EFFIE AWARDS
BRIEF OF EFFECTIVENESS
Corona Extra: Miles Away From Ordinary
Brand Name:
Corona
Product Type or Description:
Beer
Category for this Entry:
Sustained Success
Campaign Title:
Miles Away from Ordinary
Agencies:
The Richards Group and Cramer-Krasselt
Client:
The Gambrinus Company/Barton Beers, Ltd.
Marketing Challenge The Challenges
In 1981, Corona made its U.S. debut when the first Corona Extra–in its current package– was sold in Austin, Texas. The brand became a virtual overnight sensation. In the late 1980s, Corona launched the television campaign that still stands today. Over time, the brand’s primary challenge was to continue its positive momentum. However, Corona Extra also faced the following obstacles:
Corona Extra faced strong competition from established brands with substantially more resources, in both the light and imported beer categories.
Corona had to overcome negative perceptions of the brand’s Mexican roots, as compared with more traditional European imported beers, and shake the image of being an ’80s yuppie fad.
An economic recession in the late 1980s contributed to reduced sales of higher-priced premium products, including Corona Extra.
The Insights and the Strategy
Corona Extra overcame these challenges by breaking the “rules” of beer marketing. Those rules maintained that sex and women sell beer. Corona Extra and the agency teams did not agree. The brand ultimately found its success by identifying and remaining true to a distinctive set of values and a unique brand personality.
The starting point began with consumer insights and perceptions. As you might imagine, consumers associated Corona Extra with positive brand cues such as the beach, vacations, hanging out with friends, and kicking back–all cues that fall under the overarching umbrella of escape and relaxation. However, the research also unearthed anaffinity that went even deeper. At its core, Corona Extra represented a change in attitude: a more laid-back, tropical approach to life that its core consumers thrived on.
Not only was this attitude compelling to consumers, it was the brand’s to own; none of Corona Extra’s competitors could claim it. Corona Extra’s success would come from adopting this distinctive perspective on life rather than following the crowd. The brand uncovered a set of values important to its consumers, found a way to communicate those values, and committed to never waiver from what makes the communication work, no matter what the category rules of the day (then or now) might dictate.
True to the distinctiveness of the brand, Corona’s initial television advertising was a fresh break away from the stereotypical advertising that the beer industry had been so famous for. The ads were quiet, relaxing, simple, and often without any dialogue among principal actors. The beach, the beautiful tropical surroundings, and the Corona Extra brand were the heroes of this unique advertising.
Campaign Objectives
The initial campaign objectives were extremely ambitious. But based on the ingredients present for achieving them, the marketing team believed success was within reach.
They include the following:
To overtake Heineken as the No. 1 imported beer in the United States. To become one of the 10 best-selling beer brands in the United States. To increase consumer trial of Corona Extra to over 30% of target consumers.
As the Corona Extra brand evolved over time, so did its objectives. The brand went from striving for to achieving and then maintaining status as the No. 1 imported beer, all within an eight-year time frame. As the initial objectives were achieved, Corona Extra continued to set new ones that would challenge both the marketing team and the sales force. For example, when Corona Extra 12-packs became the No. 1 SKU in grocery stores, the brand began developing relationships with C-stores. (convenience stores)
Below are objectives set in 2001 that were achieved between 2002 and 2005:
To remain the No. 1 import in the United States.
To maintain the status of the Corona Extra 12-pack as the No. 1 SKU in grocery stores. To continue driving growth of the entire import segment.
To continue to increase volume of Corona Extra.
Target Audience
The Corona Extra target consists of domestic and import beer drinkers aged 21-34, skewing male, who don’t see themselves as part of the masses. They were chosen because they identify with the lifestyle aspiration that Corona represents.
They are confident, fun people who don’t take life too seriously. They are past needing their buddies’ approval of the beer they drink. They believe that the mainstream beers everyone else is drinking don’t match the person they are–or the person they want to be. They’re open to change. They want a beer that reflects their personality. And they appreciate what Corona Extra offers: an escape from the ordinary.
If the target has changed at all over the years, the shift would be that they have an even deeper appreciation of Corona Extra’s unique perspective on certain life situations. With the majority of beers trying to be everything to everyone, Corona Extra drinkers–like the Corona Extra brand–have refused to change who they are and what they stand for.
Creative Strategy
For 16 years now, the creative strategy has remained the same. It is based on the insight that Corona Extra
changes one’s perspective in any situation. Corona Extra is always about more than just a beautiful beach. It is also about the escape and the positive change of mood. It is the experience with the Corona Extra brand that acts as the portal for a voyage to the world of relaxation. Every Corona Extra execution includes a “twist” that only Corona can provide.
In the summer of 2000, 69% of consumers agreed with the statement, “Corona Extra is a relaxing change of pace.” The consistency of our creative has allowed us to maintain that statement over the years, with 68% agreeing in 2003. (Agency Tracking Research, 2003).
Campaign
Television was used to increase the profile of the brand. Over the years, the ads have had a consistent look, tone, and pace. At first, the action is recognizable, but the protagonist brings the Corona Extra perspective to the scene and reinterprets the action in a new, better, and uniquely Corona Extra way.
Over time, both unaided and total awareness of Corona Extra advertising have risen dramatically. Unaided
awareness increased from 10% in 1999 to 15% in 2003, and total awareness increased from 29% in 1999 to 45% in 2003. (Source: Agency Tracking Research, 2003)
One of the older but most remembered television spots, “Lagoon,” hit the nail on the head. Still, after almost 7 years, after viewing this advertisement:
77% agreed with the statement, “Corona Extra helps you escape from it all.”
