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(do not) hate Martha
Depends on the poll. (We report, you decide.)
Obviously many have turned against Martha Stewart in her post-indictment days, but who they are, and just how distasteful they find the indicted domestic goddess, appears to be quite another thing.
It depends on which poll you're reading.
A poll released yesterday by America’s Research Group found that consumers are increasingly less enthusiastic about Martha Stewart-branded products now that she has been indicted, with 28.6 percent saying they are less likely to buy them.
But a poll released two weeks ago by Universal McCann showed very nearly the opposite among women, of whom only 11 percent said they would abandon Kmart’s Martha brand if Stewart is found guilty.
Most said her guilt or innocence would make no difference at all in deciding whether to purchase Stewart's products.
Conclusion: People have either changed their mind in those two weeks or there’s really some angry men giving balance to the later poll.
One thing thing is clear, though. Public perception of Stewart is not improving.
More people are paying attention to the case and less think Stewart actually is innocent.
When America’s Research Group conducted a similar poll last year, only 17.8 percent of respondents said they would avoid the Stewart brand. In the time since, that figure has risen almost 11 percentage points.
The research group advised, too, that once consumer avoidance reaches 40 percent, it’s nearly impossible for a brand to rebound.
Also over that period, the number of people following the Stewart case has risen markedly, to 53 percent, up 14 percentage points.
The Universal McCann poll also found that an increasing number of women -- 60 percent -- think Stewart is guilty, even though respondents believed she was being singled out unfairly because of her gender and celebrity.
Perhaps that’s why 69 percent said they felt neither more positive nor less positive about the Stewart brand and that 12 percent actually felt more positive or somewhat more positive about Stewart products.
Seventy-six percent of women said their shopping habits would not change either way with a Stewart guilty verdict, and a hearty 3 percent promised to buy more Stewart products if she’s found guilty.
Of the women polled, 16 percent said they would be less inclined to read Martha Stewart Living magazine because of the scandal, and 6 percent said they would stop reading it entirely. However, the vast majority, 78 percent, said they would continue to read the magazine even if Stewart was found guilty.
And only 9 percent said they would stop watching Stewart on television, and that's actually down from 20 percent in a similar poll in November.
July 23, 2003© 2003 Media Life
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