Scenario 18-5 An Old Adage States That All Publicity Is Good Publicity

Scenario 18-5
An old adage states that all publicity is good publicity. However, Professors Jonah Berger of the Wharton School, and Alan Sorensen and Scott Rasmussen of Stanford University found that there is such a thing as bad publicity. The colleagues studied the relationship between bad publicity and its impact on music albums, books, and movies. They published their findings in Marketing Science. After studying cases involving the late Michael Jackson, Russell Crowe, and various authors, the colleagues concluded that negative publicity can increase product sales. Michael Jackson sold more albums after receiving negative media attention, and films starringRussell Crowe received higher rankings following an incident in which he allegedly threw a cell phone at a hotel employee. These high-profile stars actually thrived after receiving substantial amounts of negative publicity. However, in many low profile cases, negative publicity hurt sales and product reception. The three colleagues conducted an analysis of The New York Times' reviews and book sales, and found that negative reviews hurt sales of books by well-established authors, but helped sales of books by relatively unknown authors. After conducting the study, the authors found that conventional wisdom is wrong: not all publicity is good publicity. But they did show that negative publicity can sometimes be positive; it all depends on existing-product awareness.
-(Scenario 18-5) Which of the following factors contributes to the idea that we have entered a new era of public relations? 

A)  Increased media coverage of company advertising 
B)  Aggressive efforts to catch firms acting in an improper manner 
C)  Sophisticated and connected consumers who talk more about brands 
D)  Increased focus on public relations and its applications rather than other marketing processes