Author(s): Manuel Tiago
Title: Boomerang effect of a negative campaign – a case study from the market of beverages
Source: International Scientific Days 2016. The Agri-Food Value Chain: Challenges for Natural Resources Management and Society
Document Type: Scientific paper
ISBN: 978-80-552-1503-7
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15414/isd2016.s10.10
Publisher: Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra
PY, pages: 2014, 850-857
Published on-line: 2016-06-24
Language: eng
Abstract: Negative campaigning or “mudslinging” is a technique to win an advantage by referring to negative aspects of a competitor rather than emphasizing one’s own positive attributes (Wikipedia, 2016). It is well known in politics, but “dirty tricks” can be adopted trying to improve one’s position on a well-defined market. Our paper introduces a case study of a negative campaign which targeted the largest national soft drink producer of Angola, Refriango.
Nine weeks after the outbreak of an SMS campaign of a suspected contamination of its products, we asked 500 people to fill in a questionnaire with the aim to measure the effects of the attack on consumer behaviour. Our results have shown that the unidentified attacker managed to provoke uncertainty among consumers. Nevertheless, by denying the allegations and using a rapid remedial campaign, the attacked firm succeeded in restoring its image and position on the market Above all these, by becoming known among wider range of the population, they could even increase the number of their consumers. We could demonstrate the boomerang effect of the negative campaign
Keywords: Angola, beverage consumption, consumer behaviour, negative campaign
JEL Classification: M31
Rights: Open Access :: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Licence
Toto dielo je publikované pod/This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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