Brand crisis communication through social media

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Wang

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how companies make use of social media communication to turn crises into opportunities and how consumers respond to this brand management strategy, and evaluate the effects of this kind of advertising campaign. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses the textual analysis method to examine the verbal fight between two brand competitors on Sina Weibo. An interpretative analysis approach is adopted to analyze a series of micro-blog messages and relevant responses and comments. A statistical analysis is conducted to reveal the public opinion on this case. Findings – The brand crisis due to trademark dispute has been successfully turned into an advertising campaign, which received eager and favorable responses from the consumers. In the name of making apologies, the company in crisis availed itself of the Weibo platform to make a veiled protest against the verdict of the Court. The technique “acting cute” was proved to be effective in diminishing the negative effect of a brand crisis and winning public sympathy and support. Research limitations/implications – The research findings may provide insights into the interplay between brand advertising and corporate crisis communication on the platform of social media. Practical implications – This study can inform practitioners of useful techniques to deal with brand crises via social media. Originality/value – The value of this study lies not only in its contribution to the body of knowledge on online crisis management with a case of Chinese companies, but also in its validation of the interplay between crisis communication and advertising.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Casais ◽  
Lucilene Ribeiro Gomes

PurposeThis paper focuses on the analysis of fashion blog activity regarding brands under corporate crisis situations and discusses how these opinion leaders may be agents of corporate crisis management.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyzed four influential Portuguese fashion blogs regarding eight fashion brands that had experienced a corporate crisis situation. In total, five of the selected brands were mentioned in 2.846 posts of blog content, whose discourse was deeply analyzed.FindingsThe absence of express reference to brand crisis suggests that fashion bloggers tend to ignore these crisis events or divert the readers' attention to the brands' more positive aspects. This result opens the discussion whether fashion bloggers downplay corporate crisis in brand equity or whether it expresses strategies of brand crisis communication through digital influencers.Originality/valueThough social media may be a source of negative word-of-mouth, social media influencers have been considered important partners of corporate crisis communication in particularly challenging times. Many studies have focused on the role of social media influencers in crisis management, but there was a dearth of research on the specific case of blogs. This study contributes to the understanding of fashion bloggers as agents of brand communication, particularly regarding crisis management and their role on brand activation and positive electronic word-of-mouth, even under crisis situations. This contribution paves the way for future research on whether this is a spontaneous phenomenon or the reflection of possible partnerships between companies and fashion bloggers for the management of corporate crisis situations in the context of fashion brands.


2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Romenti ◽  
Grazia Murtarelli ◽  
Chiara Valentini

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to develop and test a theoretical framework, grounded in managerial and organisational theories of dialogue, through which organisations can take decisions in relation to the most appropriate crisis response strategies for handling social media stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach – The theoretical framework is developed through a conceptual analysis of literature on dialogue, social media and crisis communication. The theoretical framework is then tested in eight different international organisations experiencing a crisis. For each case, different web contents, such as organisations' status updates/posts, links, videos published on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, were analysed using a rhetorical research approach. Findings – The analysed organisations apply different online dialogue strategies according to crisis types and in combination with specific crisis response strategies. Most of the organisations investigated carry on those dialogue strategies suitable to develop consensus (concertative), guide conversations on specific topics or issues (framing), find solutions to the crisis collectively (transformative). Concertative strategies were often associated with informative crisis response strategies, framing strategies with denial and justification crisis response strategies and transformative strategies with corrective actions. Research limitations/implications – By using a dialogic perspective in setting up online conversations with their external stakeholders, the paper proposes a theoretical model to explain companies' decisions in carrying on online dialogues during critical situations and thus contribute to the body of knowledge on online crisis communications. Practical implications – The proposed model can support crisis communicators to manage dialogue's aims and dimensions differently by taking into account both contextual and situational conditions. Originality/value – By integrating management studies on dialogue into crisis communication and social media literature, the authors intend to offer an alternative thinking of organisations' decision-making in relation to crisis response strategies and social media stakeholders.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 396-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sunil Hazari

Purpose Using the context of Rio Olympic games, the purpose of this paper is to investigate attitude toward sponsorship outcome as it relates to purchase behavior, gender, sponsor patronage, sports enthusiasm, and social media consumption. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using an online survey of 265 participants. Questions regarding demographics, viewing habits, sports participation, enthusiasm, attitude toward Olympic events were included in the survey. The four sub-scales were sponsorship attitude, sponsor patronage, social media consumption, and sports enthusiasm. Findings The findings of the study showed that social media consumption is positively related to attitude toward event and sports patronage. There was a significant gender difference on attitude toward event, social media consumption, and sports enthusiasm. Predictors for making a purchase as a result of seeing a social media advertisement were gender, playing competitive sport, and social media consumption. Practical implications This study will add to the body of academic and practitioner research on sponsorship outcomes, and provides an opportunity for marketers to leverage social media networks for sponsorship communication. Originality/value As the use of social media networks has increased over the past few years, no previous study has investigated association of sports enthusiasm, gender, or social media consumption toward sponsor patronage which relates to consumers seeking out sponsors and being influenced to make a purchase as a result of marketing communication of sponsors.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Barbe ◽  
Lori Pennington-Gray

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the crisis communication strategies implemented by hotel and lodging organizations via social media. Specifically, this study analyzed Twitter content by hotels in Orlando, Florida during the summer of 2016 when several crises occurred that made global media coverage, including the alligator snatching on Disney property, the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub and growing concerns of Zika virus. Design/methodology/approach To understand crisis communication in the hotel industry, this study was guided by the technology-environment-organization framework and situational crisis communication theory (SCCT). Twitter content between June 1 and August 31, 2016 from Orlando hotels was collected and content analyzed to determine: was the message related to the crisis event, the SCCT strategy used and the influence of hotel organizational factors (ownership, size, classification) on the use of social media for crisis communication. Findings Results indicate that most hotels are not currently using Twitter as a form of crisis communication. Only the shooting at Pulse Nightclub was communicated and the SCCT bolster strategy was used throughout each of the crisis-related message, reminding stakeholders that they too are a victim. Originality/value This study provides insight into the ways hotels are using social media for crisis communication. Each crisis explored was different, and while the hotels were not responsible for creating the crises, they are responsible for the safety of guests. These results inform hoteliers that there is a responsibility to communicate during a crisis, particularly for informative purposes.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clement Ola Adekoya ◽  
Joseph Kehinde Fasae

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the social media application and the spread of COVID-19 infodemic in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive survey research design was used for this study. A total of 1,200 social media users, regardless of their professions, were randomly selected for the study betweenmid-June and July 2020. Stratified and purposive sampling techniques were used for this study. The questionnaire was designed using Google form and administered using WhatsApp and Telegram to social media users above 18 years old in Nigeria. The data generated was analyzed using descriptive (frequency count) and inferential (mean) statistics, and was presented in tables. Findings It was found that people make use of social media during COVID-19 pandemic for diverse reasons such as listening to announcement to be informed, knowing the necessary measures to take by those infected and spreading up-to-date information on the pandemic. Social media tools were highly used during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially WhatsApp and Zoom. Findings reflected that misinformation was spread on social media. This study also showed that the infodemic associated with COVID-19 is managed by confirming the source of the information before sharing it and trusting information from reliable sources. Research limitations/implications The result of this research will contribute to the body of knowledge on social media application, fake news and the spread of COVID-19 infodemic in Nigeria and beyond. Practical implications Infodemic is a disaster in the health sector. The spread of infodemic is capable of misleading people, losing trust in government, health providers and health regulatory authorities. This study will help social media users to know how to properly manage social media infodemic during a pandemic or any health-related situations. Originality/value This study is novel as it approaches fake news from a COVID-19 perspective. Very few articles emanate from the developing countries in this area. This was because most of the narrative around fake news previously centered around the Western occurrences such as the Iraqi invasion by the USA, the US presidential elections and BREXIT. COVID-19 has demonstrated that the developing world is not immune from fake news as well. This study, therefore, assessed the management of infodemic associated with COVID-19 in Nigeria.


2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 727-742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Kam Fung So ◽  
Laurie Wu ◽  
Lina Xiong ◽  
Ceridwyn King

Despite consumers’ increasing use of social media channels to make their travel experiences more visible to people within their social networks, brand management research in the tourism literature lacks a clear understanding of how social visibility of consumption affects consumer perceptions of their relationships with the brand. Drawing upon social identity theory and the theory of conspicuous consumption, this study extends the current brand management literature by investigating the role of consumption’s social visibility in the formation of customer brand identification in the era of social media. Using the airline industry as the study context, this study suggests that social visibility of consumption leads to cognitive, affective, and evaluative identifications. The results also indicate that the three components of customer brand identification interact with each other in realizing positive word of mouth communication. The findings highlight the significant benefits of making customers’ travel experiences socially visible to people around them.


2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Ghiselli ◽  
Jing Ma

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of social media by restaurants in China and the extent to which consumers are using it to obtain information about dining options. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire for consumers was developed and social media usage data were collected from restaurants; the results were compared to determine whether there is a difference between practices and preferences. Findings – Based on the results of this paper, restaurants may want to consider committing resources and efforts to improve their presence on Dianping, Baidu and Meituan, and to utilize WeChat. Also, they may want to send non-personalized updates, especially coupons, discounts and information about special events, through the above-mentioned channels two to three times a month. Additionally, restaurants may want to improve engagement with frequent users so that they will recommend to others. Finally, restaurants may want to evaluate and invest in online ordering and payment systems if they haven’t done so already. Research limitations/implications – Strategic choices should be based on understanding of consumers. Unless the gaps between practices and preferences are identified and understood, restaurant companies may not be able to use social media effectively and efficiently. Originality/value – China’s social media market – the largest in the world – differs considerably from other countries; it presents unique opportunities and challenges. Social media is always a function of the technology, culture and government of a particular country or context; for this reason, it is very important to study social media in its “context”. While the need is pressing, there are limited studies on restaurant consumer preferences in a computer-mediated environment, not to mention in the Chinese context. This study examined consumer preferences and potential gaps between preferences and practices in the Chinese context; the results will help to direct restaurants in China to make better use of social media.


