We all love a good PR stunt… unless they #fail.
What defines a successful PR stunt? They create positive attention AKA “buzz” with the right audience, and have a direct and unmistakeable link to your product.
Here we have a look at two – one that hit the mark, and another that fell well short of it.
Snap Inc.’s Spectacles Launch
Snapchat – recently renamed Snap Inc. – has created a pair of video-recording sunglasses called Spectacles. They are conceptually similar to Google Glass. So, how does a company take a product so similar to Google’s failed attempt and make it work? With a spectacular PR stunt, that’s how.
The spectacles are now available from ‘Snapbots’ across America – a bright yellow vending machine with a smiling mouth and one big eye. Snapbots only appear in one place at a time for a limited time, to create an exclusive and interactive way to buy, and can be tracked through a map on their website. Snap Inc. further incorporate their brand, using an integrated display with the spectacles over the top – like snapchat lenses – so users can ‘try’ before they buy!
This stunt works because it is fun and user driven. They’ve made it authentic and tie it very nicely into their brand. At the moment this is only happening in America, but we’re keeping a close eye on whether it comes to local shores…
#LoveYourself
Weight Watchers Australia recently launched their latest program, Weight Watchers Black, with a surprisingly terrible PR stunt. While not a consumer stunt, their latest publicity campaign aimed at female journos, played on the insecurities of women and the idea that they don’t want to have sex with the lights on. They sent key female journalists a ‘mood light’ with the note:
“Let’s be honest for a minute, sex is pretty. damn. fantastic. But if you’ve ever felt self-conscious in the sack you’re not alone – we’ve heard that more than half of women have avoided sex because they were worried about how they look.
“This globe is a ‘mood light’ designed to give you a little boost in the bedroom (a PG sex toy, if you will). We hope it helps you start seeing yourself in a new light – to love how you look and love how you feel.”
For a company that wants to be seen as helping women overcome issues with body confidence, this campaign backfired. Aimed at getting journos on board their new product, boy did this stunt fail! We’re not sure how many desks it crossed before it came about, but we wish someone had the foresight to stop it.
Here are some of our tips for success:
- Be original, authentic and relevant – there’s nothing worse than when organisations try to copy someone else. For any stunt to work, it needs to look and feel like who you are as a brand and target the right audiences.
- Take a step back and think about your idea from someone else’s perspective – use some empathy here. If you think there’s a chance of offending anyone, you need to go back to the drawing board.
- Test your idea with someone – bring your idea to a friend, family member or anyone else completely outside of your organisation and get their reaction.
- Plan! Plan! Plan! It’s all well and good to have a great idea, but that’s nothing without having a plan to execute. Also make sure to include a planned response just in case something does go wrong!
- Planning and executing a successful PR stunt takes time – and success is not guaranteed. The resources you devote to the task could be invested elsewhere. The question you need to answer is: what choice will give you the best result?
