Susan Marple (susan.marple@gcinc.com) is a Compliance Manager at Granite Construction Incorporated in Kansas City, Kansas, USA.
You don’t have to go very far these days to see examples of brands, both corporate and individual, spiraling out of control and imploding due to missteps, illicit actions, faulty statements, or a combination of these. As an example, Boeing recently found itself caught in a brand crisis after information began to surface, in the wake of the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes of its 737 Max aircraft, that seems to indicate that Boeing may have been aware of issues with the plane’s navigation systems. Initially, Boeing pointed a finger at “operator error” after the Lion Air Flight JT 610 crash.[1] With a second crash, Boeing now faces an uphill battle to recover its good name as investigators and regulators begin to scrutinize the depth of the company’s prior knowledge of the defect.
Of course, corporate brands aren’t the only ones suffering. I immediately think about individuals involved in the FBI’s sting of college admissions processes. The most recognizable names, Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, have undoubtedly suffered “brand” damage on a personal scale that will impair their ability to land select acting roles they might otherwise have added to their illustrious résumés, at least for the foreseeable future.
