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According to the Oxford English Dictionary, 'disaster' is defined as a great or sudden misfortune.

The Indian as well as the international companies have witnessed innumerous disasters over a period of time, which have badly hit not only their sales, but more importantly, their brand image.
Cadbury, NECC, and the cola giants, Coca-cola and Pepsi, of late to name some.

Each disaster will present unique characteristics and challenges but a coordinated response will possess some of the same basic elements in each event. The basic stages of a coordinated response will consist of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

In this article, we try to study and analyze the various communication strategies adopted by a few companies in such situations.

The main objective of all the companies caught in some controversy is "restoring consumer confidence". Some examples are stated as under: -

1) Coca Cola

Reacting to the latest pesticide issue, Coca Cola has come out with advertisements featuring celebrities like Aamir Khan and Smriti Irani, where the two actors justify that the soft drink is safe to consume and the process followed in India is the same followed in other parts of the world. The celebrities come in not as actors but as individuals endorsing the brand in full faith. The campaign tries to establish credibility by using personalities with whom the consumers can relate.

In 2003, when a similar controversy broke, the cola giant used Aamir Khan in a witty way to communicate that the soft drink is safe to consume. Also hi-decibel Fanta commercials featuring actress Rani Mukherjee were aired to play down the controversy.

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* Contributed by -
Neha Jain & Parijat Sen,
PGDBM, Batch 2005-07,
IMT Ghaziabad.