PR Stunts: Friend or Foe

Giant rubber band balls, human art galleries, dancing elves -- I certainly have had endless amounts of tales and fodder when it comes to publicity stunts. So often, these stunts are seen as the root of all evil. Just a shameless ploy to get media attention. Not strategic -- just crazy and off the wall. Or are they? I have some terrific friends in the business that feel stunts are worthless.

Reflecting on my career, I have certainly gone both ways. Sure -- when I (in conjunction with a team at a previous organization) developed an event tied to the relaunch of OfficeMax's brand, we did take the "shameless media relations ploy" of a stunt. We found a guy who was building a massive rubber band ball, which just happened to be the visual identity OfficeMax was rebranding to. We shipped the sucker to Chicago and held an official Guinness World Record weigh-in. Knowing media would never mention OfficeMax by name, we took the NASCAR approach and branded the hell out of the event site. From the ball and backdrop to the spokespeople -- everything dripping with the OfficeMax logo.

Though shameless -- it worked. The event generated 422 TV segments airing in 127 markets to reach 27 million consumers on outlets like ABC-TV’s “World News Now,” “Anderson Cooper 360” and in hundreds of newspapers and magazines. Viral buzz about OfficeMax exploded on more than 220 Web sites and blogs, with 365,000 downloads of a Yahoo.com video. But most importantly, it brought the brand top of mind with consumers and OfficeMax enjoyed its highest fourth-quarter sales in years!

So I have to ask -- shameless given the results or strategic given that the event covered every key objective set by the client? Ultimately the objective was brand visibility -- without a doubt this event accomplished that.

But what happens when these publicity stunts actually have a heart and a meaning?

In October 2007, I have the privilege to lead a team for one of the largest single day corporate cause initiatives -- OfficeMax's "A Day Made Better." Teachers spend $4 billion a year on the basic supplies to run their classroom. Imagine showing up at your first day at the office and being told you needed to bring your own chair, printer, pens and paper. This would be unacceptable by cooperate America's standard but it seems to be AOK in education.


OfficeMax's solution? Shut down the entire company and honor 1,000 teachers in 1,000 classrooms simultaneously across the nation by providing them with a massive box of supplies with everything they need to run their classroom presented through surprise ceremonies at every school.

The result -- instant brand loyalty, massive consumer engagement due to local market media coverage showcasing these teachers and their efforts and outstanding employee engagement since over 5,000 OfficeMax store employees participated in the event. In addition, the non-profit partner from the event, Adopt-A-Classroom, saw a 1,018 percent increase in Web traffic and a 459 percent increase in donations, with the number of classrooms adopted soaring from 301 to 4,527.

So again -- sure this was a massive publicity stunt. But it was one that was strategic and tapped into the core values and mission of the organization and it had passion. Yes there was also massive media coverage -- over 53 million media impressions with 99 percent of the stories mentioning OfficeMax.

Now I will be the first to agree that media impressions should NEVER be the only way campaign success is measured. In fact, often times it is very misleading. But when it comes time for those teachers to build their school supply list, where do you think they will encourage their students to go? Where do you think they will shop and tell their friends to shop?

So again -- I get it. Stunts sometimes get a bad wrap but are they overlooked for what they potentially can be? What are your thoughts?

Twitter -- Practical Social Media Tool or Popularity Contest

I am sure I am going to piss some people off with this post -- well ok all three of my readers. But I feel the need to bring up something I am seeing through all these social media tools. Now I completely understand how valuable Twitter can be. I have met some meaningful connections and gained some fascinating insights from people around the world. 

But sometimes the activity I see ranks nothing more than a popularity contest filled with inside jokes from Tweeters and an undisclosed challenge of who can get their @handle mentioned most throughout the day. 

Again -- I get it. I get how valuable all these online connections can be but I am amazed that hours can go by without someone posting a relevant piece of information. Instead I just see conversations between Tweeters about who knows more people and how brilliant each of them are. I must admit that is what bugs me. Where is the meaningful information sharing? I admire people like @leeodeen, @terriellman, @twitinbiz, @perfectporridge and @BestBuyCMO. These Tweeters share information that I can use in my job, that make me a smarter PR practitioner and give me insights I wanted to RT. 

Hey -- I will be the first to admit, maybe I am just jealous. Maybe the strong (albeit attention seeking) Leo in me feels left out of all the verbal pats on the back and accolades being bestowed throughout the day. I have full admiration for the networks and channels built by people like @arikhanson, @allanschoenberg, @jasonsprenger, @adeos @rockstarjen and @dmullen. I find it remarkable how they have found a delicate balance between sharing industry information and also fostering great relationships for all of us to follow and observe. Each of these Tweeters have built a network of followers relevant to them by sharing ideas they are passionate about while at the same time showcasing the compassion they have for others in the industry. 

They question is when do we shift from balance and practicality to a virtual high school with cliques abound and the rest of us afraid to enter the conversations. A tad dramatic? sure -- but just my opinion. 

PR -- What's it all about

So my dear friend and PR guru Arik Hanson recently posted the most fascinating conversation on his blog. While his certainly has a mass following, mine I think consists of Greg, Arik and TOny -- shout out to you boys, I am hoping to grow this over time. 

Arik's great post is a discussion I have had numerous times. Without repeating it verbetum, the basic gist is a discussion about the misperception of this profession. So often, because of mainstream media, we are looked at as party planners or spin doctors. This is a challenge and an opportunity. I have copied my comment from his blog and I wonder what your thoughts are. 

