What's In A Name?: Growing Concern Over Coronavirus May Be Impacting Corona Beer Sales
(CNN/KDKA) -- While fears over the coronavirus outbreak have sent shares on Wall Street tumbling over the last week, they are also impacting sales of the popular Mexican beer — Corona — within the United States, according to a recent survey.
Constellation Brands, which brews several variations of the popular lager, said in a statement that its customers "understand there is no link between the virus and our business."
5W Public Relations, one of the nation's top public relations firms in the United States, conducted a phone survey of 737 American beer drinkers recently to see what impact the illness name of the growing outbreak was having on Corona Beer.
Their finding revealed how a name of something that has no connection at all to an illness can impact a product. Here's the highlights:
- 38% of beer-drinking Americans would not buy Corona under any circumstances now
- Among those who said they usually drink Corona, only 4% said they would stop drinking Corona, but 14% said they wouldn't order Corona in a public venue
- 16% of beer drinking Americans were confused about whether Corona beer is related to the coronavirus
"Sales of Corona remain very strong and we appreciate the continued support from our fans," Constellation Brands spokesperson Stephanie McGuane told CNN Business. "Our advertising with Corona is consistent with the campaign we have been running for the last 30 years and is based off strong consumer sentiment."
RELATED: Google Searches For Corona Beer Surge As News Of Coronavirus Outbreak Spreads
But a spokeswoman for Constellation Brands, Corona's parent company, disputed the poll's results.
Maggie Bowman told USA Today that "while we empathize with those who have been impacted by this virus and continue to monitor the situation, our consumers, by and large, understand there's no linkage between the virus and our business."
YouGov's buzz score reported that Corona beer's buzz score — a net score based on whether U.S. adults have heard anything negative or positive about the brand — decreased among those who have an opinion of the brand, from a high score of 75 at the beginning of January to 51 as of late February, 2020.
Online searches for "corona beer virus" spiked in early February, but have since declined.
Like other stocks, shares of Corona's parent company, Constellation Brands, has fallen over the last week. Shares were off about $13 to $175.77 before the opening bell Friday.
The-CNN-Wire
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