MAR036-6 Brand Communication and Reputation Management Assignment Sample
MAR036-6 Brand Communication and Reputation Management Assignment Sample
1. Impact of Covid has been on brands and their reputation management
The COVID-19 outbreak has had a huge impact on brand reputation management in the UK. Businesses have been compelled to react quickly to changing circumstances and innovative working practices. The outbreak has also had an impact on brand value and business value. Managing brand reputation now is critical because the pandemic’s negative reviews, online comments, and press attention can be detrimental to businesses. The pandemic has made how a company treats its clients and employees even more crucial. In order to stop the spread of COVID-19, the UK imposed a lockdown in March 2020. This measure improved public health but also put certain people and jobs in danger (Salinas, 2020). Businesses were compelled to adjust to the new normal as the pandemic expanded quickly around the globe, which provided a distinct set of obstacles.
Brands had to adapt their strategies in response to the epidemic swiftly and put policies in place to protect their staff members and clients’ health and wellness. The increased scrutiny of brands’ actions and responses to the epidemic has been one of COVID-19’s most significant effects on businesses in the UK. Customers have been closely monitoring how businesses treat their employees and what they do to support society during this difficult period. Businesses that handled the pandemic with sensitivity and compassion have improved their reputations and gained customers’ trust. Such a sharp decline in output significantly impacted the employment situation. We calculate that during a lockdown, 7.5 million jobs defined as long-term layoffs, temporary furloughs, and compensation and/or hour reductions—were in jeopardy. Due to the extremely uneven nature of the threats, those with the lowest salaries and those living in low-income areas were more at risk of losing their jobs. A little more than half of all at-risk jobs are in industries with hourly earnings under £10. (The median hourly wage in 2019 was £13.20.) The range was much narrower (18 to 24%) among the 20 subregions with the highest incomes. The percentage of at-risk employment, which includes Blackpool, Stoke-on-Trent, and Torbay, ranges from 23 to 28 per cent among the 20 lowest-income sub-regions (Allas et al., 2020).On the other hand, consumers have reacted negatively to firms they believe were slow to act or uncaring about the pandemic.
As a result, there has been bad press and reputation harm. Businesses perceived as prioritising profits over stakeholders, such as those operating without proper safety equipment or enacting social distancing policies, have been particularly susceptible to reputational harm. The pandemic has also sped up the transition to digital platforms, which has given marketers additional chances to interact with their target audiences. A few examples of firms participating in the trend include Louis Vuitton, Dior, Gucci, and Prada, all luxury fashion houses. The businesses have pledged to manufacture millions of face masks, mainly for high-risk regions like Italy and France. Even H&M and Zara have started to move their textile production towards producing health-related fabrics (Emplifi, 2020).
Value retail retailer Home Bargains quickly responded as the epidemic worsened in March by launching a £30 million fund to assist staff who needed to self-isolate during COVID-19 and allocating the first hour of business each day, particularly for the aged and vulnerable. The company also used deft quick-win strategies to boost brand awareness, such as briefly renaming (Stay at Home) Bargains on social media to promote the adoption of social seclusion practices. As a result of the good response to these initial actions, which garnered extensive local and national media coverage, rival businesses moved quickly to implement similar policies in the weeks that followed, like setting aside specific hours for the vulnerable to shop (Opper, 2020).
2. Selection of two brands and impact of global pandemic
2.1 Easy Jet meet customer expectation and build its brand reputation through media and PR during the lockdown
Airline located in the UK, EasyJet, has been in business since 1995. The company has established a reputation as one of the most well-liked low-cost airlines in the region by providing inexpensive flights to locations all around Europe. As the COVID-19 epidemic struck, the airline encountered several difficulties, including border closures, aircraft cancellations, and a decline in demand for air travel. Despite these challenges, EasyJet was able to profit and build its image during the pandemic.
The above figure states that the company has failed to meet the customer expectations as the sales of the company has reduced the revenue of the company has reduced up to 1.5 billion British pounds in 2021. EasyJet stated it was focused on flying profitably in order to save money, and that this had helped it minimise cash burn in its fourth quarter compared to the third. EasyJet’s net debt has climbed to almost 1 billion pounds from 324.9 million pounds at the same time last year (Young, 2020).
Due to the pandemic, the firm made the painful decision to ground its entire fleet in March 2020.Nonetheless, EasyJet swiftly changed the focus of its operations to concentrate on cargo and repatriation flights, which aided in generating income during this difficult period.
EasyJet had a robust balance sheet and entered the pandemic in better shape than many other carriers (Kahn, 2021).
