Disney’s fight against Ron DeSantis divides fans
Disney has suffered some serious reputational damage since its feud with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis began last year — with the entertainment conglomerate the fifth most polarizing brand out of 100 in a new poll.
Analysts surveyed 16,310 Americans between March 13 and March 28 to ask what they think about the top brands in the United States.
The results were published Tuesday as the Axios Harris Poll 100 and showed Disney is being ravaged by the storms unleashed in Florida.
While Disney’s popularity rose among Democrats, it plummeted among Republicans.
among democrats, the reputation quotient – calculated by asking people to rate factors such as vision and leadership, financial performance, social responsibility and work environment – jumped to 80.3 out of 100, from 72.5 a year earlier.
Among Republicans, the reputation quotient fell 14 points from 75 to 61.
Ron DeSantis and Disney have been at odds since last year. Disney is now noticing that its reputation can take a beating
Disney announced last week that it was canceling a planned $1 billion new campus in Florida amid the row with DeSantis
The widely divergent rating meant that Disney was the fifth most polarizing brand out of 100, as measured by the gap between the ratings of Republican and Democratic respondents.
Disney’s overall score was 70.9 out of 100 – up from 73.4 in 2022.
“The lesson here is that when you divide, you subtract,” said Harris Poll CEO John Gerzema.
“When you divide audiences, you end up subtracting customers from your business.”
When asked if they were more positive about the company than a year ago, 44 percent of Democrats but only 21 percent of Republicans said they were.
Nearly half — 42 percent — of Republicans said their feelings about Disney had become more negative in the past year, compared with 12 percent of Democrats.
More than a third of Republicans, 35 percent, said Disney has become less authentic and more divisive — a view shared by only 19 percent of Democrats.
When asked if the company was family-oriented, 63 percent of Democrats said yes, but only 46 percent of Republicans agreed.
Disney has been at odds with DeSantis since they decided last year, under pressure from employees, to speak out against Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law, which has banned discussion of LGBTQ issues in schools among younger children. prohibits.
As a result, DeSantis revoked Disney’s special tax status and mandated its own board of directors to close attractions at their theme parks.
He has also threatened to build a prison or rival theme park next door.
Disney, which employs 80,000 people in the state, last week canceled plans for a new nearly $1 billion employee campus in Orlando.
The most polarized company on the list was the Trump Organization, with Fox Corporation coming in second.
Hobby Lobby came third and FTX – the bankrupt cryptocurrency company founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, fourth.
The top five Republicans included John Deere, Hobby Lobby and Chick-fil-A.
Democrats said their favorites Trader Joe’s, USAA, Honda Motor Co. and Apple were.
Pfizer, which developed a COVID-19 vaccine, was also on the Democrats’ top 10 list.
Both Democrats and Republicans ranked outdoor apparel brand Patagonia as their third favorite brand: the company leans to the left in its workplace and environmental policies, but ranks high in terms of quality of products and services.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, was the fifth least liked brand, followed by Twitter in fourth place; Fox in third and FTX in second.
The least liked company in the US was the Trump Organization.
Age and location also influenced respondents’ perceptions.
Gen Z and millennials put Patagonia at the top of their list, while Gen X and boomers put John Deere at the top.
Rural consumers put 3M on top, while city dwellers named Patagonia.
Suburban shoppers said Costco was their favorite brand.
The biggest drop in reputation overall was felt by Tesla, whose ranking dropped 50 points amid owner Elon Musk’s controversial takeover of Twitter.
Tesla shareholders are concerned that Musk is distracted by Twitter and can’t devote enough time and energy to Tesla: he insists he can oversee both.
Chrysler and Target saw the second and third largest declines.
Chrysler was ranked the worst car brand in the industry in June, according to JD Power’s annual report.
The biggest jump was for Nike, whose reputation quotient rose 35 points, followed by American Express and Costco.
Nike is recovering from years of working with Lance Armstrong and athletics coach Alberto Salazar, both guilty of doping and questions about work culture in the wake of #MeToo and environmental practices.
The recovery seems to be going well: in October, Nike took the title of the world’s most valuable sports brand in the Brand Finance report for the seventh year in a row.
