Research Pick: Old crisis to new customers - "Recapturing images after a brand crisis through marketing communication in social networks: the Maggi controversy"

Consumers can quickly lose confidence in a well-known company when that company fails to live up to the expectations and standards of its customers. In a world of always-on, instantaneous communication, and social media, reputations can disintegrate very quickly whether a problem with a given brand is seemingly a small issue or whether it is a major marketing nightmare associated with inadvertent or self-inflicted crises. Recovering the company image after a brand crisis is not always possible and the history of commerce is littered with corporations that did not ride out the storm, not for lack of trying, but simply because they could not counter the negative image generated by the brand crisis. Researchers in India have focused on the brand crises surrounding one particular company and its internationally known food seasonings, instant soups, and noodles. The main takeaway, the authors pun, is that social media, which can so quickly dismantle a reputation, can, if handled well, be useful in rebuilding one following multiple brand crises.

Srivastava, R.K. (2018) ‘Recapturing images after a brand crisis through marketing communication in social networks: the Maggi controversy’, Int. J. Export Marketing, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp.63–86.