Tatler Asia: Tatler XFEST – A Mega Event or a Messi Chaos? (A)

Justin Law; Shimin Chen; Feifei Huang; Pamsy Hui; Pang

Product #:GC-24-011-CE

Supplier:China Europe International Business School

Discipline:Marketing

Details:Case (PDF) • 10 pages • 2025-04-30 (Rev: 2025-04-30)

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Media, entertainment, and professional sports Healthcare sector

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February 4, 2024 marked an important milestone for Tatler Asia as it hosted its first major sports event, Tatler XFEST. This occasion featured the Inter Miami football club, headlined by superstar, Lionel Messi. The exhibition soccer match against the Hong Kong League XI was envisioned to be an annual extravaganza transcending a standard soccer match, offering the audience a rare opportunity to witness the soccer legends, such as Messi, in action. Ticket prices for the event were set notably higher than typical exhibition matches accordingly. Despite the exorbitant pricing, devoted Messi enthusiasts snapped up all available tickets within an hour. The government of Hong Kong SAR also threw its full weight behind XFEST, designating it a mega event and extending substantial subsidies to Tatler Asia. Leading up to the event, the anticipation was pulpable.
However, the fans' excitement was quickly turned into disappointment when Messi opted to sit out the entire game, citing ongoing injury concerns. This unforeseen turn of events led to a wave of discontent among the spectators in the stadium, manifesting in vocal protests with chants of "boo" and demands for refunds. Michel Lamunière, the CEO of Tatler Asia, now faced the critical task of navigating the company through this pending crisis.

Learning Objectives

The key learning objectives of the case series are as follows: 1. Introduce the concept of predictable surprises and discuss how organizations can set up to detect them. 2. Explore the role of marketing and how it can contribute to crisis build-up in a complex environment. 3. Explain the different stages of crisis management and how organizations can mitigate the risk of a crisis and limit the impact of a crisis once it becomes inevitable. 4. Illustrate the complexity of crisis management in a social media era and assess how organizations can get ahead of the online chatters. 5. Demonstrate factors of effective communication and leadership in a crisis. 6. Highlight the path-dependent nature of crisis management.