IndexIntroduction page 3

Organization Identity page 4History

Organizaton Idenity page 5Values, vision, mission

Internal Analysis page 6

Conclusion Organization page 7

Issue analysis page 8

Issue Checklist page 10

Issue Life Cycle page 11

Stakeholder analysis page 13

Stakeholder mapping page 14

Conclusion analysis page 15

Strategic Advice page 16SWOTConclusion page 19

Sources page21

IntroductionThis strategic communication advice for the H&M has been made for

the Advanced Course Strategic Communication Management.

This strategic communication advice will be made for The H&M, one of the biggest fashon brands worldwide. To know more about the

H&M there will be done an internal analysis to the brand

This advice will include an issue analysis and a stakeholder analysis to make a fitting advice for the H&M. To make the analysis complete a few theoretic models will be used, like the issue life cycle and the

stakeholder mapping tool.

Organization IdentityThe H&M Company

The H&M Group is one of the world’s leading fashion companies. They have different brands, like H&M, Monki, COS and Other Stories. They want to inspire fashionistas across the globe to dress their per-sonal style. Each of the brands have their own style but are united

with the desire to dress their customers in a sustainable way. (About H&M, 2016)

History

The start of the H&M Group dates back to 1947, with a small shop in Sweden. Erling Persson opened his first shop called “Hennes” (hers

in Swedish), in Västeras. As the name reveals, Hennes only sold woman’s clothing, but 20 years after the opening of the shop Erling Persson acquired a new partner. Mauritz Widforss, a men’s outfitter that also sold hunting clothes partnered up with Hennes and they became the famous Hennes & Mauritz, with over 25000 sisters sto-

res in 50 countries. (Vasteras, 2016)

Values

The core values from the H&M Group stayed the same from the moment Hennes was founded in 1947. They are based on funda-mental respect for each individual. Teamwork, belief, simplicity, entrepreneurial spirit, cost consciousness, straightforwardness

and openness are the core values that represent the H&M Spirit. (H&M Brandbook, 2016)

Values, vision & mission

Vision

“fashion and quality at the best price – to everyone, in a sustainable way – today, tomorrow and in the future.”

(H&M Brandbook, p3)

Mission

“We want to lead the change towards a more sustainable fashion future”

(H&M Sustainability)

Intern analysis ConclusionSustainability

“Looking good, should do good.” That’s the way H&M approaches fashion. They want to make sustainable fashion available, attractive

and affordable for everybody. (H&M Sustainability, 2016)

CommunicationThe way H&M communicates is very open and clear. They are on

multiple social media platforms, like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Their website is very clear and the “About Us” page on their website is easy to find. That will link you to a different web-page, where you can find all the ins and outs of the H&M Group. The

management, their way of sustainability and even information about the sales press numbers.

On their social media they are also very open, take as an example the incident with the girl who didn’t fit in their biggest Size 16, while she is a 14. H&M responded to her and many others in a respectful way and

promised to evaluate on the matter.

Risk-communicationOn their About Us page H&M writes about all the risks and factors from the outside they have to keep in mind while doing their job.

They include risks like: Reputation, weather, taxes and geopolitical risks.

The H&M Group is one of the leading fashion brands in the world. They focus on sustainability and providing fashion for every one.

They make sure their work environment, employees and materials are sustainable and good. They say good fashion, should not only

feel good, but also be good.

The fact that they want to be sustainable shines through everything they stand for. Their values, vision and mission all contains the word

“sustainability” and they have a whole website dedicated to it.

Being open in their communication and in their business is another important factor of the H&M Group. They don’t hesitate to let their

customers see behind the scenes, so they build up trust and a good reputation.

In the next chapters the issue will be discussed and the stakeholders be analysed. After this a strategic plan will be created to help H&M with this

issue.

Issue AnalysisBody Shaming

What is it?

