What:
This past Tuesday, “America’s Doctor” and host of the Dr. Oz Show, Mehmet Oz, M.D., announced on Twitter that he was running for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania. The majority of the responses to that Tweet have been negative based on the controversy that’s surrounded the doctor for years, but that doesn’t seem to be slowing the campaign down. However, one of his platforms is ending when stations in New York City, Philadelphia and Cleveland announced they were dropping his show because of the FCC’s “equal time” rules for rival candidates.
So What:
Whether you agree with Dr. Oz or not, a number of supplement categories have been built and supported by positive coverage from Oz—think astaxanthin, seabuckthorn, etc. My background is in public relations, and it was always ‘the grand slam’ to get coverage on Dr. Oz, so the show leaving the air is going to leave a big gap in the influencer market.
Now What:
I like to take a glass half full approach. With Dr Oz going dark (at least it seems on the health front), that opens the door for others to gain share of voice and maybe those experts will focus more on the science. Who’s it going to be? I wish I had that crystal ball. What I can say is watch social media to see who and what is trending and keep an eye on traditional media outlets to see who they’re going to on a regular basis.
One other note: should Dr. Oz win, we will have a new supplements advocate in the Senate.
~Traci
