Iconic people's influence on brand image. Impact of iconic influencers on a misled product campaign of H&M.

Details

Supervisors

Kervyn De Meerendré, Nicolas

Faculty

Louvain School of Management

Degree label

Master [60] en sciences de gestion

Abstract

The aim of this TFE is to study the impact iconic people had on a misled product campaign of the fashion company H&M. In early 2018, H&M released a product campaign under which an advertisement created controversy : a young black boy modelled a hoodie mentioning “Coolest monkey in the jungle”. Many people including some iconic people immediately reacted on the day of this advertisement release. The audience was offended, and H&M had to response rapidly in order to calm down the many backlashes against its brand. In this TFE, the main consequences on H&M's financials and brand image are examined as well as how the company regained trust from its stakeholders. The company's apologies and the undertaken actions concluded a short-term crisis with limited consequences on its financial performances. However, many iconic people reacted radically, and their influence on the brand might grow significantly in the future.