Brand on Fire: a brand crisis simulation set over 48 hours
The video is 50 minutes old and people are tagging you. You do not yet know who is right. Say something fast, but only what you know, and see every statement judged against the truth.
- A viral claim that your product label is wrong
- Four decisions at hour 1, 4, 12 and 48
- A live feed, brand trust, conversation tone and daily sales
- Scored on trust, sales protected and accuracy of what you said
Not sure yet? Try the free 3-round Price War first: no sign-up, about five minutes.
Is there a short simulation for practising how a brand responds to a viral social media accusation?
Brand on Fire is a Bodhih Arena micro-sim in which a food creator's video says your oat drink has 7g of sugar a glass, not the 2g on the carton. Over 48 hours you make four decisions about statements, tests, the creator, ads and remedies. Every statement is judged against what turns out to be true.
What is Brand on Fire?
Brand on Fire is an online brand crisis simulation. You are head of brand at Ondra Foods when a creator posts a video saying the sugar claim on your oat drink is wrong, while your "Just 2g a glass" ads are still running. At hour 1, 4, 12 and 48 you decide what to say, what to check, how to treat the creator, what to do about the ads and whether to offer a remedy. Whether the claim is true, and why the creator posted, stay hidden until the debrief.
Brand on Fire at a glance
| Format | Micro-sim, single player |
|---|---|
| Length | About 15 minutes per play |
| Players | One person; every play is a new seeded scenario |
| Devices | Any modern browser on a laptop, tablet or phone |
| Scoring | Scored on the server out of 100, with sub-scores and a debrief |
| Credential | Open Badges 3.0 micro-sim credential at a score of 80 or more, with a public verification page |
| Competencies | Stakeholder Management (SPN.2.2), Commercial Acumen (SPN.4.5), Decision Making (SPN.4.3) |
| LMS | LTI 1.3 launch from Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard or D2L, with grade passback; usable as a Bodhih pathway stage |
| Price for one person | $12 |
| Price per seat | $12 per seat, volume pricing by seat count |
In a brand crisis, speed and accuracy pull in opposite directions
Everyone wants an answer in the first hour
Customers, retailers and journalists want a statement now. The quality team says the product is fine, but nobody has checked yet.
The instinct is to defend, or to apologise
Both feel decisive. Both bet on facts you do not have, and the public will hold you to whichever you chose once the truth comes out.
The critic becomes the story
Questioning the creator's method or motives can feel justified. It also moves the headline from your product to your behaviour.
Here is the situation you walk into
You are head of brand at Ondra Foods. Ondra oat drink sells about $120k a day, and both the carton and a live ad campaign say "Just 2g of sugar a glass. Nothing added." Fifty minutes ago a food creator with around a million followers posted a kitchen test: 7g a glass. It already has 180k views.
Your screen shows the feed as it looks right now: the creator's video and the first angry shoppers, with more voices to come. Beside it are the numbers that matter: people reached, the tone of the conversation, brand trust (72 before the video) and daily sales against normal. Your quality lead says "our cartons are fine", but nobody has looked.
You can pull the batch records for free, with an answer by hour 4. You can buy an independent lab test of twelve cartons from shops in four cities for $9k, with results by hour 12. Meanwhile your "Just 2g" ads are running in the same feeds. What do you say first?
5 decisions, one debrief
- STEP 1
Hour 1: first reply, first checks, the ads
Choose your first public reply: stand by the label, a holding statement, an apology or silence. Choose what to check: batch records, an independent lab test, both or nothing. Keep the ads running or pause them.
- STEP 2
Hour 4: update and the creator
Give a progress update, publish what the batch records show if you pulled them, repeat that the label is right, apologise or stay silent. Then decide how to treat the creator: a private message offering sealed cartons, a calm public reply, questioning their motives, or leaving them alone.
- STEP 3
Hour 12: your main statement and a remedy
Retailers and journalists want your position. Say the label is right, that one batch was wrong, that the label is wrong, give a general apology or say you are still checking. Choose a remedy: refunds with no receipt, pulling suspect stock, both or none.