Simply stated, body shaming is criticising yourself and/or others because of some aspects of physical appearance. It happens on

regular basis, magazines do it when they state weight-loss tips on the covers, a gossiping evening with friends or to bond and sitcoms

usually use overweight characters as the centre of jokes. Often it doesn’t stay with just jokes; body shaming can lead to a vicious

cycle of judgement and criticism. (Erika Vargas, 2016)

Body shaming can have many forms, not only fat shaming. Too skinny, too tall, too short, dark skin, too pale, freckles, red hair, and

the list goes on and on. Body shaming is often a problem just for women, but it’s starting to become a problem for men more and

more as well. According to Renee Engeln, a Northwestern psy-chology professor, our image-heavy society we live in nowadays

has brought out the critic in everybody. Technology has made the focus on bodies stronger than ever “It’s never been this intense, this

relentless,” she said. “There have never been so many forums in which you can gaze at different images of women, evaluate them,

comment on them (and) share them with your friends.” (Renee Engel, 2016)

Body shaming in stores

Since body shaming is such a common thing nowadays in our society, it’s not an all too big surprise that also stores are to blame of this. One of the most known

examples is the one of Abercrombie and Fitch, in 2013. The clothing brand’s reputation sank deep after the CEO Mike Jeffries made some controversial

comments online about “fat” people. Jeffries was already caught saying in an interview that he didn’t want “fat or uncool” employees working in his store or

wearing his clothes. (Huffington Post, 2013)

Even though H&M tries and have a clothing range that covers Plus-Sizes and have different types of models in their campaigns, they are also known for body

shaming in the past and present, even unconscious. Recently a 25-year-old student from Leeds gained viral attention after posting a picture online where

she shows how H&M assumedly fidgets with their sizes. She normally is a size 14, but decided to try on a jeans size 16, since she realized that would fit for sure. But the jeans didn’t even close. She also wanted to try a medium fit top, but it didn’t even come midriff. Wanting to try on a bigger size, still wanting to buy the jeans,

she came to the conclusion size 16 was the largest size they carried. (Daily Mail, 2016)

To show how pro-feminism and anti-body shaming they are, H&M debuted a new commercial featuring a “wealth of phenomenal women challenging stereo-

types of what it means to be ladylike”. Tons of newspapers and tabloids loved the new campaign, but the problem is that it’s still an ad. If you take a look inside the stores, you’ll notice that most H&M hardly carry any plus size clothing and some stores don’t even carry it because they simply claim they don’t have room for it.

(Gemma Clark, Global Hobo, 2016)

Issue ChecklistTo check if the body shaming issue, is really an issue, the issue

check list can be done. This list comes from the theory of Coombs (2012) and Ferdinand and Korver (2010).

Is it an openly debated problem in society?Yes, it is. For a while now in every tabloid, magazine, television show there is a way of body shaming. People who are discussing and fighting it. In Google Trends you see a very big increase of the course of the years on this search. April

2016 has had a peak. (Image in appendix)

Is there growing media attention for the issue overtime?Yes, there is. The moment you Google anything with ‘body shaming’ new articles or happenings pop up. There is no escape of the issue on television and maga-

zines.

Is there a conflict between different stakeholders?Sadly, there is. Many scientist try and prove that we just “can’t help but critsise others”. (UCLA) After being accused of not carrying any Plus Size clothing, H&M simply states they didn’t have room for it in the store. There is also a conflict between different ‘body types’. People who are Plus Size and confident tend to

shame the skinny types and vice versa.

Is the problem ready for resolution?Absolutely. Many different groups of society are done with it and fighting against

this problem. Mostly the feminist organisation.

Would the solution involve policy decisions?Yes it would. There has to be a change of mindset if it has to happen global.

Looking at H&M level, their w

Here will be seen which position the body shaming issue has on the issie life cycle. This is a theory from Max Meng, in 2009. It will clarify

the difference between issue management or ciris management.

The body shaming issue could be placed in the middle of the third or fourth stage of the issue life cycle.

Third Stage: ActiveThe issue at this stage has matured, displaying its full potential impact upon an

organization (Max Meng, 2009) .

Fourth Stage: IntenseThe issue finally reaches a formal institution that has authority to impose formal

constraints in an attempt to resolve it (Max Meng, 2009).

At stage three most of the stakeholders recognize the issue and the importance of the issue. Stakeholders will put pressure to solve the issue or try and stop it

before a crisis will come.

At stage four the organizations has to do something in response to the crisis.

