Comunicación en tiempo de crisis : incidencia del rebranding en la reputación en línea de la marca Aunt Jemima, de su cuenta de Instagram y Facebook, entre febrero y noviembre de 2021.

Abstract

This investigative work analyzes the effects on the online reputation of the Aunt Jemima-Pearl Milling Company brand following its rebranding during the months of February to November 2021. We applied content analysis, both qualitative and quantitative, to analyze the communicative pieces and comments made by audiences on Instagram and Facebook. For the development of the first specific objective, we used qualitative content analysis for which we established three categories and ten subcategories that we used on seven communicational pieces. For our second specific objective, we used quantitative content to categorize the comments made on Facebook and Instagram. For the third specific objective, the technique of semi-structured interviews was used with Marketing, Public Relations and Communication professionals. The study results show that the rebranding was not accepted by audiences in Facebook and Instagram, having an 79.8% of rejection within the seven pieces. Inside the frame of rejection, a preference for the old identity of the brand, Aunt Jemima, was preferred by the audience. We also find that the brand continues to reinforce racist stereotypes in its communication, which further damages its reputation.