- STEP 4
Hour 48: close it out
Choose a CEO video, the full test report, a legal letter to the creator or moving on quietly, and decide the ads for the next two weeks: the sugar claim again, a new campaign without it, or nothing.
- STEP 5
The debrief
See where trust ended, how far the story spread, what you lost in sales and spent on the response, every statement you made, which ones turned out false, and the truth behind the claim and the creator.
Who Brand on Fire is for
- Brand and marketing managers. Your claims are on the packs and in the ads. Practise the first 48 hours before a real post puts your name in the headline.
- Communications, PR and social media teams. You write the replies. Brand on Fire tests the judgement behind them: when to hold, when to state a fact, when to engage the critic.
- Quality, legal and leadership teams. You sit in the room when a claim is challenged. Seeing how evidence, statements and remedies interact helps everyone agree a response faster.
- Marketing, communications and MBA students. Crisis communication theory becomes four decisions with a live feed, where the truth arrives late and every word is scored.
Who should skip it
It is not a full team crisis exercise with roles and injects; for that, look at Crisis Room. It is also not legal or regulatory advice.
How you will handle the next post that names your brand
Brand on Fire trains decision making under uncertainty in its purest form: acting before the facts are in, without saying more than you know.
You will reply within the hour without guessing
You will reach for a holding statement that says what you know, what you are checking and when you will report back, instead of a denial or an apology.
You will verify before you take a side
You will order an independent test of shop stock early and know the limits of internal records, which show only what was tested.
You will engage critics calmly
You will keep the story about the product, not your behaviour, and let others find any hidden motive rather than alleging one yourself.
You will treat statements, ads and remedies as one response
You will check that what your ads say matches what you have said in public, and make customers whole when something was wrong.
You will protect accuracy as an asset
You will judge each statement by whether it will still be true when the facts arrive, the habit that keeps trust intact after the storm.
Learning goals
- Respond fast without saying more than you know
- Verify before you take a side, and match statements to evidence
- Treat critics, customers and ads as one response, not three
Skills practised: Crisis communication, Decision making under uncertainty, Reputation management, Stakeholder management, Commercial judgement under pressure, Evidence-led statements.
Competencies scored
Sub-scores map to the open Bodhih Competency Spine, so results sit beside your other learning records.
What the debrief shows
- Brand trust at the end against 72 before the video, peak reach of the story, sales lost and money spent on tests and remedies.
- Every statement you made, hour by hour, and which ones turned out to be false or right only by luck.
- The reveal: whether the label was right, wrong on one batch or wrong for every carton; whether the creator was genuine or quietly paid; how fast the story could spread; whether the batch records missed the problem.
- Why speed and accuracy conflict, why attacking a critic backfires, what strong players do, and the key concept of the holding statement.
Holding statement
A short first response that acknowledges the issue, says what you are doing and when you will update, without claiming facts you have not checked. It stops the "they are ignoring us" story and keeps your options open.
Use Brand on Fire with a team
Seats are $12 each. Buy up to 25 seats online and assign them from your company admin; above that, or for a facilitated programme or an institution licence, request a quote and we activate your seats after payment.
Crisis readiness session
Have brand, comms, quality and legal each play it, then compare their hour 1 choices. The differences show where your real response would stall.
Pre-work for a full team exercise
Use it as individual pre-work before a facilitated team crisis exercise, so everyone has felt the pull between speed and accuracy first.
A stage in a marketing or communications pathway
Add it as a stage in a Bodhih pathway for marketers or communicators. Completion counts automatically, and sub-scores map to Stakeholder Management, Commercial Acumen and Decision Making.
Assessment centre or LMS assignment
Use the scored result as a judgement-under-pressure exercise for brand or comms roles, or launch it from Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard or D2L through LTI 1.3 with grade passback.
