Imagine being in the shoes of the Brand Manager of Corona seeing this trend take over social media. Being involved in a controversy like this, even if unwittingly, is never good for a brand, especially when the disease in question has already taken the lives of over 170 people and could be a global threat. According to media reports, during the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, sales of the diet candy AYDS dropped by almost 50 per cent. However, Corona Beer doesn’t have anything to worry about, yet. A post by MIT PhD candidate, Joonas Tuhkuri says that Corona’s stock price hasn’t been affected negatively.

Corona Beer's parent company stock has not declined in response to Corona Virus. pic.twitter.com/F7slJJTYm7

— Joonas Tuhkuri (@joonastuhkuri) January 28, 2020

One would recall the time when Tata Motors was forced to rebrand its Zica car as Tiago in 2016 because of the similarity of the name with the Zika virus outbreak at that time across the world. 

On the other hand, Corona Beer has been in existence since 1925 and has had a long relationship with beer lovers across the world. Corona is known as one of the best beers in the world and has been propagated widely through movies like ‘Fast and Furious’. Talking about these factors favouring Corona, Digital Expert Karthik Srinivasan said, “Corona is a much older and established brand, while the disease is new. There’s a deep association set already with the Corona brand name, and I really don’t think it would affect them.” 

We’ve often seen competitors take on each other while one is down. When Maggi was accused of containing lead above the permissible limit, other players like Yippee had upped their advertising and marketing game to create some “Yippee converts”. Will we see something similar in the beer game? Players like Carlsberg, Budweiser and Heineken might enjoy the idea of taking down a competitor. What should be understood though is that nobody would want to get their hands dirty and propagate over such a deadly virus. Maybe doing the opposite – helping people understand the difference – can create a good market image, similar to the Burger King and McDonald’s creatives. Probably that can take them a long way ahead, at least in the eyes of the people. Adding to this, Srinivasan said, “I really don’t think Corona’s rivals may try to use this in any way. It’s just terribly poor form to take advantage of a rival’s misfortune, particularly on the back of a deadly disease like this.” 

It’s just disturbing to see how confused people are in the midst of the spread of a deadly virus having the potential of spreading globally. The Coronavirus has hit China at the time of the Chinese New Year, which means people have travelled across the globe before the government finally started detaining and isolating people to curb the virus’ spread. Digital platforms need to be used as a space to spread the right information, especially during the times of a deadly outbreak. 

Leave Corona alone, enjoy the beer, and stay safe from the #CoronaVirus.