Victorino, Mariana Hidalgo Barata MartinsNeumaier, Alexandra2022-03-222022-11-152022-01-252021-11http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/37116Provocation is a commonly used strategy in advertising to get a target group’s attention. Recently, communication practitioners have observed that some brands implemented a provocative approach to crisis communication. However, little is known about the effectiveness of this type of strategy, and its consequences for a brand’s reputation. This dissertation explored this phenomenon through a scientific case study on the German smoothie brand true fruits, which repeatedly implemented a provocative crisis communication strategy in the past. The aim of this research is to explore consequences, risks, and opportunities through a comprehensive literature review on relevant theories and a methodological case study approach, which combined several methods. Notions from the fields of relationship theory, brand personality research, provocative communication, and crisis communication were reviewed and combined to establish a theoretical framework and relevant concepts were identified. The case of true fruits was investigated through the methods documentation, survey interviews with consumers, and interviews with industry professionals. After establishing the context of this case, the data collection and analysis was conducted. Through this, the relationships and relevancy between each concept was explored. By doing so, the dissertation identified several relevant success and risk factors, which can serve as a basis for future research and go into consideration for the communication planning process, such as brand personality, brand relationship quality, polarization, anti-brand activism, and duration of execution time.engProvocationCrisis communicationBrand personalityRelationship theoryCommunication strategyAnti-brand activismCase study researchmaster thesis202950417