A Study on Brand Image Maintenance and Adjustment Strategies in

Crisis Public Relations Situations

Tongyu Wang

College of Tourism and Aviation Management, Hunan Women's University, Changsha, China

Keywords: Crisis Public Relations, Online Public Opinion, Brand Image.

Abstract: How to adjust brand image in the context of crisis public relations is a hot issue that every enterprise is

concerned about. Some researchers have found that effective public sentiment monitoring and crisis

contingency plans have a significant impact on brand image. However, the underlying crisis response

strategies still lack analysis and summarization. Therefore, this paper mainly focuses on the important roles

of response speed, attitude, and methods when enterprises face public crises. In addition, enterprises should

also take preventive measures against crises in advance, and do a good job in public sentiment monitoring

and control to nip potential problems in the bud. This study analyzes the crisis cases of Pangdonglai and

Yuanji Yunjiao, using brand image as the entry point to briefly explore the issues of brand image adjustment

and maintenance for enterprises facing the dual pressures of crisis public relations and public sentiment attacks.

1 INTRODUCTION

Brand image is the impression and perception of an

enterprise in the minds of the public, which mainly

includes service image, staff image and market

image. On the one hand, brand image as a digital

business card of the enterprise, conveying the

enterprise's unique value concept and core, which is

the key to stand out in a large number of competitors.

On the other hand, the success of the enterprise is

inevitably inseparable from the brand image. Brand

image as one of the important assets of the enterprise,

shaping a good brand image is an important goal of

every enterprise.

In the past, most enterprises have not yet

recognised the impact of self-media on business

development, making them immature in dealing with

public opinion handling. However, with the

popularisation of mobile internet and the wide

application of smart devices, the way of obtaining and

disseminating information has undergone a profound

change. This change not only enables the public to

obtain information about domestic and international

emergencies more rapidly, but also prompts the

traditional social opinion to shift from offline scenes

to online space, and gradually evolve into the new

manifestation form of online public opinion (Shi,

Xue, & He, 2022).

In the all-media era, online public opinion

presents such remarkable features as massive

information, diversified carriers and rapid

dissemination. The interaction of these features with

the trend of pan-media and visualisation of new

media has made the dissemination of public opinion

more complex and changeable. This complexity not

only increases the difficulty of guiding online public

opinion, but also makes it a focus of attention in both

academic and management practice.

In addition, the types of crises encountered by

enterprises are becoming more and more diverse, and

the complexity of crises continues to rise (Hou, Guan,

Wang, Meng, & Zhang, 2023). And the effectiveness

of crisis management can have a direct and critical

impact on the survival as well as the long-term

development of enterprises (Gu, 2024). Adjustment

of brand image is not only an important part of public

crisis management, but also an important strategy for

enterprises to maintain competitiveness in market

competition when facing complex and diverse crisis

scenarios.

At the same time, how enterprises can quickly

adjust their brand image in a crisis, restore public

trust, and reduce the negative impact of business and

revenue loss has become an urgent problem. There

are also countless experts and scholars analysing and

discussing this issue from different levels, such as the

five principles of crisis PR put forward by the famous

712

Wang, T.

A Study on Brand Image Maintenance and Adjustment Strategies in Crisis Public Relations Situations.

DOI: 10.5220/0014002300004916

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Public Relations and Media Communication (PRMC 2025), pages 712-717

ISBN: 978-989-758-778-8

crisis PR expert You Changqiao (2012): Speed First,

Take Responsibility, Communicate Sincerely,

Operate in a Systematic Way and Confirm

Authoritatively (Liu,&You, 2012), Robert Heath's 4R

Crisis Management Theory: Reduction, Readiness,

Response, Recovery (Fink, 1986). However, the

limitation of real-time data leads to a large amount of

theoretical knowledge that is difficult to be analysed

in conjunction with newly occurring hotspots.

Moreover, countless crises are often good at lurking

silently in all aspects of life, and once there is an

oversight, it can take advantage of the situation and

cause serious consequences.

