From Sehun EXO to Crisis and Public Trust: An Evaluation of Whitelab’s Crisis Communication Strategies

Established in 2015, Whitelab is an Indonesian local beauty brand that has experienced significant growth in recent years, surpassing other industries. However, in 2022, Whitelab faced a crisis that nearly damaged its reputation following a fan meeting with its Korean brand ambassador called "One Memorable Day with Scientist Ganteng Oh Sehun." Although Whitelab issued a public apology, they also tended to blame other parties. It led to public criticism on social media and to a larger mass protest condemning the brand for the problems that occurred during the event. This qualitative paper aims to analyse and evaluate Whitelab's communication crisis strategies using Coombs' Situational Crisis Communication Theory. A descriptive case study was employed and data were collected through observation, news reports, social media posts, and comments during the crisis period. The results show that the crisis affected public trust in Whitelab, which required immediate response. Twitter holds a dual role in both transmitting the crisis among the public and has become a crucial tool for Whitelab’s crisis communication. The authors’ evaluation concludes that there was a lack of crisis management from the pre-crisis phase, which resulted in Whitelab's inability to anticipate potential risks of crises during the fans’ meeting. This ultimately led to the crisis expansion, posing a threat to Whitelab's corporate reputation. Calls to cancel the brand and demands for an apology on social media escalated the situation. Therefore, effective crisis communication is essential for companies and brands of all sizes, including growing local brands including Whitelab. Keywords: Crisis communication, SCCT, brand, beauty, Twitter.