Black-owned business and passionate brand publics: A netnography of The Honey Pot Company PR crisis

IF 4.1 3区管理学 Q2 BUSINESS

Public Relations Review Pub Date : 2025-02-11 DOI:10.1016/j.pubrev.2025.102542

Suman Mishra , Mia Moody , Rosalynn A. Vasquez

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

This study uses a netnography approach to explore why brand publics engage in passionate discourse about a Black-owned business on social media, especially during a crisis. It analyzes 2463 comments posted in response to an Instagram video statement shared by the Black founder and CEO of the Honey Pot Company during a 2022 crisis. The findings reveal that Honey Pot’s most vocal brand publics were Black women and members of the broader Black community. Their passionate engagement is rooted in several factors: 1) a belief that the products were made specifically for them using high-quality natural ingredients, 2) a commitment to supporting Black-owned businesses and ethnic solidarity, 3) deep-seated fears and historical trauma associated with harmful products marketed to the Black community, and 4) a need to hold individuals accountable. Based on the analysis, this unique study reveals four key drivers of passion: product-based passion, identity-based passion, historical trauma-based passion, and accountability-based passion. The study contributes to the public relations literature on passionate publics by illustrating how Honey Pot’s brand publics formed a passionate online community to call for accountability, express ethnic solidarity, and advocate for change.

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黑人拥有的企业和热情的品牌公众：蜜罐公司公关危机的网络记录

本研究使用网络学方法来探讨为什么品牌公众在社交媒体上对黑人拥有的企业进行热情的讨论，特别是在危机期间。该研究分析了2463条评论，这些评论是对这位黑人创始人兼蜜罐公司首席执行官在2022年危机期间分享的Instagram视频声明的回应。调查结果显示，蜜罐品牌最具影响力的受众是黑人女性和更广泛的黑人社区成员。他们的热情参与源于以下几个因素：1)相信这些产品是专门为他们制造的，使用了高质量的天然成分；2)承诺支持黑人拥有的企业和种族团结；3)与向黑人社区销售有害产品有关的根深蒂固的恐惧和历史创伤；4)需要让个人承担责任。基于分析，这项独特的研究揭示了激情的四个关键驱动因素：基于产品的激情、基于身份的激情、基于历史创伤的激情和基于问责制的激情。该研究通过说明Honey Pot的品牌公众如何形成一个充满激情的在线社区来呼吁问责、表达民族团结和倡导变革，为激情公众的公共关系文献做出了贡献。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Public Relations Review Multiple-

CiteScore

8.00

自引率

19.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Public Relations Review is the oldest journal devoted to articles that examine public relations in depth, and commentaries by specialists in the field. Most of the articles are based on empirical research undertaken by professionals and academics in the field. In addition to research articles and commentaries, The Review publishes invited research in brief, and book reviews in the fields of public relations, mass communications, organizational communications, public opinion formations, social science research and evaluation, marketing, management and public policy formation.