Kriskommunikationsstrategi och varumärke : En fallstudie av svenska Röda Korset genom dialogisk analys

Sammanfattning: Title: Crisis communication strategy and brand – A case study of Swedish Red Cross through dialog analysis Author: Anneli Saarela Presented: 01.06.2010 Purpose: The study addresses the subjects of crisis communication and organisational brand, in relation to stakeholders and brand reputation. The purpose of this essay is to study the dialog regarding the crisis of remunerations with the Swedish Red Cross and how the organisation responds to the criticism. An identification and analysis of the discourse regarding the brand are also included in the study. Part of the empirical material will also be used in relation to Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT). This to find which strategy is most accurate to the one which the Swedish Red Cross seemingly has implemented. Methodology: The study uses dialog analysis to gather the empirical material. The dialog of interest for this study consists of four different written texts. These texts are analysed with the help of concepts such as: content, context, intertextuality, recontextualisation and relation. Further, through these concepts the study uses a series of initial questions to start the analysis with regard to the concepts. Theoretical perspectives: The theoretical base for this essay consists of relevant theories to crisis management and branding. These are Situational Crisis Communication Theory, crisis communication and rhetoric as well as ideas regarding identity, stakeholders and reputation. I have used these as tools in my analysis as well as to understand the concept regarding crisis and the effects on an organisation, the brand and stakeholder relationships. Conclusions: The results show that the texts in the dialog are influenced by earlier texts to a great extent. Interesting enough the stakeholders hold the board members responsible and not the whole organisation itself. This may be because the reporting has been mainly focused on the individuals and their remunerations in the earlier stages of the crisis. In regards to rebuilding the trust and organisational brand the analysis show that the organisation should make changes regarding the members of the board, as it is those who are strongly attributed to the crisis by the interest groups. The analysis in relation to SCCT show that the Swedish Red Cross chose a strategy involving less responsibility than SCCT would have proposed. Although regarding the bolstering strategies the organisation did as SCCT would suggest and put emphasis on the earlier work the organisation has done and took advantage of its strong reputation. Keywords: SCCT, crisis communication, brand, organisation, stakeholder