Ray Kroc of McDonald’s fame said, “When your competition is drowning, stick a hose in their mouth.” (via Cameron H)
That’s exactly what Richard Branson is doing to British Airways: calling the multi-billion dollar commercial airline ‘almost worthless’, and encouraging the British Goverment to NOT bail them out.
BA was ruthless to Virgin in the early years, so Richard’s unceasing antagonism is almost expected. I find it beautiful. He is most definitely capitalizing on a fresh PR opportunity as his main competitor wobbles.
Smaller companies can apply this rival-killing drama, but only do it if it creates headlines.
I wonder how complex it is to become a ‘cultural icon’. At the Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, all they do is throw fish.
They. Throw. Fish.
That’s it – people come from nigh and far to buy fish just to watch it be thrown.
Stop thinking so hard. Becoming iconic usually happens with something simple.
The announcement that Vodafone no longer has roaming charges across Europe came through a campaign that shows a live Google map of where British tweeters are spending their summer vacation.
Mentos Gum’s Make Your World Go Rounder campaign, which promotes their new gum in a round tube, was a guerrilla marketing stunt in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto. I saw them hop through Yaletown and everyone was watching.
The fun factor was definitely conveyed (Flickr), and it likely didn’t cost a ton to buy white jump suits and bouncy balls.
I’m not sure how strong their PR efforts were though. Their Twitter followers are few and other than the video below their YouTube views are VERY low. A good idea/stunt needs to be marketed properly.
This PR stunt:
1. Generates hundreds of online stories
2. Drives tons of newcomers to their site
3. BIG TIME gets a younger demographic interacting with the Volvo brand
The benefits offset the development costs by a long shot.
Air New Zealand launched The Matchmaking Flight – a service that lets single people get jet set together on an overnight flight. Because nothing says ‘dream date’ like sitting in the middle seat beside some desperate goblin for 13 hours.
The point is this is a PR stunt to bring huge attention to New Zealand and Air New Zealand. It may very well work for the lonely flyer, but if it flops in 3 months, Air New Zealand got hundreds of media hits around the world.
Mobile PC fixers Geek Squad signed up 104 year old Brit Ivy Bean for Twitter, making her the oldest person on earth to tweet. @IvyBean104. The story got heaps of coverage because newsrooms everywhere thought Ivy set up the account herself, when it was really Geek Squad capitalizing on a photo op.
Some news outlets apologized for covering it, now calling it a shallow stunt. But this is me, Geek Squad, giving you a wink and a nudge for milking a warm hearted, fun story idea that got you loads of positive coverage.
Nissan Cube’s HyperCube: 50 Canadians win Nissan Cubes. Contestants create photo/video pages and must collect as many votes as possible – even on a daily basis. Vote for Maria!
Ford Fiesta’s Fiesta Movement: 100 ‘Agents’ drive Euro-spec Fiestas around the US for six months. Agents create their own routes and maintain a Flickr, Blog etc.. Follow my friend Jody!
These campaigs create a whole new level of publicity and awareness. Welcome to the way everything is going.
