How to Plan Your Brand Publicity Stunt
- Plan your concept & budget.
- Plan your outcomes and convey your message clearly.
- Talk to one of our agents and book your celebrity to fit the bill
- Get creative!
A great publicity stunt can get everyone talking about the brand or product that you’re promoting, whether you’re launching a product or just raising the profile of your business more generally. It’s a great way to get celebrity talent involved too, for an extra profile-boost for your brand, whether they’re live-tweeting the stunt, presenting it or just in attendance.
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We’ve rounded up five of the most ingenious publicity stunts ever pulled off to give you some inspiration for your next endeavours. Check them out below:
The Red Bull Space Jump
You probably remember exactly where you are and what you were doing when this happened, as well as the heart-stopping few seconds when it looked like tragedy had struck. In 2012 stuntman Felix Baumgartner pulled off a world first when he did a parachute jump from 23 miles above the earth’s surface.
He was the first human to break the sound barrier without the help of a machine and the stunt was streamed live by Red Bull on Youtube. Millions of people around the world tuned in to see what would happen, and millions more followed the story on news outlets in the aftermath, making Baumgartner an overnight celebrity.
The Blair Witch Project
Perhaps the first ever use of viral video marketing can be found thanks to the Blair Witch Project. A low budget horror flick, it was shot on handheld video cameras in a shaky and amature style. Clips of the movie were then circulated to US college campuses and presented as being real video diary footage, blurring the boundary between truth and fiction. The stunt worked and plenty of people were intrigued enough to go and see the film, which grossed $150 million at the box office and was shot on a budget of around $60,000.
Asda’s Free Eye Tests
A controversial refereeing decision made during the Euro 2004 football tournament prompted supermarket chain Asda to offer free eye tests to the Swiss. A swiss referee Urs Meier did not allow a goal by Sol Campbell which ended England’s chances in the tournament, so the supermarket responded with a tongue-in-cheek promotion. The chain gained a huge amount of unpaid for publicity from the press for the stunt with a very minimal marketing spend – the goal for almost every publicity stunt.
Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade
Originally conceived in 1924 as a publicity stunt for Macy’s, a New York department store, the Thanksgiving Parade started life as a handful of Macy’s employees parading around the city with local zoo animals. Now almost a century on, the tradition remains a large part of many Americans celebration of Thanksgiving, and people tune in from all over the country to see extravagant inflatables, marching bands and a cast of thousands of performers take part.
Calendar Girls
One of the greatest publicity stunts of all time was pulled off by a group of older English women with little or no marketing experience – the members of the Women’s Institute. The group of women, from Yorkshire, stripped off to pose nude for a charity calendar, with only baked goods and flower arrangements preserving their modesty. An instant hit, the 1999 calendar sold around 800,000 copies and the story sparked a hit film and musical.
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Giving Your Brand an Innovative Voice
The best publicity stunts all have a few things in common, namely that they’re totally original and very clever – and that’s what you have to consider when planning your publicity stunt. If you need to hire a celebrity to add some extra sparkle to your event then look no further – we have a roster full of celebs from all walks of life. Take a look to see if there’s someone who would fit the bill, then get in touch to find out more.
How to Plan a Publicity Stunt
Planning your very own publicity stunt isn’t a dull process. If anything, it allows yourself to get creative and give your brand memorable awareness. Whether you choose to go online or on the street, executing a well planned publicity stunt always gets the people talking.
1. Plan your concept & budget.
Firstly, plan your turnover process. All successful publicity stunts have a well-thought time schedule and budget behind them. Whether its your timescale for booking a celebrity or organising the perfect location, creating a realistic plan is guaranteed success.
2. Plan your outcomes and convey your message clearly.
Understand what outcomes and result’s you’ll want from this stunt. Your planning, selecting and booking should surround the message you want to perceive.
3. Talk to one of our agents and book your celebrity to fit the bill!
Whatever your message or brand is, we have a selection of top talents, from music to movies – contact one of our agents today to find the perfect face for your publicity stunt.
4. Get Creative!
Get creative and let your planning run wild! The more creative your publicity stunt, the more memorable your brand will be!