Case study
8months
E-commerce & Retail Brand Recovery Case Study
A viral creator fallout pushed boycott sentiment and near-total negative SERPs within days. Recovery combined crisis-framed comms, durable brand assets, and systematic work to re-balance what prospects saw first.
Industry
Businesses & Companies
Profile
Fast-growing DTC Fashion Brand(4 years in operation, £4M annual revenue)
Challenge
Influencer fallout & ethics controversy
The Reputation Management Challenge
A growing DTC fashion brand faced acute reputational damage after a high-profile influencer partnership collapsed publicly. The influencer - with 800,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok - made allegations regarding non-payment and unethical working practices. The claims spread rapidly across social platforms, fashion commentary blogs, and consumer advocacy websites, attracting media coverage and organised consumer boycott calls. Negative content dominated:
• TikTok and Instagram tagged posts accumulating hundreds of thousands of views • Fashion and lifestyle commentary platforms • Consumer advocacy websites • Two mid-tier fashion publications
The brand's search results shifted almost entirely negative within 72 hours of the initial post going viral.
Baseline Search Results & Reputation Audit
Our Reputation Management Objective
Our Reputation Management Strategy
- Executed an urgent SERP triage within 48 hours of engagement to identify the highest-traffic negative URLs
- Published a carefully crafted brand-led transparency statement addressing the partnership dispute directly and factually
- Developed new content pillars around ethical sourcing, production transparency, fair working practices, and community initiatives
- Partnered with micro-credibility voices in sustainability and fashion ethics to rebuild narrative from a trusted third-party perspective
- Amplified verified customer reviews and user-generated content from loyal brand advocates
- Initiated platform-level content flagging for social posts containing demonstrably false factual claims where terms of service applied
Month-by-Month Reputation Management Milestones
Swipe the row to see every period. Connectors show progress.
Reputation Management Results (8 Months)
- Influencer controversy content suppressed to Page 4 and beyond
- New brand values content ranking across Pages 1 and 2
- Social sentiment recovered from net-negative to net-positive within 6 months
- Retail partner confidence restored; two new stockist agreements signed
Business Impact & Reputation Management Outcome
The brand emerged from the controversy with a stronger and more defined public identity. Their digital presence shifted from reactive controversy management to proactive brand storytelling - turning a reputational low point into a reset opportunity.
We work with businesses and companies facing exactly this kind of exposure. This was resolved through the same online reputation management engagement described here.
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