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VIDEOTen Promotional Stunts That Horribly Backfired
By
Mike Schuster
Jul 28, 2009 12:55 pm
Turning word of mouth into loss of revenue.
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A straight-forward ad inside People Magazine or a witty banner on the side of a city bus doesn't seem to cut it any longer. What really generates word of mouth is a flashy and often explosive spectacle.
Take, for example, some of the most successful publicity stunts of all time.
Would Artisan Entertainment's (LGF) Blair Witch Project generate all that buzz if it wasn't billed as a tragic, true-life documentary? A website featuring photos of the "missing" actors was set up as a makeshift memorial to the 3 young students. Missing-person fliers were distributed and fake local news reports were produced to amplify the ruse. Once IMDb.com listed the actors as "deceased," the movie had reached a level of epic publicity and led to a highly lucrative box office -- all thanks to a creative marketing team.
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In 1993, DC Comics (TWX) actually had America believing the finality of death in the comic-book world. Billed as the biggest death in the history of graphic novels, The Death of Superman issue had media coverage akin to the assassination of a foreign leader. Conveniently timed when the Superman storyline was struggling to keep readers excited, the Man of Steel's demise generated millions of sales -- much of which were made by non-comic book fans -- and boosted interest in Kal-El's adventures following his inevitable resurrection.
Though well-executed promotional stunts can bring in new customers as well as some great press, they can just as spectacularly backfire.
Who could forget -- certainly no one in Jersey City -- when the White House dispatched Air Force Two and 2 F-16 fighter jets for an eye-catching photo opportunity over the Hudson River? What might have been a publicity stunt of questionable intent, the spectacle became a source of panic for everyone in Jersey City and Lower Manhattan for one major reason: Nobody was informed beforehand. The image of a large aircraft flying low and banking sharply over high rises evoked images of September 11 -- and rightfully so. Buildings were evacuated and distress hit the streets -- including Wall Street, whose stocks dipped when news hit the trading floor.
All because someone didn't pick up a phone the day before.
While the majority of promotional stunts don't hit such a height of failure, many do negate any positive buzz they intended to generate. In the cases of the following 10 items, the quality of the products may vary, but the amount of thought put into the stunts must have been very slim indeed.Twitter: @mcs212
No positions in stocks mentioned.
