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Starrpower Inner circle 4070 Posts |
I just finished Phase I of a publicity stunt for the opening of a new store in my town. I thought it would be interesting for some of you to read my thoughts on such an event.
First, I had an ideal situation. The store will be having a Grand Opening next weekend. That in itself is an event worthy of press coverage, but that alone is NOT enough to guarantee it. So, here's what I did do help increase the chances of coverage, as well as getting some publicity myself: 1) I arranged for the area Chamber of Commerce to have their new business "Ribbon Cutting" ceremony at the store. 2) I called the mayor's office and arranged for the mayor to appear at this ribbon cutting event. 3) I called the county executive's office and arranged for him to attend. 4) I was hired to work for two hours at the event. So is Spongebob Squarepants (I love working with celebrities!) So far we have a LOT of elements that make an event newsworthy. We have a new business, and the area chamber will be represented in a formal ceremony. We have "Big Shots" involved (Mayor and County Executive.) We have a local personality (me.) We have something for the kids (Spongebob.) What we don't have is something unique. I filled the last criteria by having a newspaper prediction. The business is a place where you go to make a whole bunch of dinners that are then frozen and taken home, where they can be cooked for your family. So, I wanted to come up with something food related to emphasize the business. With that in mind, I decided to have the prediction baked into a pie! The great thing about a headline prediction is it almost guarantees two stories: once when they write to say "This guy claims he knows what the news will be in a week" and a follow-up in which they write "By golly, he did it." (See "Money In Your Pocket, Vol. III The Complete Publicity Stunt" http://www.starrpower.com/magicians/products.htm for full details.) I sent press releases Wednesday. This morning I made the prediction, and the newspaper sent a photographer to record it all. We also took pictures, which we will use for a poster that will explain the event, and be posted WITH THE PIE prominently in the window of the store all week. Next Friday, at the grand opening, we'll have the Mayor dig her hands into the pie to retrieve the prediction and read it while I stand next to her holding up the newspaper. Why is this so good? Because it gets the NEWSPAPER involved -- it's THEIR headline being predicted, and they won't want to miss this, will they? And I'll be front-and-center the entire time. I'll keep you posted as to how many stories run (they may "hold" this until the reveal, or they may run it now and run a second after the reveal) and how "good" the press is. Mark |
RandyStewart Inner circle Texas (USA) 1989 Posts |
Mark,
Please do keep us posted. You have a nice little plan here! I noticed everyone involved with you benefits one way or another. Nice. Very nice. Let us know how it went. |
drwilson Inner circle Bar Harbor, ME 2191 Posts |
Mark,
That's excellent! Thanks for giving us your recipe for a publicity stunt, and we look forward to a slice of press coverage when it's out of the oven! Yours, Paul |
Tony S Special user New York 582 Posts |
Mark,
Thanks for sharing your approach. This is great information. It sounds like you've set this up very well. Please let us know how this works out. I wish you the best of luck. Tony |
Starrpower Inner circle 4070 Posts |
I enjoyed Paul's "punny" comments so much I just HAD to visit his website!
Interesting sidenote: Another franchise OF THE SAME BUSINESS in a neighboring town -- less than 10 miles away -- just contacted me for THEIR grand opening! Any ideas out there for a follow-up publicity stunt? I think 2 headlines predictions in 2 months is just asking 2 much! Then again, they have their own small community paper, so why reinvent the wheel? |
Starrpower Inner circle 4070 Posts |
UPDATE: A color photo with caption ran on the FRONT PAGE of today's paper. It shows me writing the prediction on a pad of paper with the lady-and-pie waiting in the forground. The photo is about 2-1/2" X 3-1/2". The entire item, with caption, is about 5 column inches.
Next, I will price a color display ad with the paper. I will then contact my client and inform them of the value they have already received by hiring me (I'm sure the cost of such an ad is more than they have paid for me) ... and remind them that they couldn't buy the front page even if they wanted to! PLUS, the real event hasn't even happend yet! I also contacted the second business that inquired about me and informed them of our front-page success. More to come ... |
drwilson Inner circle Bar Harbor, ME 2191 Posts |
You can't buy the front page, but you can earn it. Congratulations!
