This article is for people contemplating publicity stunts. In light of current news events with publicity stunts going wrong, this article is to inform those who engage in publicity stunts on how to make them work to their own benefit.
Publicity stunts have been around since Barnum. He was very good at making them work not only for his own benefit, but to also make them fun for those who observe them. The days of having fun with publicity stunts are slowly coming to an end as the blunders become costly and even endanger the life of others. Here are a few mistakes to avoid when putting on a publicity stunt.
Everyone must be on board: When little Falcon announced that they did the balloon stunt for
TV while on a national TV show he spilled the beans. When the entire country was concerned for his safety, people were outraged to find he was never in danger. They were even more outraged to know that county resources were wasted looking for a child who was sitting safely at home. All parties must be on board with a a publicity stunt and know what to say and what not to see. You can see why stunts rarely involve children, you can never really predict what they will say. If your stunt results in the world hating you, you failed.
If it works , do it again. The Pilsbury bake off was intentded as a one time event, but when they saw how much participation they got, they repeated the event. The event resulted in an increase in sales. (more…)
