CRISIS COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES AND BRAND EQUITY RECOVERY IN THE FMCG INDUSTRY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64415/jgpmc.v3i1.87Keywords:
Crisis Communication, Brand Equity Recovery, FMCG, Calabar Metropolis, Situational Crisis Communication Theory, Rebuilding StrategiesAbstract
This seminar paper examines crisis communication strategies and brand equity recovery in the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry in Calabar Metropolis, Cross River State, Nigeria. Brand equity recovery constitutes the single dependent variable of the study, measured across its four dimensions—brand awareness, perceived quality, brand loyalty, and brand associations—while crisis communication strategies (denial, diminishment, rebuilding, and bolstering) serve as the independent variables, with social media crisis communication as a moderating variable. Grounded in the Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) and the Consumer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) framework, the study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive survey design with a sample of 399 respondents drawn from FMCG consumers and marketing professionals in Calabar Metropolis. Structured questionnaires adapted from validated scales provided the primary data, analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis via SPSS version 26. Findings reveal that denial strategies have a significant negative effect on brand equity recovery (r = −0.349, p < 0.01); rebuilding strategies are the strongest positive predictor of brand equity recovery (β = 0.512, p < 0.001); bolstering strategies significantly enhance brand awareness and perceived quality dimensions of brand equity recovery (β = 0.478, p < 0.001); and social media crisis communication significantly and positively moderates the relationship between crisis response strategies and brand equity recovery (β = 0.214, p < 0.05). The study recommends that FMCG firms in Calabar Metropolis adopt proactive, transparent, and empathetic crisis communication anchored on rebuilding and bolstering strategies, supported by real-time social media engagement, to maximise brand equity recovery outcomes.
Keywords: Crisis Communication, Brand Equity Recovery, FMCG, Calabar Metropolis, Situational Crisis Communication Theory, Rebuilding Strategies.
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