PR stunts work. Standing out from the crowd can be tough for any business. Even if your product is as good as anything already on the market, without word of mouth, it is difficult to get noticed.
Luckily for you, there’s one sure-fire way to get people talking about your brand: a darn good PR stunt.
A guide to top #PR stunts. http://t.co/iAjFqx0AIs
— Hotcow (@Hotcow) March 16, 2015
A well thought-out PR stunt can catapult your business into the public consciousness; and create mass awareness over a short time period. Think Felix Baumgartner’s stratospheric space jump, which was watched by 8 million people worldwide and worth tens of millions in exposure for sponsors Red Bull.
Here are two text-book examples of PR stunts doing what they do best – spreading a positive story as far and wide as possible.
1. Taco Bell
On April 1st 1996, millions of Americans opened their papers to learn that Taco Bell was buying the Liberty Bell; renaming it the “Taco Liberty Bell,” and moving it to their corporate headquarters in California.
This caused uproar across America, both in the press, media and online.
Little did the public know that it was all part of an elaborate publicity stunt to promote their “Nothing Ordinary About It” ad campaign.
The brand created fake press releases, satellite video feeds, Internet chat rooms, and took out full-page ads in seven top daily newspapers.
Over 650 media outlets covered the story after seeing the fake publicity campaign, and the story featured on big name TV shows such as “NBC Nightly News,” “The Today Show,” and USA Today.
After thousands of people called in to complain, Taco Bell admitted that it was an April fool’s prank.
2. Tourism Queensland
Given that part of a PR executive’s job is to sell a product without paying for advertising space, Tourism Queensland’s “best job in the world” campaign was a PR triumph, in 2009.
In an effort to increase tourism around the Great Barrier Reef, they bought ad space in newspapers around the world, advertising for a position they called “The Best Job in the World”.
They were offering someone £70,000 and the chance to be an island caretaker, essentially sunbathing and exploring Queensland! The successful candidate would live in an all expenses-paid three-bedroom villa with a pool on Hamilton Island.
Boasting a series of “hooks” that began with a job-application process, through to an X-Factor-style short listing of candidates, the campaign harnessed social media to create a worldwide reality TV competition that tapped into young people’s wanderlust.
Dubbed the greatest PR stunt in history by many in the industry, tens of thousands applied and visitor numbers to the region soared. Top marks.
Hotcow is a non-traditional creative agency that specialises in experiential marketing that goes viral. Our campaigns generate buzz through crowd participation, PR and content sharing. Contact us on 0207 5030442
Hotcow was born in January 2006, by a group of friends who wanted to create an agency with an ethos based on fresh thinking, big ideas, cost effective solutions and excellent execution. We work with brands seeking out the x-factor from their experiential partner. With our extensive network of contacts both in the UK and internationally, we are able to manage every detail of an activation in-house.
As a London marketing agency, we have an amazing team of people that bring our client’s goals to life.
Our herd is made up of project/account managers, theatrical directors/actors/promo staff, production and logistics specialists, designers, location planners, and more, all who have considerable experience in their area of expertise.
To achieve exceptional results you need to challenge conventional thinking. We get excited about projects no matter how big or small and with Hotcow you get powerful ideas that deliver results.
So, what are you waiting for? We love hearing our phone moo – give us a call:
+44 (0)20 7503 0442