2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Urška Tuškej ◽  
Klement Podnar

Purpose This paper aims to examine relationships between consumer-brand identification (CBI), brand prestige (BP), brand anthropomorphism (BA) and consumers’ active engagement in brand activities on social media in corporate brand settings. Design/methodology/approach Data collected with an online survey on a sample randomly drawn from an online panel of consumers were used to test the proposed theoretical model. Findings Anthropomorphism and prestige of corporate brands were found to positively influence consumer-brand identification. Also, CBI positively affects consumers’ active engagement and fully mediates the effect of BP and BA on consumers-brand engagement (CBE) with corporate brands. Research limitations/implications Further research in other markets and on a broader set of corporate brands would additionally validate results and enable comparisons of impacts among different brand categories. The data were gathered in one country, so further research in other markets would additionally validate results of this study. Practical implications Chief executives responsible for corporate brand management are provided with some insights on how appropriate corporate brand identity management can strengthen CBI and stimulate CBE on social media. Originality/value This paper provides some novel insights into the research on consumer-brand identification. It is the first study (to the authors’ knowledge) that empirically supports the positive influence of brand anthropomorphism on CBI in corporate brand settings. It also contributes to the clarification of previously inconsistent results of the influence of BP on CBI. By showing that consumers’ identification with a corporate brand plays a vital role in increasing consumers’ active engagement on social media, the study contributes to the relatively sparse body of research on CBE.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Malek Hamed Alshirah ◽  
Ahmad Farhan Alshira’h ◽  
Abdalwali Lutfi

Purpose This study aims to empirically examine whether the political connection is related to risk disclosure practices. The study also seeks to contribute to the existent risk disclosure literature by investigating the moderator effect of family ownership on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach The content analysis approach was used to collect data and determine the level of risk disclosure over the non-financial Jordanian firms listed on 1Amman Stock Exchange. The sample of this study contains 376 annual reports over four years from 2014 to 2017. It used the random effect regressions to examine the hypothesis of the study. Findings The results show that politically connected companies disclose less risk information than the unconnected ones in Jordan. The results also refer that family ownership contributes in mitigating the negative effect of the political connection on the level of corporate risk. Practical implications The results have implications for regulatory institutions such as the Jordan Securities Commission to take the negative effect of political connection in their consideration and impose further regulations to monitor this board’s attribute and control politicians’ domination on the board decisions. Originality/value The current study also contributes to the body of literature by investigating the effects of the political connections on the level of risk disclosure in the financial reports. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the current study is the first to examine the effect of the political connection on the risk disclosure practices. Moreover, the study is among the first studies that examine the moderating role of family ownership on such relationship.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunnan Dong ◽  
Dickson K.W. Chiu ◽  
Po-Sen Huang ◽  
Kevin K.W. Ho ◽  
Mavis Man-wai Lung ◽  
...  

Purpose Existing studies reflect that traditional teaching–learning relationships between supervisors and graduate students have become disjointed with actuality seriously. In particular, there are practical difficulties in handling many students from coursework-based postgraduate degrees under current university curricula. Therefore, this study aims to explore the relationship between research supervisors and graduate students on social media, which is popular among students. Design/methodology/approach This study surveyed 109 graduate students from two majors (population around 100 each) of a university in Hong Kong to explore their information usage for research on social media, related attitudes and their perceived supervisor relationships. The differences between the two majors were also compared. Findings The authors’ findings indicated that graduate students were active on social media, and social media has successfully provided effective alternate ways for students to communicate with their research supervisors. Social media could improve relationships between supervisors and research students and among fellow students. Besides education purposes, students also discussed their personal affairs on social media with supervisors, demonstrating enhanced trusted relationships. Graduate students also showed confidence in the further application of social media in higher education. Some differences between respondents from the two programs were also found in terms of communication contents, strengths, personal preferences and purposes for using social media. Originality/value Scant studies focus on the relationship between supervisors and graduate students under the current social media environment, especially for students from coursework-based postgraduate degrees. At a deeper level, for the widespread use of social media in the information age, this study explores the specific changes brought about by social media. Therefore, this study is of great theoretical and practical value to graduate education under the current social media environment.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document