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This is such a great topic of discussion – one that I often share with friends within the industry. First of all, I think we need to look at the facet within in the PR industry these programs are attempting to portray, publicists. I think we can all agree there is a distinct difference between the function of a publicist and an actually PR practitioner. I mean Lipstick Jungle, Sex and the City and Phone Booth are all representations of publicists.

Now I have a ton of friends in NY and LA who are astounding publicists. I mean handling certain celebs, which shall remain nameless, is not easy. But they would be the first to agree our jobs differ on a mass scale.

I think we can all agree as a profession that the role of the PR practitioner has shifted dramatically. No longer are we just dealing with media, we are seen as stewards of brands and integrated marketers. We, as a profession, need to get back to the foundation of what PT Barnum and Edward Bernays championed long ago.

Public relations is about relationships. It is about an organization and its publics adapting mutually to each other.
But the one positive these types of shows and movies have done, is bring public relations to the masses. It allows us to go in and dispel those misunderstandings and misconceptions.

I certainly think we are making progress and headway regarding the utility of this profession. But I also think we need to look to an organization like PRSA, which nationally isn’t helping our profession as much as they should – but this is another conversation for another time. But PRSA should be advocating for the profession and helping organizations understand the power of PR. I think it’s also time we come together with marketers, advertisers and communicators to work together. It ‘s time we share our toys and play in the sandbox together.

But I also think we as professionals cannot knock what an event planner does, look at Geri Wolf or Paul Ridgeway, they are event masters. This is a craft that takes imagination and skill. So please let’s not all just fall in line and knock that profession.

@prchck123

The Art of the Super Bowl Ad

Quick post but I am wondering your reaction. Is a $3 million super ad justified in this economy? With layoffs aplenty, is this a smart spend? I have to applaud Miller for their creativity in addressing the subject (though they are spending quite a bit on spots).

What went from being a partial advertising an initiative is now all about having companies one up each other. Being the good marketer I am, I do understand the utility of having your ad talked about by all the key media with both pre and post Super Bowl coverage.

Should brands be looking at other ways to spend these dollars? If you were in charge, how would you spend $3mil?

Offline vs. Online Communication

So I had an interesting lunch the other afternoon where the discussion was about technology and the utter dependancy we have upon it. Now -- I use Facebook and Twitter just as much as the next person but I also can appreciate the time to enjoy something new without picking up my phone to post an update or send a text. 

So often, I see my dear friends updating their social media channels on a feverish basis and I have to wonder? How are they able to focus? How are they able to connect? Trust me, I see the value and utility behind all of these technological innovations but I also worry that we are starting to become "one trick ponies." Instead of sending updates every five minutes from the football game -- why not relax with your friends/family and enjoy it? Maybe take a moment to take in life instead of documenting every inch of it.

I worry in a society where technology is king and speed is vital -- what does this mean for process and thought? We are raising a generation of children who are used to having everything and FAST! A society where if the answer isn't present they can just Google it. What about innovation? What about creativity? What about communication? All of these things take time and practice but with some many short cuts what might happen? 

How do we create a balance? On Fridays, I encourage my staff to stop communicating via email and have conversations with each other. I foster an open door policy because I would rather have someone have a conversation with me than just shooting me an email. I suppose the fascinating juxtaposition about this post is discussing the importance of offline communication through an online channel this is where I think there needs to be a balance -- what do you think? How are you fostering that balance? 

Plan, Plan, Plan, Plan

Has anyone ever felt that we often plan ourselves to death? Now I come from the school of thought that to develop solid, strategic, thoughtful public relations programs that show tangible and meaningful results you have to be very planful. But sometimes I think organizations and professionals take that too far.

There comes a point where you can plan yourself to death and all these documents are worthless if action is not taken. It can almost be troublesome when you are developing time lines and plans without kicking off the actual work. I have seen brilliant professionals become paralyzed with fear because there are too many documents floating yet no one leading the charge to execute them.

How do you overcome thing? Has anyone seen the problem in action? When is enough -- enough?

Polite Employees in a Down Economy

Yesterday Trevor and I went for a quick bite at Panera. Now when I try to steer away from fast food as often as I can for a number of reasons. First, I dont think my butt needs to get any larger:) and generally the staff are unfriendly or just dont care. I blame this in large part to organizations not investing in their employees on a store level.

So we ventured in the Parnera in Edina, MN at about 8:15pm (they close at 9pm) and the staff looked very irritated we walked in the door. This was obvious both by their looks but also their loud "employee to employee" conversation that they were closing in 45 minutes. We stood there for about three minutes waiting for one of the seven employees to come and help us.

When we began to order they were out of several menu items because they said they were closing soon. And instead of suggesting an alternative, the staff just stared at us looking beat down and tired. When we finally ordered, the staff gave us sloppily put together food and didn't even respond when we told them to have a nice night. When Trevor went up to the counter to ask for some butter, the sales girl looked at him, walked in back, grabbed some butter, walked past him, filled the butter dish and turned and left. When he said thank you, she never even responded. A simple "oh here let me grab you some" would have been a simple response and solution.

In an economy where consumers are being selective where they are spending their money, companies really need to stress to store employees the importance of the customer experience. "A simple hello" and "have a nice evening" are ways store employees can enhance a customers visit. Instead, Trevor and I left with a bad experience and the impression we had interrupted the staffs need to try and be out of there by 9pm.

In all honesty, consumers don't care what is happening at any corporate headquarters. A consumer will remember their interaction with a brand based on their most recent experience. And based on mine at Panera -- i wont be visiting there any time soon.