Marketing and all things related

I'm always amazed by the way bad publicity can be good for the entertainment world.  While corporations work relentlessly to hide bad press (think of Dell's reaction to its employee's online confessions or AT&T's new terms of service), the entertainment world thrives on publicity of any kind. 

Recently, Madison Square Garden lost a sexual harrassment lawsuit brought against New York Knicks coach and team President Isaih Thomas by Anucha Browne Sanders, and now, they face a second lawsuit by Courtney Prince, former captain of the Rangers City Skaters. 

Now, Debbie Curling filed a sexual harrasment lawsuit against Bob Barker, former host of television's extremely popular game show, The Price is Right.  You probably remember the lawsuit former hostess and model, Dian Parkinson brought against Bob Barker several years ago.  In fact, there have been several similar but less publicized lawsuits over the years as well.  Now it seems even behind-the-scenes employees like Debbie Curling were forced to work in an "atmosphere of terror" brought on by Bob Barker.

Of course, Bob Barker has retired and Drew Carey is now the host of The Price is Right, so the television show and network probably won't suffer a lot from Debbie Curling's lawsuit.  However, it still amazes me that in the entertainment world wrongdoings seem to have little or no effect on fans.  Will fewer people watch Knicks games because of the lawsuit against Madison Square Garden and Isaih Thomas?  Did fewer people watch The Price is Right or stop loving Bob Barker (he had quite a fan following) during Dian Parkinson's lawsuit?  Do people care less about Britney Spears because she's lost her children and seems to have lost her talent and mind, too?

The answer appears to be no.  Now, apply that same rule to corporations.  Do companies lose customers because of bad publicity?  Surprisingly, the answer is probably not in the long term.  While short term drops in sales may result from bad publicity, few large companies sink from negative press.  Consider a company like Disney who certainly has gotten its fair share of bad press over the years but continues to have the most visited theme parks in the world and blockbuster movies year after year. 

Bottomline, it seems that if a celebrity or company has a good product that consumers want, they're willing to overlook short term bad press in favor of the brand they like.  What do you think?  It's an interesting concept for debate.

You can read more about the behind the scenes action of the Debbie Curling vs. Bob Barker showdown here.