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PR STUNTS - and MLM
Eric Mortensen investigates
Attention-grabbing PR-stunts have increased in recent years. The publicity stunt is a way of gaining attention for your company that can offer a gigantic payoff. BUT it is always a gamble since there is no guarantee the media will cover it. Why do the MLM world not use PR stunts a little bit more? Well, if you have been trying to come up with a way to make the news, here´s a little bit of inspiration.
In 1920 the publicist for The Return of Tarzan caught the public attention by checking into the Hotel Belleclair in NY City with a large box said to contain a piano. The next day he asked room service to send up 15 lbs. of raw red meat, prompting the management to inspect the room and discover a full grown lion in residence. This brought the police and reporters, and rescued the Tarzan sequel from oblivion by linking the stunt with the movie. WHOAH. What a STUNT.
Could you imagine your MLM-company doing a similar tactically staged event aimed at gaining maximum exposure? Frankly, wouldn´t it be FUN to see the directors of your company go to jail for a couple of days. Hehe. I would LOVE IT.
Many companies in the direct selling industry are SLOW when it comes to PROMOTION and PR STUNTS. You need to THINK BIG and need to be very creative to compete with traditional companies today. Here are a few happenings and PR stunts from the "real world":
The best PR move in 2004 must be: Oprah Gives Away 276 Pontiacs. I´m sure you've seen the video clip of Oprah Winfrey screaming, "Everybody gets a car!" for her show's 19th season premiere. General Motors wanted to launch the new Pontiac G6 in a big way. During one of their sessions, a member of the G6 launch team suggested they strike a deal with "The Oprah Winfrey Show." The deal was made. GM spent about $8 million to give 276 cars away in this huge public launch. GM feels confident the results were worth it.
The Pontiac Web site normally receives 30,000 hits in a day. In 24 hours after the Oprah car giveaway show aired, the site received 242,000 hits. During the Athens Olympics, GM spent around $8 million for 25 to 30 television commercials in a two week period alone. Experts say the auto industry generally calls for $20-80 million for an effective ad campaign and that an automobile's product launch alone can cost anywhere between $25-40 million. And back to Oprah: "She actually didn't pay a dime for the giveaway" What a PR-stunt for herself.
The Michael Moore and Disney Feud Over Fahrenheit 9/11 must be the next best PR stunt in 2004. Two weeks before the Cannes Film Festival, news broke that Disney planned to block Miramax from distributing Michael Moore's anti-Bush documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11. Moore posted a letter on his Web site May 5, 2004, reading, "Yesterday I was told that Disney, the studio that owns Miramax, has officially decided to prohibit our producer, Miramax, from distributing my new film, 'Fahrenheit 9/11.'"
The buzz kicked off the movie's premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Palme d'Or for best film.
Another great stunt in 2004 was the Howard Stern and Sirius Pull Off Major Publicity Stunt November 19. About 1,000 people and a media circus flocked to Manhattan's Union Square where Howard Stern and Sirius Satellite Radio gave away 500 free satellite radios, one-year subscriptions and vouchers for a free radio with a $142 subscription to Sirius. No one from either company would say how much they spent for their giveaways but it's estimated $2 million worth of gifts were given from Sirius/Howard Stern. Insiders indicated it was actually Stern who paid for the promotional items out of his own pocket.
Stern announced on his radio show that he would be giving away 20,000 gifts. He added to the media buzz later that evening when he appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman to discuss his publicity stunt and the move off of the Clear Channel airwaves and onto satellite radio.
The biggest miss in 2004 must be the half-second long glimpse of Janet Jackson’s breast during the US SuperBowl in February could cost 20 televison stations owned by Viacom a total of $550,000. The incident sparked public outrage and TV stations were inundated with complaints following the so-called "clothing malfunction". Jackson, who had a new album due out shortly after the event, later apologised, while network and NFL officials were hauled before Congress to explain. Janet Jackson has admitted that it was a PR stunt and was banned to participate in the Grammy Awards.
So what can the MLM-world do when it comes to gaining huge attention via a PR stunt? Dropping $100,000 in small bills from the top of a skyscraper to celebrate a particular accomplishment? Alerting the media to a situation to be created for an interesting photo with a famous person? In fact the famous photo of Marilyn Monroe on a street grate with her skirt blowing straight up did not just happen. It was a staged event to publicize The Seven Year Itch, accomplished with the help of special wind blowers installed in the grate. Did that movie gained maximum exposure before it was released?
Why not use a celebrity to launch a new product at a press conference? Convince your national rugby team to wear T-shirts in the World Cup bearing a LOGO ie against child cruelty, homeless people or whatever your company support when it comes to charity. THINK BIG ! Yeah, why not "talk to" a national team participating in the World Cup? You could also hang yourself from the tallest building in the world with a sign on your dead body: "I did it!" And of course don´t forget your MLM-company logo:)
If you haven´t seen THE STUNT OF 2004 as OPRAH performed find the VIDEO here
WHOAH ... What a CHALLENGE for the MLM world:)
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