EasyJet anticipated a return to close to pre-COVID flying levels in 2022 and profited from a combination of strategic moves, pent-up demand, and the relaxation of travel restrictions (Topham and Makortoff, 2022)
This help to help lessen the effect of the pandemic on its business. EasyJet implemented a variety of cost-cutting steps in addition to these. A 30% labour reduction and a postponement of new aircraft deliveries helped the company lower costs and increase cash flow. Customer satisfaction was another element that helped EasyJet succeed during the pandemic. Customers wary about arranging travel during the epidemic were reassured by the company’s flexible booking rules, which included the option to change flights for free. Also, EasyJet introduced stringent health and safety regulations on its flights, such as the use of face masks and improved cleaning techniques, which assisted in assuring passengers that flying was safe.
These actions allowed EasyJet to continue operating profitably during the epidemic in spite of the difficult circumstances. The business announced revenue of £165m for the fourth quarter of 2020, which was much better than analysts’ expectations.
The business employed media and PR methods to lessen the pandemic’s effects and set itself up for success in the future.
These are some ways how EasyJet successfully utilised PR and the media during the pandemic:
Social media: EasyJet used social media to educate consumers about crucial information, including adjustments to flight itineraries, new safety precautions, and updates on travel restrictions. Real-time responses to consumer questions and concerns were given by the business, along with individualised support and help.
Emphasising flexibility: During the epidemic, EasyJet gave consumers extra options by letting them modify their reservations without being charged a fee. By portraying itself as a customer-friendly airline prepared to assist passengers during a challenging moment, the company used PR to promote these practices.
Raising brand awareness: Despite the pandemic’s difficulties, EasyJet continued to spend money on marketing and PR. For instance, to appeal to younger customers, the firm unveiled a new advertising campaign called “Generation easyJet,” promoting the airline as a cool, cost-effective, and contemporary means of transportation.
Announcing good news: EasyJet uses social media to announce good news and stories about the business, including new routes, honours, and programmes to cut carbon emissions. This supported brand recognition and consumer involvement during a trying time.
Working with influencers: EasyJet worked with social media influencers to promote its brand and reach new audiences. For instance, the business collaborated with Instagram influencers and travel bloggers to give travel advice to their followers and promote their experiences flying with EasyJet.
2.2 British Airways faced a shortfall of expectations and get negative impact on during pandemic
Like many other airlines, British Airways encountered considerable difficulties during the COVID-19 epidemic. The following details pertain to British Airlines’ demise during the pandemic:
Financial losses: Due to travel restrictions and decreased demand, British Airways experienced major revenue losses during the pandemic, which negatively impacted passenger numbers and flight schedules. In contrast to its profit of £1.8 billion in 2019, the airline reported a loss of £1.8 billion in 2020.
Job losses: As a result of the pandemic, British Airways announced plans to eliminate over 10,000 positions, including those for ground staff, pilots, and cabin crew. Unions and workers accused the airline of exploiting the epidemic as justification to implement long-anticipated job cuts, and the firm experienced substantial backlash as a result of the move.
Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Vueling owner International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG) reported an operating loss of roughly 534 million euros ($580 million) before unexpected items in the first quarter, down from a profit of 135 million euro (Sandle and Mason, 2020).
IAG, the parent business of British Airways, suffered a record loss of €7.4 billion as a result of the epidemic (Sweney and Topham, 2021).
British Airways’ handling of the pandemic hurt the airline’s reputation, which led to complaints from clients and staff about the company’s customer service, safety procedures, and communication. However, the airline’s move to eliminate employment and salaries was met with harsh criticism, leading some passengers and staff to boycott the company in opposition. The airline was forced to make some tough decisions in order to survive, including dismissing approximately 10,700 workers during the outbreak (News, 2023).
The owner of it has reported that it has recorded a loss of 7.4 billion euros in pandemic situations as the passenger of it is feeling doubtful of the virus and has stopped travelling. In 2019, it was able to gain approx 2.6 billion in profit, and the owner has expected to rise in their business operational profit. Due to the sudden hit of the pandemic and the lockdown ambience, it has reported a loss of 6.4 billion pounds during the pandemic time. The price rate of expensive fuel, currency hedges, the retiring of working planes and the cost of the company’s 10,000 employees redundancies added a loss of 8,30 billion pounds in 2020. The negative result has seriously impacted its business as the company became forced to reduce its cost budget and raise the proportional variable costs to make better market demand (Sweney and Topham, 2021). They are transforming their business to ensure a strong competitive position.