Volume pricing
| Seats | Per seat | How to buy |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $12 | Online |
| 2 to 10 | $10.80 | Online |
| 11 to 50 | $9.60 | Online up to 25, then quote |
| 51+ | $8.40 | Quote |
Brand on Fire compared with a case study or slide-based course
| Compared on | A case study or slide-based course | Brand on Fire |
|---|---|---|
| The facts | You know how the real crisis ended before you start. | The truth is hidden and arrives over 48 hours, as it would in real life. |
| Time pressure | Discussed after the event. | You must speak at hour 1, before any evidence is in. |
| Consequences | Described in the write-up. | Reach, tone, trust and sales move with every decision you make. |
| Accountability | Rarely scores what was said. | Every statement is judged against the truth, including ones that were right by luck. |
| Practice again | The same case each time. | A new truth, creator motive and spread speed on each play. |
| Where a case wins | Real company context, regulators and long-term aftermath. | One brand head and four decisions; it trains the response, not a full team exercise. |
What to pair with Brand on Fire
The Business Continuity and Crisis Plan
Its scenario runbooks and 34 crisis messages give you prepared holding statements and roles before a real post lands.
See the kit →Pro KitThe Complaint Handling and Recovery System
For the "make customers whole" part of a response: a working system for handling complaints and recovering customers once the storm passes.
See the kit →Online courseAI for Marketing course
Its graded ad test kit includes a claims check, and the course ends with a pre-publish checklist: the habits that keep a "Just 2g" claim from going out unchecked.
See the course →AssessAll assessmentBehaviour Under Pressure Assessment
Shows what changes about a person when the pressure is on, a useful companion to a simulation that measures decisions in a storm.
Take the assessment →Bodhih TrainingCorporate training by Bodhih Training
For instructor-led crisis communication or media handling training for your brand and comms teams.
Talk to Bodhih Training →Related simulations
How much does Brand on Fire cost for one person?
Brand on Fire costs $12 for one person. Buy it online and play it in your Bodhih account straight away. Each simulation is sold on its own.
What does it cost for a team?
Seats are $12 each, with volume tiers that bring the per-seat price down for larger groups. Buy up to 25 seats online. For bigger groups, facilitated sessions or institution licences, request a quote; we invoice and activate seats once payment is received.
How long does it take?
About 15 minutes for four decisions, the brief and the debrief.
What do I get?
The simulation with its live feed and gauges, a score out of 100 with three sub-scores, a debrief that reveals the truth behind the claim and the creator, and a credential at 80 or more.
Can I play it more than once?
Yes. Each play is a new seeded scenario: whether the label was right, the creator's motive, how fast the story spreads and whether your records catch the problem can all change.
Is there a credential?
Score 80 or more and you earn the Arena Micro-sim Mastery credential for Brand on Fire, an Open Badges 3.0 credential with a public verification page and an Add to LinkedIn button.
Can it be launched from our LMS?
Yes. It launches from Canvas, Moodle, Blackboard and D2L through LTI 1.3, with the score passed back to your gradebook. It can also be a stage in a Bodhih pathway.
What device do I need?
A modern browser on a laptop, desktop, tablet or phone, with nothing to install. The feed and the gauges sit side by side more comfortably on a larger screen.
Who is it for, and how does it differ from Crisis Room?
Brand on Fire is a single-player micro-sim for brand, marketing and comms people, played alone in about 15 minutes. Crisis Room is a live team exercise with six roles, timed injects and written tasks, sold to organisations.
How is it different from a crisis case study?
A case study tells you what happened and how it ended. Here you decide before you know the facts, see the feed react, and have every statement scored against the truth when it arrives.
What happens to my data?
Your decisions and scores are kept in your Bodhih account so you and, in a company account, your admins can see them. See bodhih.org/privacy for details.
Can I get a refund?
Refunds follow the policy at bodhih.org/refunds.
Rehearse the 48 hours before the video exists
Respond fast, verify before you take a side and keep every statement true. Say only what you know, and see how much trust that protects when the facts arrive. Buy a seat for yourself, or seats for everyone who would be in the room.
Want a feel for Arena first? Play the free 3-round Price War.
- Play it as often as you like for 12 months: every play is a new scenario
- A debrief after each play: what happened, why, and what strong players do
- A verifiable credential when you score 80 or more
- Scored on the server, mapped to the Bodhih Competency Spine
Not sure yet? Try the free 3-round Price War first, no sign-up.
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