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From Crisis to Brand Resource

Elfving, Nelly LU and Hettemark, Alva (2026) SKOK11 20261
Department of Strategic Communication
Abstract
Contemporary organisations increasingly face reputational crises, while the multivocal environments in which they operate make both crisis and brand narratives harder to control. This research contributes to the understanding of how contemporary brands navigate communication and branding in relation to crises. This paper adopts perspectives from both crisis communication and brand communication, together with Framing Theory. The research centers on identifying proactive and reactive crisis communication strategies, as well as understanding how crisis communication can reinforce brand identity. Through a qualitative content analysis, the research investigates the website FckOatly.com, a website created by the global oat-based company Oatly... (More)
Contemporary organisations increasingly face reputational crises, while the multivocal environments in which they operate make both crisis and brand narratives harder to control. This research contributes to the understanding of how contemporary brands navigate communication and branding in relation to crises. This paper adopts perspectives from both crisis communication and brand communication, together with Framing Theory. The research centers on identifying proactive and reactive crisis communication strategies, as well as understanding how crisis communication can reinforce brand identity. Through a qualitative content analysis, the research investigates the website FckOatly.com, a website created by the global oat-based company Oatly to address their crisis history and major criticism. The study´s findings suggest a tension between Oatly´s crisis communication and the situational logic of the SCCT framework. The research shows how brand identity coherence was prioritised over traditional crisis responses. This was particularly visible through framing such as inevitability, absurdity and activist framing. The research further highlights the importance of proactive strategies in external crisis communication, presenting self-disclosure, refutation, and transparency framing as proactive crisis communication strategies. Consequently, the research identified a retrospective form of stealing thunder, describing how organisations can reclaim narrative control over an already public crisis. With an emphasis on branding, this study suggests that crises can be viewed as communicative assets to strengthen brand identity, rather than solely as threats. In doing so, this research contributes to an understanding of strategic crisis communication that moves beyond reputational protection. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Elfving, Nelly LU and Hettemark, Alva
supervisor
organization
course
SKOK11 20261
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Crisis communication, Brand Identity, Framing, proactive crisis communication, reactive crisis communication, SCCT, Opportunity, Stealing Thunder, communication strategies, crisis history, Oatly, Brand Activism
language
English
id
9229857
date added to LUP
2026-06-25 11:05:48
date last changed
2026-06-25 11:05:48
@misc{9229857,
  abstract     = {{Contemporary organisations increasingly face reputational crises, while the multivocal environments in which they operate make both crisis and brand narratives harder to control. This research contributes to the understanding of how contemporary brands navigate communication and branding in relation to crises. This paper adopts perspectives from both crisis communication and brand communication, together with Framing Theory. The research centers on identifying proactive and reactive crisis communication strategies, as well as understanding how crisis communication can reinforce brand identity. Through a qualitative content analysis, the research investigates the website FckOatly.com, a website created by the global oat-based company Oatly to address their crisis history and major criticism. The study´s findings suggest a tension between Oatly´s crisis communication and the situational logic of the SCCT framework. The research shows how brand identity coherence was prioritised over traditional crisis responses. This was particularly visible through framing such as inevitability, absurdity and activist framing. The research further highlights the importance of proactive strategies in external crisis communication, presenting self-disclosure, refutation, and transparency framing as proactive crisis communication strategies. Consequently, the research identified a retrospective form of stealing thunder, describing how organisations can reclaim narrative control over an already public crisis. With an emphasis on branding, this study suggests that crises can be viewed as communicative assets to strengthen brand identity, rather than solely as threats. In doing so, this research contributes to an understanding of strategic crisis communication that moves beyond reputational protection.}},
  author       = {{Elfving, Nelly and Hettemark, Alva}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{From Crisis to Brand Resource}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}