84% said the ad would/might make them order a Corona Extra the next time they go out. (Source: Hall and Partners Copy Test, 2004)
Corona Extra has continued to use the same strategy but has kept it relevant by evolving with the times. Depicting the annoying qualities of the beeper in “Lagoon” made sense in 1998. In more recent work, the brand capitalizes on the hectic nature of traveling and airports in “Suitcase” and the irritations of voice mail in “Prank Call.”
Copy development research confirms that the Corona Extra campaign continues to deliver on its strategic objectives. After viewing any Corona Extra advertisement (including “Boat,” 1989, and “Ship in a Bottle,” 2005):
68% agreed with the statement, “Corona Extra helps you escape from it all.”
An average of 88% said the ad would/might make them order a Corona Extra the next time they go out.
An average of 60% said the ad made them feel Corona Extra is a brand for them. (Source: Hall and Partners Copy Test, 2004)
Media Strategy
The beer industry is one of the most aggressive advertisers and the highest-spending categories in advertising. In the initial years of the campaign, the top brands in the light, regular, and import categories spent up to 15 times the Corona Extra budget. Today, Corona Extra’s advertising budget is only one-fifth the amount of some of the light and regular beer advertisements. These top brands traditionally have a dominant presence in vehicles used to reach the young male target (e.g., sports), which Corona Extra is also trying to reach.
Corona Extra needed to break through the noise, find properties to convey the Corona Extra mind-set to our target, and drive distribution–a key element to any beer brand’s success on a larger scale. And the brand had to achieve all this on a fraction of the budget of our toughest competitors.
Corona Extra focused on a national television campaign. However, in spite of the cost-efficiency of national media, it was still expensive in absolute terms. Corona Extra needed to extend its budget as much as possible.
Based on the breakthrough creative, we knew that the brand didn’t need the heavy frequency of the competition. The Corona Extra brand personality and usage occasions meant that the brand had much greater growth potential in the summer than the average beer. The advertising was focused in those key months, kicking off at Cinco de Mayo and ending at Labor Day.
Again breaking away from the traditional beer media strategy, we focused on less expensive :15s in TV. Because of the simplicity of the creative strategy, :15s were still an effective brand-building creative when used in conjunction with :30s. Using :15s was a gutsy, bold approach that allowed Corona Extra to extend the reach and continuity of the media plan.
Another obstacle conquered, but the brand still had a lot of work to do. The solution was a combination of efficient, targeted, and underutilized opportunities–cable, national syndication, and late night. By ignoring sports, prime time, and the beer marketing rules again, we advertised in top male-oriented programs in syndication such as Seinfeld and X-Files, but at a price that was affordable. Late night added higher ratings relative to cable and had a high concentration of male viewers.
With success came a little more money. While network sports were an obvious choice, Corona Extra encountered problems with national beer exclusivities. However, FOX Sports Net gave us the opportunity to be in high-profile sports on a national basis, and we took advantage of the ability to customize the package based on local market strategies, differences, and needs.
The strength in the Corona Extra story has been that the brand has been consistent over the years, not only with the creative message but also in the use of media. This consistency in where we placed Corona’s advertising was critical in helping build the brand’s position as a major player within one of the largest and most prominent
categories.
Media Allocation
* This entry is restricted to national television advertising jointly produced and paid for by both the importers of Corona Extra, The Gambrinus Company, and Barton Beers Ltd. Outdoor, print, and radio advertising is handled on a regional basis and is not included in this entry.
Evidence of Results Over Time
The Corona Extra brand has done an amazing job of maintaining strategic consistency across multiple contact points for nearly a decade, as evidenced by the results below.
Original Campaign Objectives
To overtake Heineken as the No. 1 imported beer in the United States.
Corona Extra leapfrogged from the No. 5 imported beer in 1996 to become the No. 1 import in 1997, taking a spot Heineken had held since the repeal of Prohibition. (Impact Databank)
To become one of the 10 best-selling beer brands in the United States.
Corona Extra is now the No. 6-selling beer brand in the United States. Within the total beer category, Corona Extra has become the fourth-largest-selling beer brand worldwide, sold in over 150 countries. (Beer Marketers Insights)
To increase consumer trial of Corona Extra to over 30% of target consumers.
In the summer of 2003, 53% of consumers indicated that they had tried Corona Extra in the past three months. This put the brand second only to Bud Light among all competitors. (Agency Tracking Research, 2003)
Additional Objectives, Set in 2001
To remain the No. 1 import in the United States.
Corona Extra has remained the No. 1-selling import beer in the United States since taking this spot in 1997. (Impact Databank)
To maintain the status of the Corona Extra 12-pack as the No. 1 SKU in grocery stores.
Corona Extra now has claim to the top-selling SKU in grocery stores nationwide, outselling every package from Anheuser-Busch, SABMiller, Coors, and all others. (IRI: Grocery Data)
To continue driving growth of the entire import segment.
Corona Extra has increased its S.O.I. (volume share of imports) from 14% in 1989 to 30% in 2004. (Beer Marketers Insights)
To continue to increase volume of Corona Extra.
Although recent category growth has remained .at, Corona Extra has continued to increase volume each year. (Client Data)
