Crisis Communications case study

For my Public Relations Research class, I analyzed the Astroworld tragedy, in which 10 lives were taken during Travis Scott's 2021 festival in Houston, Texas. From the early warning signs ignored to the remedial efforts falling too short, the handling of this tragedy serves as a cautionary tale for the dangers of ineffective crisis communications. 

Before this festival, Travis Scott was at the pinnacle of music and endorsements. He had several lucrative partnerships with brands such as McDonalds, Nike, and Reese's Puffs, as well as having his own alcoholic seltzer brand and a Netflix documentary. However, after the disastrous Astroworld festival, in which 10 people died- the youngest victim being only 9 years old, his career and his brand were in shambles. The way in which he handled this crisis only obfuscated public outrage. Between his shaky and cryptic apology video, which served almost no purpose, and the rejection of almost all the victim's families to pay for their funerals, Scott was entrapped in cancel culture from both the media and the public. Another layer of the fallout was legal ramifications; he was faced with over 40 lawsuits, the largest being for over $750 million. This was an interesting topic to analyze, since so many of my public relations classes emphasize the importance of transparency and timeliness when dealing with a crisis. Through this assignment, I was able to take a deeper look into the aftermath of Astroworld and the efforts that Scott's team to rectify this situation and attempt to save his brand. 

This is not the first time that a concert turned deadly; however, the poor way in which this was handled makes Astroworld uniquely infamous. A comparative look that I took when analyzing this situation was the Ariana Grande Manchester concert attack. Scott has had a lengthy history with inciting violence within the crowds at his shows, to the point where the mosh-pits that occur during his shows become dangerous and uncontrollable. This was very different from Grande's situation, in which a terrorist attack occured that was not provoked or related to her. However, even though the attack during her show wasn't resulting from her, she still acted with more grace and humility than Scott ever showed after Astroworld. The Manchester attack could have served as a guide in how to navigate a public relations response for Scott and his team; but, Scott fell short of making any sort of substantial remediation.  

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