Brand management in the era of fake news: narrative response as a strategy to insulate brand value
| Date | 30 May 2019 |
| Pages | 159-167 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-12-2018-2150 |
| Published date | 30 May 2019 |
| Author | Adam J. Mills,Karen Robson |
Brand management in the era of fake news:
narrative response as a strategy to insulate
brand value
Adam J. Mills
College of Business, Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, and
Karen Robson
Odette School of Business, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada
Abstract
Purpose –Brand value is increasingly threatened by fake news stories; the purpose of this paper is to explain how narrative response can be used to
mitigate this threat, especially in situations where the crisis is severe and consumers are highly involved.
Design/methods –This conceptual paper derives recommendations and guidance for the use of narrative response based on storytelling and brand
management literature.
Findings –This paper highlights authenticity and emotional engagement as keys to effective storytelling.
Practical implications –Current managerial approaches to dealing with misinformation are insufficient, as they presuppose an audien ce that can
be convinced based on facts; this paper can be used to help brand managers respond to fake news stories when rational appeals fail.
Originality/value –This paper provides insight into brand management strategies in the era of fake news.
Keywords Storytelling, Brand management, Emotional branding, Fake news, Narrative response, Emotional appeals
Paper type Conceptual paper
The proliferation of fake news
Creating and disseminating false information about brands is
nothing new, and brands have a long history of dealing with
false claims and rumors. In the mid-1970s, shortly after
General Motors introduced the Chevrolet Nova into the
Mexican market, rumors abounded that sales were suffering
because when said out loud, the words no va translated to
“doesn’tgo”in Spanish (Kohli, 1997). Althoughin reality sales
were plentiful in Spanish-speaking markets and the rumor
was false, to this day, the example –which paints GM
executives as unpreparedand uneducated about foreign market
entry –lives on in peoples’memory and in countlessmarketing
textbooks. In 1996, a rumor started that designer Tommy
Hilfiger declared, duringan appearance on The Oprah Winfrey
Show, that he wished people of color would not wear his
clothes. In response, there werecalls to boycott the brand. The
brand responded by clarifying this never happened –and that
Hilfiger had never been a guest onOprah’s show at all –via its
website, and also by addressing the rumor on various online
discussion boards. Winfrey corroborated these claims, stating
that the rumor was ‘a big fat lie that never happened’(Hilfiger
et al.,2016,p.238;Stoute and Rivas, 2012). Yet the rumor
persisted for over a decade. In May 2007, Hilfiger finally
appeared on the showto put the rumor to bed once and for all.
Today, false information (i.e. informationthat is not true) in
the form of ‘fake news’features prominently in the brand
management landscape. Fake news is defined as a type of false
information that mimicsnews media content in form but not in
organizational process or intent (Lazeret al., 2018;Mills et al.,
2019). Fake news can take many forms, including false stories,
pictures, reviews or polls (Berthon and Pitt, 2018).
Conceptualizations of fake news overlap with those of both
misinformation, which is defined as the sharing of false or
misleading information, and disinformation, which is defined
as creation and sharing of false or misleading information with
the intent of engaging in deception (Lazer et al., 2018;Tandoc
et al., 2018;Wardle, 2017). Creating and disseminating false
information is certainly nothing new; our early ancestors
undoubtedly deceived their rivals for purposes of competitive
advantage or self-protection, and deception is a common and
effective strategy in military,sports and even business. But fake
news is something more ominous, at its core, and what is
noteworthy is the rapid explosion of fake news and the scale of
its reach.
The recent rise in the incidence of fake news can be
attributed to developments in technology and in the way
individuals search for and consume news. Specifically, social
media and the internet have changed journalism permanently
and irreversibly in three criticalways. First, the barriers to entry
for content creation have all but been removed. “Citizen
Thecurrentissueandfulltextarchiveofthisjournalisavailableon
Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/1061-0421.htm
Journal of Product & Brand Management
29/2 (2020) 159–167
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 1061-0421]
[DOI 10.1108/JPBM-12-2018-2150]
Received 2 December 2018
Revised 7 March 2019
Accepted 4 April 2019
159
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