I’ve attended and led hundreds of public relations creative meetings during my career in the propaganda business.
I’ve heard brilliant ideas, good ideas, bad ideas, silly ideas and outlandish ideas. Most often missing during almost 100% of the sessions was the suggestion of a stunt, a technique that I have used with great success.
Over the years, I have had a belly dancer from a Broadway show give free belly dancing lessons; I arranged a press conference in New York’s Pennsylvania Station for an Olympic client; I had Wendy’s introduce its new advertising campaign in a Wendy’s. I had a local political candidate ride the New York City subway system, getting off at various stations to greet riders; I had another statewide politician campaign on the ferry that that plied the waters from Manhattan to Staten Island, and because studies show that caffeine can make automobile drivers more alert, for a coffee client I arranged for free coffee to be given to automobile drivers at a highway rest stop over the Labor Day weekend, when driving is at or near peak. To introduce a new tennis outfit, I had a portable tennis court set up in Broadway’s Shubert Alley. If passersby were able to return the serve of a professional tennis player they would receive an outfit. And to publicize an educational game called Math Baseball, I arranged for Major League teams to use the game as a community event, with a player acting as the local Math Baseball commissioner, and Hall of Fame player Monte Irvin as the national commissioner.
Relatively few PR practitioners will represent a Broadway show that has a belly dancer in it or a politician willing to participate in a stunt. But holidays like Labor Day are reoccurring and for the right client creating a stunt around a national holiday should be easy pickings and can gain positive earned media.
One such holiday is July 4th, and it doesn’t take a creative genius to devise a stunt
Having several people dress in Uncle Sam costumes and distribute American flags is a sure-fire way to gain positive earned media for almost all American companies. It’s too late for this year, but July 4th is on next year’s calendar.
For practitioners who never thought of incorporating a stunt into a program, below are rules to follow when doing so.
- Make certain that a stunt is only one element of a multi-faceted program.
- Make certain that the stunt advances client objectives.
- The stunt should be crafted so it can be a stand-alone element of the program.
- Be certain stunts are not forced and are a perfect fit for the client.
- Be certain that the stunt is original.
- Be certain that the stunt is in good taste.
- Good stunts are not whacky; they should be crafted as hard news events.
- Rehearse the stunt prior to executing it.
- Suggesting stunts will probably be new to your client; educate the client by using examples of stunts that have gained publicity in the past for major companies.
- Provide the client with a step-by-step outline of the stunt you are suggesting.
- Make video and take photographs of the stunt so it can be used at in-house client meetings, in-house organs and trade pubs.
- If it is an outdoor stunt, factor in a rain date.
- If the stunt is part of a national program, create it so it can be staged in various cities.
- As with a press conference, contact the media the prior to and the morning of the stunt.
- Hire a photographer who knows how to take news-type photos and can offer them to news outlets immediately after the stunt. This means having an account person work with the photographer and write the caption(s) on the spot. But it’s usually best to let a news-oriented photographer lead in the selection of the pictures to be serviced unless the account person has photo journalism experience.
- Distribute to attending media detailed information about the client.
In these days when so many public relations efforts are similar, a good stunt can differentiate your client from the pack and attract media attention. Importantly to your career, it can also differentiate you to management from the do-it-by-the-number account execs.
