H&M's communication with stakeholders via social media in the wake of the 'monkey hoodie incident' - a corporate communication approach

Abstract

While corporate organisations have been using various strategies and platforms to facilitate two-way communication for a long time, the rise of social media has presented new opportunities and challenges. The nature of the exchange of information via social media means that messages that are shared within the public domain happen in real time. Organisations have opportunities to engage directly and immediately with stakeholders and participate in discussions as part of two-way communication but need to consider that stakeholders can now express their views, both positive and negative, immediately, publicly and on a global scale, posing a potential risk to organisations. The 2018 H&M “monkey hoodie incident” is a case in point. In January 2018, H&M was at the centre of a major international social media incident. Stephanie Yeboah, a Twitter personality, shared a screenshot of the Swedish retailer’s website at 11pm on January 7 that featured a picture of a boy of colour wearing a hoodie with the slogan “coolest monkey in the jungle”. After Yeboah called attention to the image’s racist overtones, her post was “retweeted” (re-shared) more than 21,000 times on the X (formerly Twitter) platform over the next 48 hours. Other users quickly began to condemn H&M’s policies and demand a response in an outpouring of “tweets”. In this study, it is argued that H&M should have adhered to the principles of the two-way symmetrical model, the reflective paradigm and strategic communication management in communication with its stakeholders on social media to build and maintain positive stakeholder relationships. The general research question of this study was: ‘What was the nature of H&M’s communication with its stakeholders via social media in the wake of the monkey hoodie incident? The empirical part of the study was conducted using a mixed-methods approach. The qualitative part of the study comprised a qualitative content analysis of H&M’s communication with stakeholders on their social media platforms (Facebook and X [Twitter]) in the wake of the monkey hoodie incident. The quantitative part of the study comprised a sentiment analysis of stakeholders’ responses to H&M’s communication on the matter on its social media platforms. The key findings were that: • H&M demonstrated signs of both asymmetrical and symmetrical worldviews in its communication practices with its stakeholders via X and Facebook. iv • The organisation did have measures in place to balance its needs with those of its stakeholders; however, these attempts were overshadowed by the core need for the organisation to drive sales via marketing-orientated communication. • The organisation did cultivate an environment conducive to two-way communication in its messaging directed at its stakeholders, thereby showing its openness to feedback from their stakeholders. • More consistent real time and two-way communication was, however, needed in the wake of the monkey hoodie incident, so that the organisation could work towards attaining mutual understanding and trust among its stakeholders. • There was evidence that H&M’s communication was thought through and strategic, but that it did not necessarily facilitate two-way communication. • The overall negative sentiment results from H&M stakeholders indicate that more social media listening engagement is needed to overcome potential misunderstandings regarding topics of shared interest, such as the topics of diversity and inclusion. • H&M did not fully utilise all the built-in social media functions that can be used to facilitate the principles of two-way symmetrical communication, the reflective paradigm and stakeholder relationship management.