For this week’s “Double Shot” installment, I want to share two examples of creativity in action:
- Mark Drapeau walks us through the a buzz-generating campaign orchestrated by Crooked Monkey — a t-shirt company. As he wrote, “Crooked Monkey kept busy, elite attendees who get invited to tons of events mentally engaged with their event for weeks. They made us part of telling their story. They got us to talk about their brand before, during, and after the event.” Talk about putting the public back in public relations. Mark, a guy who doesn’t even like t-shirts, is now blogging about them on one of the most well-read PR/social media blogs around. Want to know how this company worked their magic? Check out Mark’s post.
- I think it’s a rare occasion when a PR person can simply tell a client “no.” (If ever.) When the answer is “no,” it’s our job to present alternative solutions to help clients accomplish the real goals. For example, what happens when a client asks to distribute a press release to announce the company’s new website? We know its not news, but it’s hard to explain that to a client who just sunk lots of resources into this new communication hub. They want to drive new traffic to the site — understandably. More than likely, a press release won’t make that happen … but a virtual scavenger hunt just might do the trick. That’s what HIAS is trying next week. Check out this press release from Sevans Strategy to see exactly what the nonprofit is doing. I think it’s an incredibly creative way not only to get people to the site, but to get them checking out multiple pages and actually reading the content. Very, very smart.