Each case below comes from an Imagetude publication and shows one idea from the body of knowledge at work. The research section summarises the field study behind the RIMBOK chapter on crises.
Residents of a neighbourhood refuse to buy sandwiches from a deli that sits inside a clinic, even though the food is good. The deli is the subject and the residents hold the image, but the image comes from the place, not from the food: people link hospitals with sickness.
The lesson. An Imagetude does not always need a rational reason. Check the setting of a product, not only the product.
For many people the image of democracy means justice, while the word itself means that people govern themselves. Both meanings are positive, but they are not the same.
The lesson. The image a person holds can differ from the dictionary meaning. Measure what your audience actually understands.
Fans read every match in favour of their own team. The same referee decision is fair when it helps them and unfair when it does not. Two people with different images hear the same news and understand it differently. Rumours work the same way.
The lesson. A strong image filters every new message. Build it before you need it.
A bank advertises the lowest loan rate in the country and lists the conditions for getting a loan. Every part of the message is a calculated financial point that invites the customer to compare.
The lesson. This is a purely rational message. It works for products people compare on numbers; other products need psychological and behavioural messages too.
A hotel brochure promises quiet rooms, yet guests are kept awake by noise from the hotel's own kitchen. The external message says “quiet”; the experience says “noisy”. Guests believe the experience, and the brochure becomes a joke.
The lesson. When the external and internal messages conflict, the image is damaged. Fix the experience before the advertising.
When a new Swiss watch company is founded, customers around the world expect accuracy and high value from the first day. A new Japanese car brand is expected to be practical rather than luxurious.
The lesson. Inheritance lets a new product skip several terraces of the pyramid. It also carries risk, so it belongs in the risk plan.
A product for women runs creative, strong messages that suit only homemakers. Working women still form an image of the product, but it is the wrong one: that it is made only for homemakers.
The lesson. Every category forms an image whether you address it or not. Design a message for each category you care about.
The Foundation guide has cases, figures and practice questions in every chapter. Read the first chapter free.
A field study of 306 customers of real estate developers in Egypt, carried out during a real delivery-delay crisis between 2023 and 2025, tested how the Imagetude shapes the way customers judge a company's crisis decisions (Elshorbagy, 2026).
Before a crisis, brand, quality and customer experience matter most (β = 0.728). They build the goodwill that decides how kindly customers read the first sign of trouble.
Once the crisis hits, attention moves from reputation to honesty and transparency. The values dimension (β = 0.584) rises above the marketing dimension (β = 0.562).
In recovery, ethical commitment is the most durable driver (β = 0.473). Customers recommend a company again because of how it behaved, not because of its size.
Method: structural equation modelling (SmartPLS 4). Full results, figures and the practical implications for each phase are in RIMBOK, Chapter 5.