Body shamingThe body shaming issue is defenitly in the middle of these two stages. The issue is one the media talks about a lot, since they also started it. The fact that shops

are taking this “trend” over, is just a logical next step.

Issue Life Cycle

In the issue analysis we already saw that H&M (sometimes unconsciously) body shames. In this chapter a few examples of H&M body shaming or trying

to prevent it, will be given.

No room for Plus SizeH&M thought they were making progress by showing off their new A/W2016 collection, with plus size- model Ashley Graham. They made the mistake of not selling the clothes in store, but only online. H&M claims the reason

for this is that their stores are too small to carry entire collections. “It is definitely a slap in the face of plus-size consumers to cast a fuller-figu-

red model and break size boundaries, and then not offer those same sizes in store,” - (Fashion blogger Nicolette Mason, 2016)

“The issue with only putting larger sizes online is it leaves out so many women from the in-store shopping experience.” (Stylist Kellie Brown, 2016)

(People Magazine, 2016)

Actions speak louder than...imagesSince H&M received bad publicity about their small sizes and pulling the Plus

Size collection from many stores, they deciced to do something positive. They launched their new A/W commercial, with different types of people and bodies. from transgenders to Plus Size and dark skinned ladies. H&M wants to

show how anti-body shaming they are. However, the media can’t forget the fact that H&M pulled the Plus Size section from many stores and make clo-

thes smaller than they should be. “Until H&M behaves in the ethical way that they are promoting it makes the sincerity

of this representation very hollow indeed.” (The Tab, 2016)(Saskia Bamber, 2016)

(The Register, 2016)(GlobalHobo, 2016)

H&M andBody shaming

Stakeholder AnalysisTo figure out who the stakeholders are in this issue, a stakeholder long list will be created. This stakeholder long list will include every possbile stakeholder for H&M on primairy and secundairy level. After this the stakeholder will be put in a stakeholder mapping tool, to check their power, influence, power and activi-

ty in the issue. (Fontys ACI, 2016)

Stakeholder long listPrimairy stakeholders:- H&M Group customers

-H&M Group Management-Investors-Suppliers

-Distributors-Store Employees

-Communication/Marketing Employees H&M

Secundairy stakeholders:-Media like newspapers, tabloids, magazines

-Social media-Government

-Feminists-Plus-size community

-Transgenders

The most important stakeholders for the H&M Group for this issue are the custo-mers, the management, marketing employees and the media.

Stakeholder Mapping ToolPo

wer

Low

High

Interest HighLow

Minimal effortKeep Informed

Keep satisfied Key players

Customers

ManagementMedia

Social MediaInvestors

Suppliers

DistributorsStore Employees

Communication / Marketing

Government

Minorities (Femenists, Transgen-

ders, etc)

Conclusion analysisConclusion Issue Conclusion Stakeholders

Bodyshaming is an issue that keeps getting worse over time. Media, mostly

social media, have been a great in-fluence in this matter.

Even though H&M tries to be antibody shaming, it can’t help but make mistakes in that matter. By pulling the

Plus Size from many stores and making clohes smaller than they should be.

The most important stakeholders are the H&M Group Management, the customers and the marketing/

communcation department from the H&M. These are the key players since

they have the most power and the most interest in this issue. Social Me-dia, the minority groups ans the store employees are stakeholders who you

have to informed and statisfied as well.

What’s next?

We saw in the analysis that H&M has to do something about their bad

reputation about the body shaming issues. This to prevent the compa-

ny’s good name for further harm.

The important stakeholders are the once who work from the inside of

the company, and the media. That is where the strategic advice should

be focussing on.

Strategic AdviceBefore a plan for a strategic advice can be made, a SWOT analy-

sis will be made. A SWOT analysis shows the strenghts, weakness, opportunities and treaths the H&M Group has. From that point it

should be easier to see where the H&M Group should focus on. The information for the SWOT-analysis will be coming from the internal

analysis from H&M and the issue and stakeholder analysis.

SWOT-Analysis

StrengthsS1. Good reputation over the yearsS2. Open communication S3. Sustainability

WeaknessesW1. Sizes not true to what they areW2. Plus-Size not in all storesW3. Not believable sometimes

OpportunitiesO1. Consumers want change in societyO2. Minorities have a voice nowO3. All media is onto body shaming issue

ThreatsT1. Consumers will lose trust in brand if they make mistakes.T2. Social media is onto every-thing, at every moment.

