Is All Publicity Good Publicity?

There is an old saying that states, “the only thing worse than being talked about, is not being talked about.” However, in the digital age, does this still hold true? Now that consumers have so many options at their fingertips and gossip and news spread like wildfire through the internet, things have changed. In today’s time, bad publicity can mean the end of even the most established brands and there are multiple replacements waiting in the wings to take their place. Having more choices than ever means that consumers no longer make purchases based on their budget and preferences alone, but a company’s values have become extremely important as well. Today, if a brand is exposed for exploiting their workers or donating money to controversial foundations, their current customers can easily find a competitor of equal or better quality with little difficulty. 

In addition to there being so many options available, news also travels and sticks around a lot longer than it did before. One person can post about their bad experience with a brand and in less than 24 hours it can become a global trending topic. Although this makes for a faster news cycle where there is typically a new topic daily, this also means that a wider range of the general public can see and run with any negative criticism or story about your brand. In 2021, social media and the internet makes it just as easy to grow as a business as it does to fail. All in all,  we are now in a time where only good publicity is good publicity and it is important to be strategic, authentic and thoughtful in the way you conduct business and present your brand to the public.