In recent years, with the improvement of people's

living standards and the gradual enhancement of their

health awareness, people have attached

unprecedented importance to food safety. Food

quality has also become a hot topic of public concern,

every move touches people's hearts. In the context of

increasing market competition, product quality and

brand image is directly linked, especially in the

catering industry. However, the enterprise model Fat

Donglai is at this juncture of the error, causing a high

degree of concern of the netizens. Fat Donglai has

always won the public's favour with its high standard

of hygiene supervision and high-quality service

attitude, and the outbreak of this crisis has caused the

public to question Fat Donglai's long-established

brand image. However, with its quick response,

transparent communication and responsibility, the

company successfully turned the crisis into an

opportunity and used the heat to further enhance its

popularity. Yuan Ji Yun Dumpling, as a typical

example of counter-programming, more fully

demonstrates that the long-term healthy development

of enterprises must rely on the strong support of the

crisis plan, and that enterprises should place the

network supervision and public opinion handling as a

top priority, which is a necessary course for every

enterprise on the road to growth.

The article takes the crisis cases of Fat Donglai

and Yuan Ji Yun Dumpling as the research object,

adopts empirical and comparative research methods,

analyses the communication characteristics of

network public opinion, the five principles of crisis

public relations, and the specific measures to deal

with crisis public relations, reveals the multifaceted

impacts of corporate crises that have been magnified

in a short period of time, and puts forward the idea of

optimizing the crisis response plan.

2 INTRODUCTION TO CRISIS

COMMUNICATION EVENTS

2.1 Fat Donglai

On 19 June 2024, a customer gave feedback to the

Food and Beverage Department of Xinxiang Fat

Donglai Life Plaza, saying that he found that the

rolling dough processing point of the Xinxiang Fat

Donglai Associated Catering Merchant was located in

the middle section of the Yinhuang Road and that the

processing point had a poor hygienic environment,

and he provided the relevant video as evidence. FDL

Catering then found that the processing point was

inconsistent with the Baliying processing point

reported by the merchant.2024 On 20 June, FDL

Catering arranged quality control personnel to

investigate and confirmed that the processing point

did exist, and the delivery vehicle departed from the

processing point to deliver ingredients to the rolling

out dough stalls of the catering department of the two

shops of Xinxiang FDL Catering. After confirming

that the situation was true, the Catering Department

required the rolling out dough stall to suspend

business for rectification and closed the processing

point on Yinhuang Road, while imposing a fine of

RMB 5,000 on the merchant. On 22 June 2024, the

person in charge of the rolling dough merchant said

that he had completed the rectification and relocated

the processing point to Dajhuzhuang. Fat Donglai

Catering arranged for quality control staff and

supervisors to investigate and confirmed that the new

processing site complied with hygiene standards. 23

June 2024, after the rectification was completed, the

rolling dough stall resumed business.

On 25 June 2024, a customer posted a video on

the Jittery platform, exposing the poor hygiene

environment of Xinxiang Fat Donglai's rolling out

dough processing site, which triggered social

concern. 26 June 2024, after seeing the Jittery video,

the Fat Donglai Group headquarters set up an

investigation team to intervene and once again

conduct a comprehensive investigation into the

incident.

On 27 June 2024, Fat Donglai Trade Group

released the ‘ Investigation Report on the Poor

Hygiene Environment of the Rolling Noodle

Processing Places of Xinxiang Fat Donglai Catering

Merchants’, and announced the relevant results of

the investigation. The report pointed out that for the

customer who found and fed back the major food

safety hidden danger, Fat Donglai Trade Group gave

high importance and positive reward, and decided to

A Study on Brand Image Maintenance and Adjustment Strategies in Crisis Public Relations Situations

713

give the customer 100,000 RMB cash reward to

express the gratitude for his keen insight and high

sense of responsibility, and also encourage more

customers to actively participate in the supervision,

and jointly guard the food safety.

In addition, for customers who purchased rolled

noodles and spicy noodles from the catering

department of two shops of Xinxiang Fat Donglai

during the period from 9 June to 19 June 2024, Fat

Donglai Trading Group has taken active remedial

measures. The Group decided to refund these

customers and give each person a compensation of

1000 yuan. According to statistics, the total number

of customers involved was 8,833, and the total

compensation amount was as high as 8,833,000

RMB. This initiative reflects Fat Donglai Trading

Group's high regard for consumer rights and interests

and its serious attitude towards food safety issues,

aiming to make up for the losses of consumers to the

greatest extent possible and restore their trust.

