Obviously keep pushing and all that, but I think if they're going to draw popularity from anywhere (apart from the ballot, still), it'd be last year, when the most people were active and vocal in the fanbase.
I guess it depends how long they've been intending to go past the pass, but if that's always been a contingency they accounted for, which I suspect it has, I do imagine they were taking notes during the base cycle as well. That was peak engagement. Not that anything said now will necessarily fall on deaf ears, but I just think scouts were in higher attendance back then.
Which bodes well for Isaac, should they be willing to reconsider existing roles. But of course, as has been said, they'd be even more encouraged to opt for a character like Isaac if they see people clamouring for a future GS as well. It's evidence that the choice can be useful past just Smash, which is probably a more appealing opportunity to those in charge.
They've said it before - characters with futures stand in better stead. From a business perspective, I get it. And yeah, we got K. Rool and some dormant third-parties, but instead of belabouring the point about "irrelevant" characters or whatever, it's just a better use of time to try and make GS more relevant again.
So am I optimistic about Isaac? Well... I'm more optimistic than I was yesterday.