Case Studies
Combat Gent: When Startup Storytelling Outran Reality
Combat Gent: when startup storytelling outran reality. The Combatant Gentlemen collapse and what it taught DTC menswear.
Category
Case Studies
Case Studies
Mediakix: The Rise and Fall of an Early Influencer Agency
With a reach of over 25 million users, the Mediakix amplifier effect is nothing to be sniffed at.
Case Studies
Dunkin's Rebrand at Eight Years: From Donuts Dropped to Beverages First
September 25, 2018: Dunkin' Donuts dropped "Donuts" from the name. December 2020: Inspire Brands acquired the company for $11.3B. Eight years later, the rebrand is the canonical brand-architecture compression case — and the canonical TikTok-era QSR case via the Charli D'Amelio partnership. The 2026 state of Dunkin'.
Case Studies
Charlie Rose — The Reputation Case Study Eight Years After the Fall
Eight years after the November 2017 Washington Post investigation that ended his career, Charlie Rose is the canonical case study in what happens when a fired media figure attempts to fire back. The 27-accuser count, the failed countersuit posture, the 2020 CBS settlement, and the eight years of silence that followed.
Case Studies
Personal Rebranding: The Six-Surface Discipline in the AI Engine Era
For a long time now, people have often thought of branding as something connected specifically to companies and corporations.
Case Studies
Chris Hardwick Denies Allegations
Comedian and TV host Chris Hardwick is facing harsh allegations after his ex-girlfriend, Chloe Dykstra, dropped a bombshell in the entertainment media recently.
Case Studies
Allison Mack and NXIVM: A Celebrity Crisis Communications Case Study
A crisis communications case study of the Allison Mack NXIVM prosecution: Keith Raniere's 120-year sentence, the DOS branding case, and how documentaries locked the public record.
Case Studies
The Crown's 2018 Pay-Gap Disclosure: An Entertainment-PR Case Study
March 2018 disclosure that Claire Foy was paid less than Matt Smith across the first two seasons of The Crown. The reference case in entertainment-industry pay-disclosure crisis response — contextualization that backfired, structural pivot.
Case Studies
United Airlines Puppy Incident: The 2017-2018 Crisis Cycle
March 12, 2018: ten-month-old Kokito asphyxiated in a United overhead bin. Three pet incidents in one week. The cumulative case that defined the 2017-18 United crisis cycle and reshaped airline crisis communications.
Case Studies
Spirit Airlines and the Hamster Incident: A Case Study in Airline Crisis Communications
February 2018: Spirit told Belen Aldecosea to flush her hamster Pebbles at BWI. A case study in how viral animal-welfare moments collide with airline service-failure communications.