Wee in your beer, Sir?

We've all heard the old rumor, or made the odd joke about it - Corona has actual urine in it (though you probably use a different word at the bar). 

The pale lager, Corona seems to have had its fair share of negative press over the years. A case in point is that they share the same name as a group of viruses terrorising the planet. That's pretty unfortunate.

But what’s really going on here? How much of an impact do rumours, bad luck and bad press actually have on an established household brand such as Corona?

Let me tell you the story.

1987

The year was 1987. The first episode of the Simpsons aired on TV. Shoulder Pads were in fashion. Corona had become a top-selling U.S. beer in just a few short years. This was making Heineken, the number 1 beer importer at that time, a little, bitty nervous.

The Rumour

That year, the rumour started. It began the way all rumors do: a whisper here, a remark there. And soon, everyone was repeating the secret story; staff at Corona were actually peeing in the bottles. Why do you think it's garnished with a lime? Well, what else covers the taste of urine, right?

Branded

You can imagine how quickly the lie spread, especially among beer drinkers - who love to tell a good story. And unbelievably, it actually worked. Sales went down by as much as 80 percent in some markets. Stores returned entire shipments so as not to be associated with the urine beer.

This tale spread wide and far, so much so that Corona execs had to put together a PR campaign of £1.1million in today's money just to counteract the negative effect and plummeting sales.

Aftermath

A Corona distributor is credited with tracing the rumor all the way to a retailer of Heineken. Or so we heard...

Corona ended up suing for $3 million in damages, and an undisclosed settlement was eventually reached between the parent company of Corona and Luce and Son, the distributor. They, along with other beer reps, released a statement that Corona does not, in fact, contain urine.

Corona sales didn't recover for years, and the strange rumour has continued to persist all this time. 

The lessons

Is it all bad?

Nope, this isn’t just a pointless story about beer and wee. There are valuable lessons about branding and marketing to be learnt here.

1.) Brand salience is key

The degree to which a brand comes to mind at the time of a purchase is very important. In fact it's probably the most important thing we can share with you.

Whether that salience is hard-wired into someone’s brain through years of building distinctive brand assets, or injected at the point of purchase by timely marketing activity, the key is to be as front of mind as possible, when it matters.

2.) Brand codes are important

With powerful memory structures in place, for example:

• the amber colour

• distinctive long-necked bottle

• emblematic golden crown

• wedge of lime ritual

Every famous brand has something distinctive that can trigger a powerful emotion – it’s the key to unlocking belief. The visual expression is what emotionally connects people with a brand’s identity and values. 

What comes to mind when you think of Corona beer? An ice-cold amber beer from a distinctive bottle with blue and white branding? An emblematic golden crown (fact: ‘corona’ means ‘crown’ in Spanish)? Or the ritual of squeezing a wedge of lime into the bottle’s iconic long neck? All these visuals reinforce our emotional connection.

3.) They could help you to navigate a “PR disaster” 

As marketers, we understand the power of creativity to fundamentally change how people think, feel and believe. As much as we want to pride ourselves on being rational beings, it is our emotions that truly drive our behaviours. When it comes to choosing one brand over the next, our rational mind takes a back seat as our emotions shift into a higher gear.

Confident brands use image, shape and colour to embed emotion.Consumers trust what they see more than what they read. It’s powerful and effective. It can generate love and loyalty beyond reason. And loyalty beyond reason is crucial in any kind of branding PR crisis.

And guess what, latest Nielsen stats show sales at Corona are up a staggering 50%.

Who’s laughing now, Heineken?