Kean University Russell Athletics Brand Crisis Paper

Please address the following questions in a written report:

(1) Pick one brand of your choice that has been subject to a brand crisis in the past (or is

currently still dealing with it). Discuss, what type of brand crisis you think this company

was/is facing and why you would classify it in this way. Drawing on the framework of Johar

(2010) on “how to save your brand in the face of crisis”, how do you evaluate the company’s

crisis response? You are welcome to draw on a plethora of sources (e.g. high quality

newspaper articles, company information, consumer responses on social media, etc.). Make

some reasonable assumptions if necessary and argue your point to provide an in-depth

discussion.

(2) Leaving the crisis aspect aside, how would you classify this brand on the emotional/symbolic

and functional domain, based on the framework of Elliott et al. (2018) (hint: Lectures 1 and

2)? Justify your choice and explain in detail why you would classify the respective brand as

primarily functional or emotional/ symbolic.

(3) Think about specific brand management strategies that we have discussed in class (hint:

Lecture Week 4). To what extent is your brand engaging in these strategies? Give specific

examples, drawing on communication campaigns of the brand (e.g. print advertisements,

screenshots of social media campaigns). Evaluate them critically – what are they doing well,

what can be improved?

References

Johar, Gita V., Matthias M. Birk, and Sabine A. Einwiller (2010). How to save your brand in the face of

crisis. MIT Sloan Management Review, 51(4), 56-64.

Elliott, Richard, Percy, Larry, and Pervan, Simon (2018). Strategic Brand Management, Oxford