In addition, British airways have faced huge problems in staff cottages for group handling and crew, and airports have presented major problems in the aviation sector of the UK. Most of them are still struggling to stand up for their business after the COVID-19 pandemic. In the second quarter of the COVID-19 pandemic, it faced a lack of demand for its airline services. It becomes more energetic in cutting flights. It has resulted in a cut of thousands of employees lost during the pandemic situations. During the pandemic, it was affected by several months of cancellations, missing luggage and delays because of the safety regulations in international flights. Most of the British Airways employees are not directly engaged in its aircraft operations. It has thought about rebuilding the airline services after the pandemic to create more opportunities. In reality, after the huge layoff of employees, it is now facing a”tighter labour market” as it tries to rebuild its share from the travel rebound.
2.3 Critical analysis from a comparison of the brands
The above figure states that in 2021, the total sales of the UK have decreased which have also created different kinds of issues. According to the most recent Best Airlines throughout the World survey from eDreams, one of the biggest travel agency brands in Europe, British Airways is ranked as the fifth highest airline on earth. With a larger carry-on baggage limit, BA is a better option for those with a lot of bags. Despite the LHR’s detractors, there are plenty more ways to get there via public transportation. On the other hand, though British Airways, as well as taxis, are quite affordable, EasyJet is somewhat less expensive. EasyJet clearly outperforms British Airlines when compared. EasyJet provides greater card benefits and more credit card selections (Ft.com, 2022). However, British Airways has earned a 4-Star certification for the calibre of its crew, onboard amenities, and airport and ground transportation offerings.
Service ratings are given to both cabin employees and ground workers, while product ratings are given to seats, amenities, food and beverages, IFE, cleanliness, etc. British Airways, which was once hailed as “the world’s favourite airline” because it transported more foreign travellers than any other airline, came in at number 20. Virgin Atlantic came in at number 19, moving up five spots from last year, while British Airlines remained at number 11, where it was last year. EasyJet has earned a 4-Star Low-Cost Airlines Certification for the calibre of its crew, onboard amenities, and airport and product offerings. EasyJet is certainly an airline to investigate if all you’re after is a cheap ticket. There have been instances of misunderstanding surrounding the significant Easter holiday. In actuality, BA’s timeline is far tighter than anticipated. Some cancellations, though, are prepared for months in advance. Information from Cirium, another aviation analytics company, shows that in the final week of March, EasyJet and British Airlines cancelled approximately 1,000 flights departing from and arriving in the UK. In the upcoming months, Manchester warns of minute security check lineups. It was 400 more last week (Michele, 2017). Understandably disturbed, passengers are voicing their concerns. During this period, about 4–5% of all contracts were impacted. Recently, their population has been falling. Since the first weekend in April, easyJet has loosened its no-notice cancellation policies and changed its flight itineraries.
After the COVID-10 pandemic, when all the airline companies are facing financial struggles issues because of limited employment and limited customer traffic, Easy jet is expected to beat a massive profit in the post-pandemic situations. In 2020, it experienced a loss of 133 million pounds in 2022 as a post-pandemic situation, but it is aiming to grow and stand up significantly in the upcoming operational days. Its first-quarter operational performance was a 36% rise from its previous loss, and trying to claim 10% in 2023 (Dunn, 2023). It expects more improvement in revenue collection to set its performance, while it says that its booking strength is currently continuing its financial coverage in the upcoming summer of 2023.
On the other hand, British Airways is planning to manage its post pandemic issues by bringing greater efficiency into the aviation performances. It can be good news for the employees and its stakeholders but not so good news for its employees. Due to cutting jobs by 12,0000 employees, it is planning to be smaller and continue its business with fewer employees. With these fewer employees, it is trying to establish a more effective workplace environment that will make passengers flying cheaper. In reality, it cannot be possible to maintain both attributes in such a short time. It thinks that the lesser employee will bring more balance in work as reducing jobs will give greater productivity and an efficient base for the long term.
In reality, it needs fewer employees to continue their working positions clearly and effectively. The efficiency cannot be brought by the job laid off in its employees. The staff’s cost of it is 2.5 billion pounds that will expand 22% in 2021. It needs to give attention to its operating expenses as there is a minute to carry the extra costs of it. As its damage has increased, the company often goes with the job being laid off, but it’s not a permanent solution. Hence, the fear of it has reflected such a “distorted market”(Horton, 2020). Most of the other airline companies in the UK have asked the UK government to provide financial help, but it cannot approach the government. Hence, it is the failure of it that after commitment eating to rebuild its business in a huge manner, it cannot be able to do it. After two years of COVID-19pandemic, it cannot stand up strongly to mitigate its issues.