In terms of internal management, Fat Donglai

Trading Group has also carried out severe

accountability. The first supervisor and quality

controller of Xinxiang Catering Department were

dismissed for serious dereliction of duty and failure

to perform their duties effectively, which led to the

occurrence of food safety hazards. At the same time,

all other management above the shift manager level

were also removed from their positions for failing to

effectively supervise and manage their duties. The

manager of the Xinxiang shop was cancelled his year-

end benefits for failing to supervise effectively, as a

warning to all staff that they must perform their duties

strictly to ensure food safety.

Fat Donglai Trading Group has also taken firm

measures against the merchant involved. As the

merchant violated the contract, deliberately

concealed and privately changed the processing

place, which led to the occurrence of hygienic

environment problems, Fatty Donglai Trading Group

decided to stop its business, cancelled the contract,

terminated the cooperation, and asked it to withdraw

the cabinet by a deadline. At the same time, the Group

also reserves the right to pursue its legal

responsibility in order to safeguard its own rights and

interests and market order.

This series of handling measures demonstrates

Fat Donglai Trading Group's zero-tolerance attitude

towards food safety issues and its firm defence of

consumers' rights and interests. The Group hopes that

through these initiatives, it can effectively rectify the

problems and improve its management level, so as to

provide consumers with a safer and more assured

consumption environment, and at the same time set a

good example for the healthy development of the

whole industry.

2.2 Yuan Ji Yun Dumpling

On 19 November 2024, a consumer, Mr Jiao,

purchased a fresh meat wonton noodle dish at Yuan

Ji Yun Dumpling's Liudaokou shop in Beijing's

Haidian District at a cost of RMB 14 yuan. During

consumption, Mr Jiao found a black and purple

unidentified object about 3cm long, which was later

identified as an earthworm. Mr Jiao then picked out

the foreign object and took photos to reflect to the

shop, which returned the 14 yuan meal that day.

Mr Jiao left the shop and found that the foreign

objects were earthworms, felt very disgusting, so he

and his friends went back to the shop to negotiate with

the person in charge of compensation, but was

refused. Subsequently, Mr Jiao complained to the

Consumer Protection Commission and the Yuan Ji

Yun Dumpling Consumer Complaint Hotline.

On 27 November, Yuanji Dumpling said it was

willing to compensate Mr Jiao with RMB 500. On 1

December, Yuanji Dumpling confirmed that the

foreign object was an earthworm and said that the

shop had contacted the customer to apologise and

settle the dispute, and that the shop would rectify the

situation, fire the shop manager and discipline the

staff involved.

On December 1, Yuanji Dumplings was

investigated by the Beijing Haidian District Market

Supervision Bureau for the presence of foreign

objects in the food at the shop in question, and on

December 20, Yuanji Dumplings issued an

explanation and apology, stating that the shop in

question had been ordered to shut down and rectify

for one week (from December 2 to December 8), and

that the shop manager of the shop in question had

been dismissed, and that the other people responsible

for the incident had been punished seriously. The

manager of the store in question was dismissed, and

other people responsible were seriously disciplined.

At the same time, Yuan Ji Yun Dumpling said it will

strengthen daily management and personnel training,

and avoid the recurrence of such incidents through

special verification counselling on food safety.

On 21 December, Yuan Ji Yun Dumpling again

issued a statement saying that the shops involved in

the incident had been rectified and had passed

government inspections for compliance. The

company also said it will conduct a comprehensive

inspection of raw material procurement and shop

hygiene in all shops nationwide, and gradually

display the brand's after-sales customer service

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hotline and online customer service in shops

nationwide by 1 April 2025, so as to promptly

respond to and resolve consumers' questions and

feedback.

