The people, places, and things that are viewed as popular typically have a positive connotation associated with them.

Populations of people, large or small, global or local, give those in the above sentence their popularity.

While some groups in the first sentence, such as living athletes, vacation spots, and companies, are tangible to the public, other groups, such as deceased celebrities, Bitcoin, and the continent of Atlantis, are intangible to the public.

Publicity around those in the first sentence can be positive or negative, and that publicity helps to build or break the popularity of the groups in the first sentence.