In the SWOT-analysis we can see that the H&M group has build a good reputa-tion over the course of the year and they must try and keep it up that way. By

making the (perhaps) mistakes of the plus size clothing and the pulling the big sizes from the stores they are not consistent in their way of communicating.

They make a commercial to support every kind of woman, but they don’t have clothes for them. Since social media is a way of making things go viral in minu-

tes, they can’t afford making mistakes.

Strategic options

- H&M should take back the Plus-Size collections in all stores and have a campaign about it.

- H&M should invest just as much in anti-body shaming campaigns as they do with sustainability.

-H&M should use social media and their open way of communicating to show they care about every body in their stores.

The advice

H&M for every bodyH&M should prevent the body shaming issue from getting out of hand, by using social media and their openess in their advance. H&M should openly confess they made a mistake by pulling the

Plus-Size clothing out of their stores and that there has been made a mistake with the sizes and they going to look into it on production level. The best move for them would to make a webpage about it,

like they did with sustainability. After the mistakes have been admitted, H&M should communicate this on all their social media with a new campaign; H&M for Eve-ry Body. It should feel like authentic H&M, not forced, like the last

campaign was. To gain the trust back of their customers, they should re-add the Plus-Size range in their shops and encourage guests to share their shopping experience on social media, since they did a

check in their sizes. This way H&M’s actions speak just as load as their words, and it

will feel authentic to H&M.

How to achieve ConclusionThe H&M for Every Body campaign should be the solution so the

body shaming issue won’t affect H&M as much. The H&M Group has build a strong reputation over the course of years, so a few mistakes haven’t harmed them that much, yet. Since the body shaming issue

is growing into a big issue very quick, H&M should act quick too. They have been accused of not acting the way they are preaching it, so they have to turn that around. By showing a campaign that H&M is

indeed for everybody and then actually having all sizes in their store, could help already.

We saw how fast an issue can grow on social media, like the girl who tried something on in the store that was 2 sizes to small listed. If H&M

knows how to make the store experience for everybody better and enforces her customers to share this, they will get positive media

attention instead of negative.

The key shareholders in this were the customers, management of the H&M Group and the marketing/media. These key players all provide a big part in this strategy to make sure the issue doesnt end up in a

crisis for the H&M.

H&M communicates in an open way with their customers, so making a confession about the previous mistakes belongs with this open way

of communicating. H&M should apologize and promise to look into the matters they made mistakes in and keep the customers up to date in every step they take. This will rebuild the trust in the H&M.

Goal Means Schedule

Apology and confession by H&M and CEO H&M Group

All social media from H&M and offical statement on website

Week 1Weel 2Week 3

Putting Plus-Size clothing back and evaluating the size-issues.

Communicate this on social media and a special webpa-ge. In store-communcation too.

Week 2Week 3Week 4Week 5

Campaign H&M for Eve-ry Body. Globally making known that H&M is anti-body shaming and to celebrate the steps they took to prevent it.

Tv Campaign. Social Media. Instagram, YouTube, Face-book, Webpage. Ads.

Week 4Week 5Week 6Week 7Week 8

Customers sharing their re-newed shopping experien-ce online with H&M so they will get some positve media attention

Social mediaIn-store communication

Week 6Week 7Week 8Ongoing how long customers want.

SourcesBradfort, H. (2013, 05 16). Abercrombie & Fitch’s Reputation Takes A Hit After CEO’s

‘Fat’ Comments Resurface. Opgehaald van Huffington Post: http://www.huffington-post.com/2013/05/16/abercrombie-reputation-ceo-comments_n_3288836.html

Clarke, G. (2016, 9 29). Don’t fall for the new H&M Campaign. Opgehaald van Global Hobo: http://globalhobo.com.au/2016/09/29/dont-fall-for-the-new-hm-campaign/

Daily Mail. (2016, 6 15). Size 14 student shames H&M by posting changing room snap showing her struggle to squeeze into a pair of ‘size 16’ jeans. Opgehaald van Daily

Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3642773/Size-14-student-shames-H-M-posting-changing-room-snap-showing-struggle-squeeze-pair-size-16-jeans.html

H&M. (2016). The H&M Way. Opgehaald van About H&M: http://about.hm.com/con-tent/dam/hmgroup/groupsite/documents/en/hm-way/HM%20Way_en.pdf

H&M Group. (2016). H&M Group at a Glance. Opgehaald van About H&M: http://about.hm.com/en/about-us/h-m-group-at-a-glance.html

H&M Group. (2016). H&M Sustainability. Opgehaald van About H&M Sustainability: http://about.hm.com/en/sustainability.html

H&M Group. (2016). Risk Management. Opgehaald van About H&M: http://about.hm.com/en/about-us/corporate-governance/risk-management.html

H&M Group. (2016). Sustainability. Opgehaald van About H&M: http://about.hm.com/en/sustainability/our-approach.html

Meng, M. (2009). Issue Life Cycle clarifies difference between “issues management” and “crisis management”. Opgehaald van alexanderps: http://www.alexanderps.

com/Index/BLOG/CC888933-80F7-4617-A3BC-1B63C45C6776.html

People Magazine. (2016, 8 12). Ashley Graham Models for H&M’s Plus Size Collection - But You Can’t Buy It in Stores. Opgehaald van People: http://

people.com/style/hm-ashley-graham-plus-size-clothes-online-only/

The Register. (2016, 08 15). H&M’s new ad dares to breaks all the fashion rules. Opgehaald van The Register: http://theregister.co.nz/check-

out/2015/09/hms-new-ad-dares-breaks-all-fashion-rules

The Tab. (2016, 9 5). H&M’s ‘Lady Campaign’ is hypocritical, not empo-wering. Opgehaald van The Tab UK: http://thetab.com/uk/2016/09/22/

hms-lady-campaign-20407

Todd Leopold, C. (2016, 4 15). Why we can’t stop body shaming. Opgehaald van CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2016/04/15/health/fat-shaming-feat/

Vargas, E. (2016). Body shaming. What is it and why do we do it? Opgehaald van Walden, eating disorders treatment: https://www.waldeneatingdisor-

ders.com/body-shaming-what-is-it-why-do-we-do-it/

Visit Vasteras. (2016). The History of H&M. Opgehaald van visit vasteras: http://visitvasteras.se/en/artiklar/hm/

Image for Issue Check List

Crisis Day ReflectionProcess

What did you know on forehand about the situation?We knew that it was our first day at Netflix and that they were ha-

ving a crisis since they were hacked.

What was your task and role during crisis day?Most of the work we did with the whole group together. But I mostly focusses on the making of the statements. I ended up

being the spokesperson as well.

What did you want to achieve?I wanted to achieve us having a clear statement on time, without

making any mistakes, as if it was a real life happening.

What do you think of your own performance?According to my own beliefs I did good on this assignment. I tried keeping an overview of what had to be done and I did something I

would never dare before; speaking in front of a camera.

What do you think of the team performance?I think we performed really well as a team. We had everything

done on time and we were on the same page with our strategy.

OutputWhat type of crisis you are dealing with?

We were dealing with an accidental crisis combined with a pre-ventable crisis. We framed it as accidental since you can never see a hack coming. It We chose to combine it with preventable since Netflix knew they were taking a risk by streaming The Interview.

What was your strategy and how did you follow that strategy?We chose for the victim + preventable strategy. In the answer abo-ve you can see why we chose for this. We followed that strategy by labelling the hack as a criminal act and we apologized, since it was

indeed preventable

Who was the spokesmen and why?CEO Reed Hastings was not avaiilabe at the moment to provide

any commentary, so the head of communication decided to be the spokesperson, since she helped writing the statement and could

answer all the questions because of the gained knowledge.

ExperienceWhat have you learned from this experience?

I have learned how to handle a crisis and how ‘in the moment’ you have to act. It all unfolds as you go.

What would you do the same/different next time?Next time I will try and remain as calm as i was this time around and

keep the overview of what has to happen. Next time I will be more eperienced, so I can work faster.

How has this experience contributed to you as a professional?I now know how to handle a crisis in terms of communication and I

know the differtent ways of labelling a crisis for future references.

