Abstract

The case study discusses the Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil fiasco that occurred when its brand ambassador, 48-year-old Sourav Ganguly, President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and former captain of men’s National Cricket Team, suffered a heart attack. It was a tough situation for the company as a whole and for the Fortune branding team in particular, as the oil brand had positioned itself as a healthy oil for the 40 plus age group. The brand manager had to take quick action to control the damage caused by the incident.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• To understand how a brand manager should respond to a crisis situation
• To explore how a brand manager should communicate at the time of a crisis
• To understand how to safeguard a brand from social media backlash
• To explore the possible options in front of the company when its brand ambassador suffers an untoward incident

Keywords

Respond in a Crisis Situation; Social Media Backlash; Branding Communication; Brand Positioning; Developing Effective Communication; Message Strategy; Creative Strategy; Message Source; Source Credibility; Communication Strategy; Sourav Ganguly; Adani Wilmar; Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil