please read this case study

SHAWN LEWIS KEPT one eye on

his laptop while footage of the

protests in support of Black Lives

Matter flashed across the TV. His

family was asleep, but he was

waiting for a press release draft

from his colleague Angela that

would go out tomorrow. Angela

Howell was the head of PR at Cork

Beverages, a brewing and distilling

company based in Nashville,

where Shawn was a senior brand

manager. The release concerned

the brand he was responsible for:

Overseer Whiskey.

When Slack finally dinged, he

opened the attached document:

We recognize that Overseer

Whiskeys history and name are

closely tied to our countrys history

of racism. While we have worked

over the years to update the brand

to be respectful of all races, those

changes have not been enough. We

are evaluating further measures

and will announce our plans

soon. Cork Beverages believes in

diversity, equity, and inclusion

and wants our product portfolio to

reflect that commitment. In addi-

tion, we are donating $3 million

to organizations that support and

engage the Black community.1

Angela followed up a few

minutes later. Any changes?

He wrote back: Im still wor-

ried its vague. Is it enough to say

that were evaluating changes?

Jim doesnt want to back

the company into a corner, she

replied. Corks CEO, Jim Worth,

was known for hedging his bets on

strategic decisions. But I agree

that we need to get out in front of

this thing. We dont want to come

off as reactive.

Shawn wondered if they were

already too late. Over the past

several weeks, many brands had

been called out for their racist

product names or histories. He

was getting hourly alerts from

Google indicating that searches

for Overseer were increasing.

It felt like a matter of time before

a tweet pointing out the brands

troubling past went viral.2

Samuel Vernon, a distiller and

plantation owner in Tennessee,

had started making the whiskey in

the early 19th century. According

to brand lore, he named it Over-

seer after an enslaved man whom

he promoted to foreman of his

cornfield, a highly unconventional

act at the time. Throughout the

1800s and well into the 1900s, ads

for the brand depicted a smiling

Black man in field clothes and a

broad hat, carrying a long stick.

When Cork bought the whiskey

brand, in the 1950s, it redesigned

the label to feature Vernons home

instead.Over the past 40 years, as

Overseer became a household

name across the United States,

Cork had downplayed the image

of the plantation house, making

it smaller on each version of the

label. The company avoided

advertising for the product, rely-

ing more on reputation and word

of mouth. But Overseer remained

Corks best seller, and the senior

team didnt want to tinker too

much with a winning brand.

Shawn had taken over as brand

manager for Overseer three years

earlier. He was well aware that

putting a Black man in charge of a

brand with racist origins worked

in Corks favor, especially in an

industry not known for its diver-

sity.But whatever the motivation

for his promotion, he wasnt going

to pass up the opportunity to lead

the companys crown jewel. He

felt pressure to get it right, not just

for Cork, but for himself.

Rereading the press release,

he was proud that hed persuaded

the board to make a meaningful

contribution to Black causes.3

Angela pinged him again.

I just heard from Carla that shes

good with the press release as is.

Do I have your sign-off?

He trusted Carla Tasha, his

boss and Corks chief marketing

officer. If shed signed off, he

could too. He knew shed have his

back if things went sideways.

Yup, all good, he typed. As

he hit send, he thought to himself,

Now my work really begins. This

will be the biggest challenge of my

career.

THE OPTIONS ON THE TABLE

Shawns first Zoom call the next

morning was with Carla and Eric

Reid, the head of finance for

Corks spirits division.

Lets start with a review of

our options, Carla said.

The idea of altering the Over-

seer brand had been on the table

for some time; in fact, Cork had

conducted extensive customer

research to gauge perceptions of

the brand and potential reactions

to changes.4 Shawn and his team

had been strong advocates for

dealing with the brands racist

origins even before George Floyd

was brutally killed by the police

and the national dialogue around

racism exploded. Theyd hoped

to execute a plan without fanfare,

but the board had been reluctant

to make a move, fearing a revenue

hit for Corks best-selling brand.

Now their hand was being forced.

If we really wanted to make

a clean break, Shawn said, wed

kill the Overseer line. I realize

its highly unlikely, but I have to

mention it.

Kill our most profitable

brand? Eric asked with eyebrows

raised. No ones going to take

that seriously.

and answer the questions below:

1. If Cork Beverages would like to expand the market overseas, should the company still use Oveseer Whiskey brand or tweeking the brand or completely enter the market with different new brand? Explain your answer.