In an effort to reassure attendees of next month’s Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America in San Antonio, Texas, the Brewers Association (BA) said Monday that the show will go on as planned despite fears over the spread of the coronavirus-caused disease, COVID-19.“The Brewers Association continues to closely monitor the developments of the COVID-19 outbreak and is in close and regular contact with the city of San Antonio,” the organization wrote in an email to attendees. “Currently, there are no plans to cancel or reschedule the event.”
The conference, which also includes the World Beer Cup, is slated to take place April 19-22 at the Henry B. Gonzáles San Antonio Convention Center.
The email to attendees came on that same day that San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg declared a public health emergency, banning any “previously quarantined person” from entering the city “until further notice.”
Nirenberg’s declaration followed news that a patient quarantined at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, about 15 miles outside of San Antonio’s city center, was released from quarantine before she tested positive for the coronavirus disease. The base recently has held evacuees from a U.S. State Department-chartered flight from Wuhan, China, where the outbreak originated, as well as passengers evacuated from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that had been docked in Japan for 15 days.
The woman, who has since been returned to quarantine, visited a mall about 10 miles outside of San Antonio’s city center. The shopping mall was disinfected after a 24-hour closure. The woman was the only infected person who arrived in San Antonio from Wuhan, according to the San Antonio Express-News.
In an email to Brewbound, BA marketing director Ann Obenchain called the situation regarding CBC “unique” and “rapidly evolving.”
“A lot can and will happen over the next six weeks,” she wrote. “The purpose of yesterday’s email to all attendees was to keep them informed on the conference. We also established this web page where we will post updates and resources as available.”
The website offers a list of resources about the coronavirus disease, a list of frequently asked questions and other pertinent information. According to that page, the convention center hosting the conference will take the following measures:
- “Ensure all free-standing hand sanitizer units are operational and full;
- Disinfecting high contact areas such as railings, doorknobs and restrooms with increased frequency;
- Participate in a weekly call (or more often if necessary) with the Health Department and receiving any updates;
- Convention center staff will do their part by washing hands frequently, covering their cough or sneeze, and not report to work if feeling ill;
- Our show decorator will clean and wipe touch points of all show furnishing with increased frequency.”
According to the BA, only Chinese companies with U.S.-based staff members will exhibit at BrewExpo America. Except for manufacturers from China, no exhibitors have backed out of the event, the trade group added.
Registration refunds are available for any attendees traveling from affected countries. The U.S. has suspended entry of visitors from China and Iran.
“The Brewers Association is closely monitoring the situation and will update this policy as needed,” the BA email said.
All other attendees were directed to the CBC cancellation policy, which offers a 50% refund through March 26, after which no refunds or credits will be available.
On Monday, the producers of Natural Products Expo West 2020 postponed the four-day trade show just two days before it was slated to begin in Anaheim, California. In the days before the announcement, hundreds of exhibitors and attendees backed out of the event over concerns related to the coronavirus disease. Event production company New Hope Network said it plans to announce a new trade show date by mid-April for a rescheduled event in the spring.
The novel coronavirus first appeared late last year in China’s Wuhan province; the virus is similar to the SARS (2003) and MERS (2015) viruses that also created outbreaks. Symptoms of COVID-19 include trouble breathing, coughing, runny nose and fever. Most people who contract it experience mild disease, but it can be fatal to people with other medical complications.
According to the World Health Organization, more than 91,000 cases of the coronavirus disease have been confirmed in 74 countries, resulting in more than 3,100 deaths. In the U.S., more than 100 people have tested positive for the disease and seven people have died. All of the deaths occurred around Seattle, Washington.
Constellation Brands Pushes Back Against PR Agency
Elsewhere in the beer industry, Constellation Brands, which markets and sells the Corona brand family in the U.S., issued a press release Friday stating that sales remained strong despite increased media attention on the novel coronavirus.
Citing data from market research firm IRI, Constellation Brands said dollar sales of Corona Extra have increased 5% in the four weeks ending February 16.
“It’s extremely unfortunate that recent misinformation about the impact of this virus on our business has been circulating in traditional and social media without further investigation or validation,” Constellation Brands CEO Bill Newlands said in the release. “These claims simply do not reflect our business performance and consumer sentiment, which includes feedback from our distributor and retailer partners across the country. We’ve seen no impact to our people, facilities or operations and our business continues to perform very well.”
Last Thursday, New York-based 5W Public Relations issued a press release citing a survey that said 38% of the legal-drinking age consumers surveyed “would not buy Corona under any circumstances now.” The release initially kicked up a flurry of coverage and social media chatter but was later panned by both media and beer professionals.
“So glad Corona is taking things into their own hands,” public relations practitioner Julia Angelen Joy tweeted Tuesday. “When an agency gets it wrong, they should be held accountable.”
It’s really bad when the #PR firm becomes the story but I’m kinda surprised it doesn’t happen more. {Call me 5W} So glad Corona is taking things into their own hands! When an agency gets it wrong, they should be held accountable. https://t.co/HnzNyxC69n
— Julia Angelen Joy | Public Relations Strategist (@JuliaAngelenPR) March 3, 2020
BA chief economist Bart Watson also took to Twitter to dispel misinformation, sharing that the entire Corona family’s volume has increased 3.1% in the past four weeks over the same period last year.
When my dad texted me abt whether the Coronavirus was pulling down Corona beer, I knew it was finally time to look at the data.
Corona sales (Extra, Familiar, Light & Premier) over the past 4 wks are up 3.1% by volume vs YA. Up 2.7% the yr before that.
So no effect. Carry on.
— Bart Watson (@BrewersStats) February 28, 2020
Constellation will stream a presentation by beer division president Paul Hetterich and chief marketing officer Jim Sabia on Wednesday at its business summit in Las Vegas. The presentation will detail “the beer division’s strategic business initiatives, financial metrics and operating performance, as well as outlook for the future.” It is slated to begin at 12 p.m. EST.