Public affairs in China: exploring the role of brand fairness perceptions in the case of Mercedes‐Benz

Mr Sheng Wang demonstratedhis perception of Mercedes-Benz’s unfair treatmentand insensitivity to Chinese buyersby having his Mercedes sports coupe towed by a water buffalo through his Chinese hometown, Wuhan. But he didnot stop there. Next, he ordered workers, specifically hired for this purpose, to pound the car with sledge hammersand sticks until the exterior was completely disfigured. Journalists love the story’s inherent drama, and in subsequentdays, media reports showed images of the car being towed and ultimately smashed. The event created strong publicawareness about both Mr Wang’s dissatisfaction about the treatment he received from Mercedes-Benz and thesubsequent Mercedes-Benz’s management reactions triggered by the event. In our paper, we explore this casein more detail, highlighting the crucial role of brandfairness in managing brands in China. Although brandmanagers implicitly emphasize the importance of fairness in branding strategies, brand managementemphasizing fairness is an underdeveloped research concept. Our paper provides an understanding oftheories and concepts of brand (un)fairness and brand fairness management illustrated by what we refer toas the Mercedes-Benz case. We identify three dimensions of Brand Fairness Management: prevention, procedures,and outcomes. This framework will assist brand managers in China in developing successful brand fairnessstrategies and management programs. We posit that implementing these branding practices will increase thelikelihood that consumers perceive the brand in question as fair, leading to an increase in loyalty and positiveword-of-mouth. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Keywords: Unfairness, Brand Management, Complaints, Consumer Behavior