Yours, Paul |
Starrpower Inner circle 4070 Posts |
The franchise in the neighboring community hired me after seeing the front-page photo we received for this one.
The store owner is happy like a pig in mud. A poster describing the stunt and the pie are on in the store window, on display since Saturday (well, they DO remove it each night and refrigerate it!) The reveal is tomorrow. A press release was sent. I want the paper to remember that they covered the initial writing of the prediction, and should be there for the revelation. More tomorrow. |
Starrpower Inner circle 4070 Posts |
The headline reveal went perfectly, as did the press coverage ... almost.
At the ribbon cutting ceremony, I enticed the mayor to be the one who dug into the pie to extract the prediction. I held the newspaper up for all to see -- the turnout was about 70 people -- as the mayor read my predictions. When it was completed, I stapled my prediction onto the paper, right next to the headline, and left it on display. One paper covered the event, but the original newspaper who ran the picture of me making the prediction was not there. So, when I returned home I immediately wrote a press release about the successful prediction and fired it off (that was Friday afternoon.) I got a call from a reporter Sunday evening, and the follow-up story ran Monday morning. So the final analysis is my customer (and I) got three stories in two different papers, which when compared to comparable purchased ads, was a more expensive than my fee ... so I provided her with a great value. Two high-profile politicians received public acknowledgement in a positive way (I quoted one in my press release)and will likely remember me in the future. I got hired by a second customer and spoke to a third at the event (to whom my customer raved about me.) Pretty good results, I think. Plus, I got to work with Spongebob. |
drwilson Inner circle Bar Harbor, ME 2191 Posts |
Way to go, Ace, thanks for the update! But doesn't Spongebob soak up a lot of press coverage when you appear with him?
Yours, Paul |
Starrpower Inner circle 4070 Posts |
Yeah, but if you put the sqeeze on him, some of it will spill over.
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Starrpower Inner circle 4070 Posts |
As a sidenote, I read a lot here about people wanting to book more shows, or reach different audiences, but I rarely read posts of people doing publicity stunts such as this. Those in the news biz are DYING for items like this, but most of us are not out there providing it for them!
In my 20+ years in this business, and having lived in 3 different cities, I have only come across one other guy whom I have seen written up in a newspaper or on television due to a publicity stunt. Why is that? Are people nervous or uncomfortable about trying these kinds of things, or are we just not hearing about them? Or are they just missing the incredible value of doing these activities? |
drwilson Inner circle Bar Harbor, ME 2191 Posts |
Ace,
Beats me. It ain't the doin', it's the gettin' round to the doin' I guess. I did a big publicity stunt a couple of summers ago to promote a show. The newspapers went nuts. The TV coverage didn't mention the show, but we had a good turnout for the show and I thought that it went OK. Since then, as I have been trying to get into new venues or introduce myself to new people, all I have to do is mention the stunt and they know who I am. So besides bringing in people for the show, the stunt has opened a lot of new doors for me over the past couple of years. Yours, Paul |
Starrpower Inner circle 4070 Posts |
I know ... the power of a good publicity stunt is astounding. That's why I am befuddled as to the lack of interest. I read so many "whiners" who write that they don't know how to get more work, but they don't have money to advertise, etc. etc. But where are they when we are giving them FREE information that can garner tons of FREE advertising?
Oh, well, all we can do is keep throwing the mud of knowledge against the wall and hope some of it sticks! |
MR2Guy Regular user Nashville 179 Posts |
Great work!
Seems like Tarbell advocated marching into the newspaper office of the town you are working and pull a stunt. It's great to see you working the angle, and doing it with originality. Congrats! Jason
Question every rule.
There are no absolutes. |
Starrpower Inner circle 4070 Posts |
Thanks ... but the point wasn't to toot my own horn (which would be rather senseless since I post under a "nom de plum"), but rather to show how it can be done and encourage others to do the same.
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