This qualitative study aimed to explore the extent to which “cancel culture” affects PR and communications in the UK beauty and fashion industries and establish ways in which PR practitioners could prevent or limit any consequences of being “cancelled”. The topic of cancel culture is under researched, and previous academics had not linked the impacts of the phenomenon on PR and communications or discussed the implications on the beauty and fashion industries.
The study interviewed four PR professionals and conducted two semi-structured focus groups with students from Generation Z. The results were analysed using a thematic analysis to identify six themes: (1) Context, (2) Motivations, (3) Consequences, (4) Balance, (5) Reparation and (6) Prevention.
The study concluded that cancel culture has a significant effect on PR professionals in the UK beauty and fashion industries that use TikTok to communicate, and who’s target audience is Generation Z. There were greater consequences to being cancelled for influencers compared to brands, but a consumers’ economic situation played a significant role in whether transgressions were ignored. The results showed that it is possible for practitioners to limit or prevent the consequences of cancel culture, unless the reason for cancellation involved racism or discrimination.
This study fills a large gap in research, gives guidance for practitioners to handle this new phenomenon, and provides a framework for future investigation.
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