Gröna Lund has so far done many things right in its crisis management after the weekend’s fatal accident.
This is the opinion of brand expert Anna-Karin Lingham, who at the same time emphasizes that the amusement park may need to shift the focus of its operations so that the brand is not affected.
– In the short term, I think the accident will affect the associations with Gröna Lund, she says.
Anna-Karin Lingham emphasizes that it is still early in the process and that it is difficult to evaluate the theme park’s crisis management, which is still ongoing. But she can still draw some conclusions from how the company has acted so far.
– I think they have handled it well. Both CEO and CIO have been visible, accessible, showed humanity and been transparent. They also show the importance of sorting this out both through internal and external investigations.
“Important not to duck”
According to her, the most important thing in the early stages is to provide as much information as possible.
– I also think that the suppliers of their rides could come in at some stage, depending on who you want to highlight as spokespersons, to give their image. Ducking or saying things that are not true and speculating would be the wrong strategy. I do not perceive that they have done that.
Unclear how the brand is affected
According to Anna-Karin Lingham, it is too early to say exactly how Gröna Lund as a brand will be affected by the accident.
– In the short term, I think that the accident will affect our associations with Gröna Lund, but I also think that many will differentiate between the rides and other associations, such as their concerts, restaurants, entertainment and pentathlon. Over time this will even out.
This may mean that Gröna Lund will have to shift the focus of the business.
– It may happen that you can redirect the focus in terms of your activities for a while, and not focus on the rides in particular, says Anna-Karin Lingham.
Preliminary investigation initiated
A woman in her 30s died and nine people were injured when one of the trains in the Jetline roller coaster derailed on Sunday 25 June.
The National Accident Commission has started an investigation and prosecutors at the national unit for environmental and work environment cases have taken over the preliminary investigation. The case is classified as causing the death of another, causing bodily harm and causing danger to another.