In this matter, where the British airways is still facing its operational and tight labour market issues, the easy jet is expecting to raise its profit significantly, beating its rivals in current airline market expectation. Its current projections are to gain a revenue of 123 million pounds by the year ending of 2023. That will be a mark of achieved market profit after the pandemic impacted losses. Its revenue has increased by 86% to December 2023 to reach 1.47 billion pounds. It has gained in the first quarter customer traffic and its revenue has jumped from 11.9 million pounds to 17.5 million pounds and increased a huge workload (Budd, Ison and Adrienne, 2020). Easyjet’s owner and directors have reported that they have noticed a sustained and strong demand for its travel appliances to carry out 50% more customers than the previous year.
3. Effective guidelines to manage their reputation, marketing and brand, relevant to future similar disasters
Recommendation on Managing Reputation
British Airlines needs to concentrate on maintaining high standards. To lower overall carbon footprint, companies have funded research initiatives including Sorena to generate lasting alternative aircraft fuels. launched initiatives like One Destination and other successes . Start by identifying individual environmental footsteps. For business class passengers, SMS and mobile services are now being offered as part of the current effort to enhance the customer experience. Activate a programme like “CUSTOMER FIRST”. BA strives to offer a distinctive client experience. Every month, BA surveys its clients to learn everything concerning them and the individuals they have recommended BA to. In one month, the organisation sees about 57,000 people (Lawteacher, 2019). To have an advantage over our rivals, we have forged partnerships and alliances. BA has prioritised organic expansion. Whenever it comes to providing the fundamentals, British continues to be a leader in the aviation sector. The benefit of linking financial centres was one of its benefits.
The largest international passenger airline and the national carrier of the United Kingdom is British Airways. Moreover, it operates supplementary services and transports freight and mail both domestically and internationally. With the help of codeshare and franchise partners, BA offers flights to more than 300 locations globally. In 2009–10, it transported 32 million of passengers and generated £8 billion in profit, which was an 11% year-over-year decline. Since becoming a rival on the marketplace in 1987 after being privatised, BA has expanded. Being the first airline worldwide to take part in a programme that lowers emissions of greenhouse gases and enables travellers to print boarding cards online, BA is well-known. Though there is a recession, BA’s future appears promising. The establishment of guiding principles and rigorous operational as well as strategic alignment are necessary for the firm to realise its stated aim of being “the world’s most sustainable airline,” as is stated in its financial statement. That is significant.
Recommendation on Marketing and Branding
A brand manager must show how this company can set itself apart from more established rivals like Lufthansa and Delta. It is feasible to make more than one suggestion to British Airlines. The business should particularly solidify its reputation as something of an aircraft that can serve passengers of various economic levels with good service. The second thing British Airways wants to do is show how it can benefit its clients. Thirdly, management must guarantee that marketing messages are concise and consistent. It also suggests if following strategic aims will be successful for both organisations. To preserve their market dominance, both companies are going to work on various tactics. British Airways: The Company’s first strategy was to increase sales while integrating corporate responsibility into all aspects of operations (Studycorgi, 2020). By making purchases of modern, adaptable aircraft, especially during difficult economic times. The business may save expenses by reducing manpower at all terminals. By offering fresh goods like remodelled first class cabins and upgraded seats in business class during lengthy trips. At each and every point of contact, provide exceptional or best-in-class customer service. They also concentrate on the mileage industry, making money through third-party technology, flight sales, and even brand-new web ventures using e-tickets. Designers also provide first-rate cooperation packages for regular travellers. Moreover, humans intend to forge a prominent hold in the major cities of the world and a significant presence in the world.
Recommendation on Future Disasters
Following two years of interruption brought on by the coronavirus epidemic, the aviation industry is having a difficult time transitioning into peak season due to ground handling, airport, and flight attendant shortages. In the space sector, there are around 2,50,000 direct jobs. With a CAGR of roughly 14–15%, the Indian air transport MRO industry, presently valued at about US$900 million, is projected to increase to US$4.33 billion by 2025 (Budd, Ison and Adrienne, 2020). British Airways has made an incredible investment in technology for the passenger experience, complementing it with expenditures in human customer service. Automatic gates shorten boarding and waiting times, while self-service luggage drop-off devices outperform less expensive alternatives. The emergence of high energy, immersive reality, 3-dimensional health -related services, modular aircraft linked to urban infrastructure, supersonic flying, and ultra-slow “cruises” are a component of the future of air transport. a significant report on travel issued globally. Today’s British Airlines. For lengthy flights, use a facial mask and pack extra clothing to change every four hours. Online check-in and mobile boarding pass download observing social distance and using the hand sanitisers supplied in every airport.
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