Degree Name

MA (Master of Arts)

Program

Brand and Media Strategy

Date of Award

12-2020

Committee Chair or Co-Chairs

Susan E. Waters

Committee Members

Chase A. Mitchell, Mildred W. Perreault

Abstract

On April 10, 2019, a global crisis began outside Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. A Boeing 737 Max 8 airplane owned and operated by Ethiopian Airline crashed in the desert killing all on board. The accident mimicked a six months old Lion Air flight 610 which happened in Indonesia and claimed the lives of all crew and passengers. Together, these accidents claimed the lives of 346 people and have been noted as one of the dark days in modern aviation history. Subsequently, the aviation world grounded all Boeing 737 Max aircrafts amid safety concerns. This brought severe public criticism to Boeing, America’s biggest manufacturing exporter, relative to the safety of its flagship airplane. Applying crisis communication theories such as Apologia, SCCT, and Image Restoration, the study finds that these strategies together with other public relations strategies could support public perception in favor of Boeing.

Document Type

Thesis - embargo

Copyright

Copyright by the authors.

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