Sunday, June 7, 2015

From the Sun Sentinel: "SeaWorld may be bouncing back from 'Blackfish' backlash"

Hugo Martin at the Sun Sentinel has this interesting article about SeaWorld. SeaWorld is fighting back at critics to reestablish their image with public relations campaigns. Here is an excerpt:
     Joel Manby, SeaWorld's new CEO, told investors he was encouraged by the results so far.
     "It's very early, though, and it's part of a long-term, very targeted initiative," Manby said in a conference call discussing the firm's first-quarter financial results. "We have heard from our partners, our employees, most importantly, our guests that they're happy that we're out there disseminating the facts."
     Analysts disagree on whether the counterattack will work, or whether the "Blackfish" controversy will permanently damage SeaWorld's future profitability.
     Standard & Poor's credit analyst Shivani Sood said that negative press could hurt the park's ability to raise ticket prices and draw advertisers.
     But Alex Petti, an analyst with Seeking Alpha, disagreed. Eventually, he said, customers will forget about the movie and it "will have less of an effect this year." [emphasis added]
The video below is part of that PR campaign: