The Houston Astros’ brand has undoubtedly endured one its toughest off-seasons. In the last eight months, the franchise experienced defeat in game seven of the World Series after relinquishing an early lead, lost the elite pitching services of Gerrit Cole, and served as the focal point of one the largest baseball scandals in recent history.
All of the vitriol the franchise has faced in light of the scandal—deserved or otherwise—has negatively affected the team’s brand equity. Another way to phrase this concept is that bad decisions damage brands and decrease consumers’ trust, resulting in negative brand equity.