4 Irresistable Ways to Gain Major Media Attention without an Ad Budget
Sometimes being controversial can be extremely beneficial.
Take the Super Bowl, for example.
For the 2007 Super Bowl, advertisers are scrambling to spend up to 2.7 million dollars for a 30 second spot.
6 Years ago it was only one million dollars.
We, like a gazillion cash-conscious business owners, thumbed our noses at their stupidity for, yet again, falling into that inevitable pit of wasted dollars.
This year we may need to rethink snubbing our noses.
While Toshiba sinking millions into a Super Bowl commercial makes no sense, other advertisers would be wise to spend this money [if they have the pocket book, of course] because they have more than just the 30-second spot to bank on.
Super Bowl advertisers mean to entertain audiences. However, the target isn’t so much the 90 million viewers. Rather it’s the millions who will chat about the commercial after the event.
Thanks to the Internet, they’ve got the aftermath on their side, the buzz. Some good buzz And some bad.
Here’s what I mean…
And here’s how you can generate the buzz and leads that $2.7 million buys…without spending a single dime.
1. Take a Stand on an Important Issue
Last year General Motors cried “uncle” when president Robert Gebbia of the pint-sized AFSP [American Foundation of Suicide Prevention] rose a stink after he heard about a commercial where an assembly-line robot dreams of getting fired and jumping off a bridge.
[Note: the video is no longer available.]The next day Gebbia sent a sharply worded letter to GM telling them to yank the letter. When word got out that they did, a firestorm of coverage was unleashed.
In pure numbers, the AFSP generated 39.1 million impressions in print and 13.4 million impressions on TV.
This excludes radio and Internet. Talk about power.
Gebbia’s annual budget is $9 million. Employs 31 people. And spends nothing on advertising.
In the real estate world, this translates to being involved in more than just business: take up a significant cause, and put your heart and soul into. Not to get attention, but to make a difference in your community.
And when that crucial line gets crossed, smeared or defamed, blow the whistle.
However, even if a crucial moment to take a stand never materializes, your good efforts will not go unrewarded.
2. Make Fun of Someone Popular
With their permission, of course.
More than two weeks before the 2007 Super Bowl, Nationwide ran an ad where Kevin Federline [ex-hubby to Brittny Spears] plays a fast-food worker who dreams of becoming a rap star.
Several days later the trade group National Restaurant Association sent an angry letter to Nationwide CEO. NRA complained trade members were concerned over how the industry was portrayed.
This backfired.
Federline quickly apologized. Nationwide, on the other hand, was offended, explaining the only person they were making fun of was Federline.
The public responded by agreeing with Nationwide.
Nationwide’s benefit amounted to $24 million in unpaid media exposure. 10 times more than what Nationwide paid for the ad.
The moral from NRA’s perspecitive: don’t be hypersensitive. The point for you: be creative, and toe the line. It could ruffle some feathers in your favor.
3. Flirt with Controversy
Whether Nationwide flirted with controversy is debatable. Pepsi, on the other hand, there’s no question they are borrowing controversial equity.
This year Pepsi will launch an ad with Justin Timberlake, who was involved in the 2004 Super Bowl “wardrobe malfunction” with Janet Jackson. [This video, too, is no longer available.]
The new Pepsi spot doesn’t allude to that incident.
It shows Timberlake escaping a series of disasters caused by a pretty girl sitting poolside sipping her Pepsi.
“Word that he’s in the ad has gotten quite a buzz, probably because of his connection to that past Super Bowl,” says Pepsi (PEP) spokeswoman Rebecca Madeira.
Allude to past controversy and you borrow the buzz around that event. Low-cost, but dense with conversation.
4. Create a Sticky, Victoria Secret-Style Event That’s Easily Mashable
After a nine-year absence, lingerie retailer Victoria Secret plans to generate some online buzz by resurfacing this coming Sunday.
Doesn’t take much to do this.
The National Organization for Women says it plans to relaunch its national Super Bowl Ad Watch that it last oversaw in 2003. I wonder why.
After the Super Bowl, thousands of men will hunt down the commercials online and share them with their buddies. Kind of like what happened with Ekday.
It’s just the nature of the Internet beast.
Furthermore, create a sticky video and people will even create mash ups of them, because this is an ever increasing format in which people are consuming online content…
That happened to the Cadbury Gorilla video. Go on YouTube and you’ll find dozens of renditions of this video.
In essence, mash ups allow viral ideas to spread by mutation rather than in a pure linear way.
This is really about letting go of control. Let me know what you think.