3 CRISIS COMMUNICATION

STRATEGY ANALYSIS

3.1 Fat Donglai

From the “customer feedback problems, fat Donglai

immediately take action” this detail can be seen, fat

Donglai to customer groups of attention and attention

is far from empty talk. Within 24 hours of the

problem, fat Donglai quickly mobilise the relevant

departments to investigate and verify the fastest

possible response to the customer, to achieve the true

meaning of the race against time. This shows that its

specially set up feedback department is not just a

formal arrangement, but really plays an important

role in listening to customers “voices and solving

customers” demands. In addition, Fat Donglai has

always taken the integrity of its business as the core

value of its corporate philosophy, and resolutely put

an end to fraudulent behaviour. Yu Donglai, the

owner of Fat Donglai, has publicly stated that

although he and the person in charge of the merchant

in this accident are like brothers and sisters, and are

good partners working side by side in the business

field. But this personal friendship must not be an

excuse to cover up mistakes. Wrong is wrong, make

a mistake to bear the consequences. Fat Donglai

always adheres to the principle of the heart to heart,

the interests of customers in the first place, and

customers stand on the same front, and jointly guard

the consumer experience and rights and interests

protection.

Fat Donglai has always maintained a high degree

of transparency in the investigation process, and

promptly announced the progress of the investigation

and the results of the investigation to the public

through the official public number and other

channels, and this transparent way of communication

not only reflects the great importance that Fat Donglai

attaches to the public's concerns, but also highlights

its responsibility as a corporate responsibility. In the

investigation process, Fat Donglai did not choose to

conceal or delay the disclosure of information, but

rather every key node of the investigation, every

detail is unreservedly made public. This transparency

is not only reflected in the recognition of the problem,

but also in the deep excavation of the root cause of

the problem and the public commitment to corrective

measures. Through this transparent communication,

Fat Donglai not only successfully rebuilt consumers'

trust in its brand, but also established a good social

image for the company. This way of handling allows

consumers to see Fat Donglai's sincerity and sense of

responsibility in solving the problem.

Fat Donglai understands the importance of food

safety. Therefore, in dealing with this incident, not

only quickly shut down the merchants involved, but

also actively assume the corresponding responsibility

for the high compensation to consumers. Through this

incident, Fat Donglai also reflected deeply on its own

management loopholes, further improved its product

quality control management system, and strengthened

the supervision of its affiliated merchants. At the

same time, Fat Donglai also established a food safety

supervision and reporting incentive mechanism to

encourage more consumers to participate in the

supervision, and jointly maintain food safety.

3.2 Yuan Ji Cloud Dumplings

After the incident came to light, it quickly triggered

widespread public attention and discussion, and

rushed to the top of the Weibo hot search list.

However, Yuan Ji Dumpling's handling of the

incident was slow and lacked sincerity. Consumers

were initially only offered a refund of 14 RMB for

their meals, a treatment that clearly failed to calm

consumers' anger and disappointment, or effectively

alleviate the public's concerns about food safety.

As the incident festered, Yuan Ji Yun Dumpling's

brand image suffered a serious blow. Consumers'

trust in its brand has plummeted, with many once

loyal customers saying they will suspend or stop

patronising the brand. Social media was flooded with

consumer criticism and questions, with some netizens

even expressing doubts about the food safety

management of the entire catering industry. The

spread of such negative sentiments not only affected

Yuan Ji Yun Dumpling's reputation in the market, but

may also have a long-term negative impact on its

future market performance and brand loyalty.

In addition, although Yuan Ji Yun Dumpling has

taken some measures in the subsequent handling of

the case, such as dismissing the shop manager

involved, disciplining the staff concerned, and

promising to strengthen management, these measures

have not been able to fully restore consumers' trust.

Some consumers believe that Yuan Ji Dumpling, as a

well-known chain brand with more than 3,500 shops,

has obvious loopholes in its internal management and

food safety control, and that this incident is not a

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715

coincidence but a direct reflection of the company's

lax management system.

