The Ribena case study is a typical example of ineffective public relations and poor communication management. Due to their failure to implement core principles, the steps used by Ribena instead led to the degradation of the brand. Any “improper”, “illegal” or “unethical” action () reduces public trust and potentially leads to irreparable damage to the brand. In such circumstances, crisis management and communication are used as tools to rebuild declining consumer trust. In the case of Ribena, the company ignored early signs of customer dissatisfaction and continued to broadcast advertising for a long period of time. This is despite their similar experience with "Ribena sugartooth" in the UK, which should have served as an indication for the implementation of better measures. However, these cases of mismanagement are not uncommon. In 2006, Cadbury Schweppes, the world's largest confectionery company, had to issue a recall of more than a million products poisoned by Salmonella. Much like Ribena, Cadbury initially overlooked speculation about contamination which led to disapproval from media authorities and customers. (Carroll, 2009) James E. Grunig says that to eliminate conflicts and customer complaints, brands should use advertising and all the tricks of the trade to change consumers' opinions. () Ribena clearly did not establish this and continued televising misleading advertisements which ultimately affected the confidence of its consumers. One of the main mistakes made by Ribena was the failure to communicate information symmetrically with the public. Symmetrical communications help build effective relationships with customers and avoid harming the parent company. () Major players play a power-checking role… middle of paper… a small regional market can quickly damage a global reputation. A crisis like this serves as a stage for the world since during this time the world can see whether the company is organized, attentive and responsible for the consequences. Ribena was certainly not organized and did not take responsibility for the misleading information shared with the public through advertising and package labeling. Ribena used the scapegoating strategy through which they tried to shift attention from them to another by claiming that they did not have a reliable source to accurately test the product for the vitamin C content in the drink. This statement backfired on them as they are a multinational company specializing in healthcare and pharmaceutical products. This is an important lesson for companies to consult and make wise statements to avoid further embarrassment for the parent company.