CRISIS MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION: THE CASE STUDY OF BENETTON

This study focuses on Crisis Management Communication with a particular focus on the Italian company United Colors of Benetton. Specifically, the aim of this study is to analyse the way in which Benetton has managed, over the years, corporate crises linked to its controversial and provocative type of communication. The method used in this study is the descriptive method in the first part, in order to illustrate the characteristics of the phenomenon. Thereafter, the qualitative method is used to present how Benetton responded to some crises, explaining what kind of language was used and which words appeared most frequently in their communication. In particular, the crises taken into consideration include three scandals caused by the use of shocking images to support social issues such as Aids prevention, an anti-hate campaign involving political figures, and the use of photos of people sentenced to death. In the first chapter, a general presentation of Crisis Management Communication is introduced, focusing on the three-stage approach, on the role of the spokesperson and social media, the importance of team competences and concluding with a mention of the topic of corporate responsibility and reputation. After that, the second chapter illustrates Benetton’s case study, introducing the company, describing its controversial communication, and giving details of some crises the company had to handle. In particular, three events were explored, providing details on the way the episodes occurred and how they were experienced by the public. Finally, in the third chapter, the data collected will be presented and starting from theoretical notions about multimodal communication and response strategies, an evaluation will be provided of the approach adopted by the brand to handle these critical situations. From the examination of the company's behaviour during the crises being analysed, the type of attitude usually adopted by the company and the opinions that its stakeholders adopt towards it will be revealed. Essentially, the research is aimed firstly at describing the type of communication that Benetton used when dealing with sensitive social issues, and then analysing how it responded to the accusations and scandals that this communication generated. In addition, the company's general line of communication towards its public is examined in terms of the values it stands for, with a focus on how the brand is perceived by stakeholders. In conclusion, the main purpose of this study is to investigate how Benetton uses taboos and social issues in its communication, how it responds to crises linked to these matters and how these kinds of controversial advertising campaigns have framed the company's image.