Q&AWhat happened?

This morning, the 18 th of October we, at Netflix Europe, have been fallen victim of a cyber-attack. It has been confirmed by a recent investigation

that credit-card data of European customers have been stolen, for now it’s only known that Dutch customer’s information has been published online. Ongoing investigation suggests that stolen information does not include

passwords or e-mailaccounts. The Dutch police service and General Intelligence and Security Service are working on the investigation as we speak and they have close

contact with other European police and security forces.

Was my account affected?We are notifying potentially affected users by email and posting additional

information to our website.

What information is stolen?The ongoing investigation confirmed that credit card data of European

customers were stolen by the hackers.

Who was behind the hack?The cyber-attackers have not been found yet.

I think I received an email about this issue, how do I know it is really from Netflix?

Please note that the email from Netflix about this issue will display the Net-flix  icon when viewed through the Netflix website or Netflix Mail app. Impor-

tantly, the email does not ask you to click on any links or contain attachments and does not request your personal information. If the email you received

about this issue prompts you to click on a link, download an attachment, or asks you for information, the email was not sent by Netflix and may be an

attempt to steal your personal information. Avoid clicking on links or down-loading attachments from such suspicious emails.

What is Netflix doing to protect my account?We have taken action to protect our users, including:

-We are notifying affected users.-We are asking affected users to contact their bank.

-We continue to enhance our systems that detect and prevent unauthorized access to user accounts.

-Our investigation into this matter continues.

Is there anything I can do to protect myself?We encourage you to remain vigilant by reviewing your account statements and monitoring your credit reports. Be cautious of any unsolicited communications

that ask for your personal information or refer you to a web page asking for personal information. Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from

suspicious emails.You also may wish to place a “security freeze” (also known as a “credit freeze”) on your credit file. A security freeze is designed to prevent potential creditors

from accessing your credit file at the consumer reporting agencies without your consent.

Is there a connection between the movie ‘’The Interview’’ and the cyber-at-tack?

The investigation is still ongoing but for safety reasons we decided not to stream ‘’The Interview’’ anymore. This does not mean that there is evidence or

a link between the movie and the movie and the cyber-attack.

Tweets@ErickChrSmit Within 3 hours we come up with an official press conference.

Hopefully all your questions will be answered.General Tweet

@....There will be an official press conference and statement before 12 pm. We are working on it.

E-mailDear Mister Nelis,

We get your concern about our security system and todays hack. However, at this moment we cannot give a statement yet, since we will give an official press

conference and statement within maximum three hours today.We appreciate your patience and hope our statement and Q&A will give you

sufficient information.

Thank you and kind regards,

Netflix press

Intern MemoOnly the Netherlands has been attacked. Other Netflix around the world have no

problems but are taking extra precautions.

StatementThis morning, the 18 th of October we, at Netflix Europe, have been fallen victim of a cyber-attack. It has been confirmed by a recent investigation

that credit-card data of European customers have been stolen, for now it’s only known that Dutch customer’s information has been published onli-

neOngoing investigation suggests that stolen information does not inclu-de passwords or e-mail accounts. The Dutch police service and General Intelligence and Security Service are working on the investigation as we

speak and they have close contact with other European police and security forces.

We are terribly sorry for all who have fallen victim to this hack and we un-derstand that you lost your trust in Netflix. We knew that there was a risk on

streaming the Interview, given to the previous attacks on Sony. We howe-ver, made the decision on streaming the Interview, since we live in a coun-

try with the freedom of expression. The time we live in, that is driven by new technology, increases security threats. Industry, government and users

are in an ongoing battle with cyber-hackers. Through strategic proactive detection and active response to unauthorized access of accounts, Netflix will continue to strive to stay ahead of these ever-evolving online threats

and to keep our users and our platform secure. We want to reassure all of our users that we are taking all necessary steps

to find out who is behind this criminal act and to prevent a future incident. We are taking actions to protect all of our users by;

- Notifying potentially affected users- We are asking potentially affected users to contact their bank and to

check their accounts- We continue to enhance our systems that detect and prevent unauthori-

zed access to user accounts

We will try and keep everybody, most certainly our users, up to date of the current situations. If

there are any further questions, there will be a Q&;A later today.