4 SUGGESTIONS FOR BRAND

IMAGE MAINTENANCE AND

ADJUSTMENT STRATEGIES IN

CRISIS PR SITUATIONS

Crisis is everywhere and needs to be prevented in

advance. In the process of daily development of

enterprises, managers should pay attention to the

formulation of crisis management plans. Constructing

an early warning mechanism for emergencies

network public opinion crisis can effectively improve

the speed of early warning response, gain valuable

time for emergency disposal, quickly start the

emergency process, and even effectively weaken or

even eliminate the negative effects caused by public

opinion crisis (Tian, Wang, & Yang, 2023). At the

same time, it is also necessary to keep up with the

continuous updating of crisis management theories so

as to improve the crisis plan. In addition, the

enterprise should also have a keen crisis early

warning ability, to nip potential crisis in the bud, to

ensure the stability of enterprise operations.

In the context of the digital era, enterprises should

take network monitoring and public opinion handling

as their priority work. Social media can be used as a

tool for policy makers to monitor different public

opinion dynamics in real time (Latif, & Samad,

2024). Social media platforms facilitate the rapid

diffusion of information and real-time interaction,

which becomes a key factor for efficient crisis

response. At the same time, advanced data analytics

enable proactive monitoring and crisis prediction,

which in turn improves the effectiveness of

organisations in responding to and mitigating crises

(Abduraimov, 2024). Managers must pay great

attention to the impact of self media on the

development of enterprises, learn to control and guide

the direction of public opinion, and reduce

unnecessary losses in the development of enterprises.

In the age of the Internet, there are numerous hot

topics and explosive content, and their forms are

diverse and complex. These materials are often prone

to controversy if they are accompanied by different

textual descriptions in certain specific contexts. When

the relevant discussions and retweets reach a certain

scale, hotspots will be formed rapidly, leading to the

complication of the incident, which in turn will give

rise to public opinion. If the truth is not disclosed to

the public in a timely manner, all kinds of

speculations and analyses will flood the court of

public opinion, exacerbating the public's

dissatisfaction or panic, and further expanding the

scope of influence of the incident (Ma, 2022). When

a crisis arises, companies must respond quickly, take

effective action in the first instance, and make full use

of official channels to inform the public of the full

picture, progress and results of the incident in a timely

and comprehensive manner. By providing transparent

and accurate data to alleviate the public's doubts and

concerns, enhance the public's trust in the brand, and

win back consumer recognition through practical

action, thus curbing the negative impact from

expanding and spreading. In daily crisis management,

managers should clarify the division of

responsibilities of all relevant departments in a crisis

to ensure that the responsibility is assigned to the

post. Once the crisis occurs, each department should

quickly play a good co-ordination and take effective

action.

When companies respond to the controversy, they

should focus on the emotional resonance with the

public, incorporating humanistic care and emotional

elements, and not just focus on factual explanations

(Ai, & Shao, 2025). In today's complex and changing

business environment, companies must learn to view

crisis events from the public's perspective. It is

through a deeper understanding of the public's

emotions and demands that they can better respond to

the public. At the same time, this public-centred

perspective can also help companies to prevent new

negative issues from arising at the root of the problem

and avoid further expansion of the crisis. In addition,

companies should also strengthen their brand culture

and focus on delivering core values such as integrity

and responsibility. This approach not only helps to

maintain the good image of the enterprise, but also

enhances the public's sense of identification with the

enterprise, laying a solid foundation for the enterprise

to win the turnaround in the crisis.

5 CONCLUSION

Fat Donglai has demonstrated a high sense of

corporate responsibility and social commitment in the

incident of “poor hygiene in the processing place of

rolling dough”. From quick response, transparent

communication to actively taking responsibility, Fat

Donglai's every move has won wide public praise.

This incident also reminds all enterprises that food

safety is no small matter, and that only by strictly

controlling every step of the process can consumer

trust and support be won.

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716

The “earthworms in Yuanji dumplings” incident

highlights once again the importance of a timely and

effective response and handling of food safety issues.

If a company fails to take proactive measures to

properly address consumer claims in the first

instance, it will not only lose consumer trust, but may

also lead to wider negative public opinion, causing

long-term damage to the brand image.

Through the analysis of this paper, it can be found

that when enterprises face a PR crisis, they should act

quickly to inform the public of the progress of the

incident and the results of the treatment in a timely

manner, but also to ensure transparency and enhance

public trust in the brand. On this basis, enterprises

should formulate detailed crisis response plans.

Improve the enterprise's crisis management ability

and promote the healthy development of the

enterprise.

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