Will the Volkswagen brand ever recover?

I just turned to my father and said "Dad, I'm writing a blog post on VW and whether the brand can recover, what do you think?". My Dad is a loyal VW fan and has driven their cars for years and replied "I hope so, because it's a great brand". The company have created a hugely loyal customer base and have fastly become one of the biggest and most successful car brands in the world holding the largest market share in Europe. We are talking one of the biggest brands in the world here. I myself have a SEAT, one of the VW group brands and have always felt proud in the fact I am driving one of the most reliable, best quality car brands in the world (especially in comparison to my old Renault!).

A few days ago, the world was shocked to hear, a brand they had regarded as ethical, high quality and strong- had been involved in cheating diesel emissions test. I think the fact that the brand was previously seen as producing such reliable products, shocked and outraged the public more. Their stock price has tumbled and they have had to recall millions of vehicles, costing them extensively.

However, aside from the cost implications, the brand reputation has suffered immensely and will potentially continue to suffer now Audi's cars have been announced as part of the scandal. The question is, will they ever recover from this scandal?

People bought the cars in question based on the promise they had low emissions and in lying about this, VW have not only broken their customers trust, but the law! It is not a typical crisis in the fact this was a deliberate defiance, not an accident as we saw in the BP oil spill or a lack of due diligence within standardisation checks such as the Tesco horse meat scandal- no, this was knowingly and deliberately done by certain VW employees.

Volkswagen's CEO has resigned despite claiming to know nothing of the cheat, the company have also pledged over 6 billion euros in restoring consumer's trust and correcting any wrongdoing. They have also pulled any new marketing campaigns- yet this is a small step in restoring not only brand equity, but stop the company from going under as a whole.

It will be an interesting watch to see how and if the brand recover and what steps they take in a case which is not a typical crisis management.

Gamechangers and Rockstar games' resentment towards the BBC

The BBC docu-drama 'Gamechangers' has been receiving countless negative reviews and has created substantial PR around the Rockstar Games brand and the infamous video game 'Grand Theft Auto'. The film is "based on true events" surrounding the story of Devin Moore who killed three police officers, who some believe was due to him continually playing the violent video game.

It's well-worth a watch despite the reviews, I was intrigued to learn about the brand and the story as a whole, especially as it is partly-factual. Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is the best-selling entertainment product ever made and has caused controversy in the past for its violent and graphic nature. The creators- Rockstar Games are a British company who have received multiple awards for their gaming creativity and continue to sell millions of copies upon every release- despite the heightened press coverage surrounding the violent nature of the games. Their is a huge debate within the media as to whether violent video games lead their players to conduct violent acts and this is a key topic explored in the docu-drama.

Rockstar Games filed a lawsuit against the BBC as they felt the film did not show the brand nor the events that took place in a true light. Of course, Rockstar games would be against a film which a) painted them in a negative light and b) a piece of PR which they had no sort of say or control over.

The company reacted strongly to the film once it had ended, publishing this tweet:

@BBC Was Basil Brush busy? What exactly is this random, made up bollocks?

— Rockstar Games (@RockstarGames) September 15, 2015

At first, you would have thought this might be a potential PR crisis for the brand, but in fact, judging by twitter, TV reviews, blog posts and news articles- consumers seem to be siding with Rockstar Games over the BBC:

The gaming industry as a whole is very protective over its makers and they gain a lot of respect by their fans. GTA is also one of Britain's most successful exports and therefore people are very protective over it, especially those who enjoy playing it. Ultimately, if anything, this has painted the BBC in a negative light.

It is interesting to see how something which may be a potential crisis for a brand, can actually leave their customers feeling closer and more positively towards it. Docu-dramas/ documentaries about brands and companies do not usually provide this result- as is the case with Blackfish, the documentary on Sea World which has lead to their profits downfalling ever since. Consumers' morals are so important within marketing and can often erase any sort of positive associations one has with a brand, Sea World was once so loved and had really strong, positive brand associations surrounding family, love, protection and care for animals and what Blackfish has done is detrimental to all of the above. 

However, GTA lovers seem to disagree with what has been presented to them in terms of a moral argument. Perhaps their needs to be further evidence or, sadly, another disaster which can be linked to playing the games, until consumers will react negatively towards them. 

Did Alton Towers use crisis management successfully?

We've all heard about the devastating crash on the 2nd June in which an Alton Towers rollercoaster crashed, causing 4 people to be seriously injured, with one even having to have her legs amputated. There has been incalculable media coverage and the Merlin brand is in absolute tatters. This of course is a crisis that not many brands ever have to deal with, however can Alton Towers ever recover from this tragedy and operate as the brand they used to be?

I think, from a branding perspective, due to what the Alton Towers brand used to stand for- fun, happiness, family-friendly and exhilarating. It is going to be phenomenally difficult for Alton Towers to ever build this image back in people's minds due to the instant association to the crash that the brand will acquire.

However, it's not as though we haven't seen brands cause tragedies previously and recover their brand successfully and with the right crisis management strategy in place- it can be done.

Quick reaction

Public relations absolutely is the key to any brand reform or crisis and other brands like Tesco and BP have made huge errors in the past by not reacting publicly to situations soon enough. However, Alton Towers were very efficient in releasing statements and keeping the public informed.

The park updated their Facebook and Twitter pages soon after the event and gave information and messages consistent with those they gave to the press, this meant messages across all channels were clear and not conflicting one another. They were quick with announcing that the park would be closed and then being open and honest about their investigations in to the accident etc.

Senior executives at the heart of the issues

Nick Varney, CEO of Merlin, headed to Alton Towers soon after the event and gave live television interviews and was at the heart of any decisions being made. This demonstrated the severity of the incident and how serious Alton Towers were taking it. He was able to give accurate and well prepared statements and take hold of the situation.

He also demonstrated his compassion, understanding and concern for those involved as well as outlining the immediate steps the business was taking which made him come across a lot more positive.

Accepting fault

In crisis management, accepting responsibility can make the difference between gaining the publics' trust and losing it. Alton Towers never tried to shift the blame or deny wrongdoing, which is where many brands have gone wrong when dealing with crises in the past (e.g. Thomas Cook).

Alton Towers must now reassure the public of their commitment to safety and work to improve on whatever they find to be the fault of their mistakes that clearly caused this disaster. I would also work to consider taking legal action/ investigation to the designers/ engineers of the ride.



All in all, I believe that Alton Towers initial management of the crisis was good and they built the foundations to restore their brand image, regain customer trust and convey their safety and integrity. However, the Merlin share price is dramatically low and therefore they must continue to work hard to make sure they stay on track.

Steph