Sinclair Action posted this story from a business journal on the potential effectiveness of that boycott, so advertising agencies at least know what the effect of our STARVE THE BEAST campaign will be if we stick to it and keep plugging away.
Baltimore's Daily Record:
MD's ad industry warns anti-Sinclair campaign could be costly
link
http://www.mddailyrecord.com/pub/5_139_wednesday/businessnews/162878-1.htmlExcerpts from the article:
Maryland advertising insiders say the effects of a campaign against Sinclair Broadcast Group's so-called slanted news programming could potentially rip advertising money from the Hunt Valley-based company.
Washington-based Media Matters for America, a group of liberal political organizations, launched a letter-writing campaign yesterday aimed at convincing Sinclair's advertisers to hold the company accountable for what the group calls Sinclair's biased coverage.
. . .
It's hard to pin down how this movement will affect Sinclair, said John MacKerron, associate professor of media and film at Towson University.
"But, it's certainly clear that advertisers do not want to have the prospect of losing revenue" because of bad publicity surrounding Sinclair, he said. "So, if Sinclair's advertisers receive a letter from this group, they may consider it seriously, especially depending on the number of complaints they receive.
"I would say there's a real possibility that some advertisers could decide to pull out," MacKerron said.
Robin Jones, president of the Frederick-based Robin Jones Consulting Inc., agrees with MacKerron.
"Depending on how this pans out, advertisers may not want to be associated with the company," Jones said. "It's possible advertisers may refrain from advertising with Sinclair until this cools down."
The content and values of a company is important to many advertisers, she said. "Their political demographics can really matter to advertisers."
. . .
"Businesses do not voice their political views because there can be ramifications " and losing advertisers is one," the
executive said. "When you take a position, you have to deal with the consequences."
There are so many mediums for advertisers to turn to, the ad executive said, "it can't be good for Sinclair to be put in the position."