This was one expensive — and dangerous — publicity stunt. However, Red Bull reaped worldwide attention, and the descent went as planned without trouble. It is unlikely that anyone else will try a similar freefall in the months, or years, to come so Red Bull has reaped long-term positioning from the highest-ever parachute jump. The video […]
Posted on October 15th, 2012 by admin
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The MacArthur Awards have been announced and 23 people will each get $500,000 to pursue their interests over the next five years. The awards are ingenious for their publicity value and their ability to highlight people who have worked in near obscurity. The whole process of nominating and picking recipients, done in secrecy, makes the […]
Posted on October 3rd, 2012 by admin
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Roomba has a neat way of publicizing its 10th anniversary. (Pun intended.) The robo-vacuum cleaner company has illustrated the dimensions of dirt that its machines have sucked up as well as miles driven, all without intervention of a harried householder. One can learn a lesson or two from the way the company has gone about […]
Posted on September 18th, 2012 by admin
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Here is an attempt to generate publicity that not only works but one can’t help smile. Donkeys with WiFi in a biblical theme park. It comes under the “what will they think of next” category. One can be sure Moses and the prophets did not have the same advantages nor did they foresee a day […]
Posted on August 23rd, 2012 by admin
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The presidential campaigns of 2012 are proving that social media needn’t be social and in fact, are one more publicity vehicle. That is the conclusion of just-released study. Obama and Romney have turned social media into controlled media — distribution points for electioneering fodder. One should have expected this. The idea that a candidate would […]
Posted on August 16th, 2012 by admin
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Here are two cases of publicity that backfired. Both deal with the cost of “green” jet fuel for military aircraft. Although the demonstrations in the Navy and Air Force were tests of the viability of alternative fuel, the cost of $26 per gallon and $59 a gallon respectively set teeth on edge in Congress. […]
Posted on July 16th, 2012 by admin
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This is an interesting story of cyber warfare and an unusual way to do publicity. Attack the enemy’s web sites with truth. Let the Muslim public know the facts rather than the promises of terrorists. Al Qaida in Yemen must be unhappy with the exposure of the number of Muslim civilian deaths from its activities. […]
Posted on May 25th, 2012 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 199 Comments »
This is a dumb publicity stunt — getting protesters to picket an Apple store. It’s dumb because it won’t change anything. RIM is far behind Apple in the production of leading-edge cell phones. There is no immediate chance that the company will catch up. So, you make news and you get an evanescent headline. So what? Consumers […]
Posted on May 3rd, 2012 by admin
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When you have two shrewd players generating publicity, you get stories like this. The Smithsonian and NASA are adept at sparking articles and with the retirement of the space shuttle, they are milking media interest. One could ask if the space shuttle rode on top of a 747 in the past, and of course, it […]
Posted on April 16th, 2012 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 179 Comments »
Here is a case in which a PR practitioner and/or marketer should have checked first before flaunting an “award.” The person who gave the so-called award is citing the company for “The most dumb-ass drug promotion of 2012.” It seems there was no real judging behind the original award, and there was no intent that […]
Posted on March 30th, 2012 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 46 Comments »
