Public Stunts and Events: 7 Things You Need To Know For Planning
By now, we’ve all seen the greatly elaborate stunts from major brands like WestJet and their Spirit of Giving campaign (I tear up every time…), Coca-cola and their countless Share happiness stunts (Always a favourite!), and we can’t forget the prankvertising that has really just gone off the rails with Pepsi and race car drivers to LG and the end of the world.
The challenge is how do you tap into that type of success for your own brand, even if you don’t have the big brand budget?
Here are a few things to remember when you are considering a public stunt as a part of your marketing strategy.
#1: What’s the purpose? Before you even consider discussing your concept, make sure you can answer “why are we doing this?” Just doing a public stunt or event for the sake of doing it because you think it’s cool could mean that you will waste a huge chunk of your marketing budget on something that isn’t going to get you anywhere. For example, if you are a corporate law firm looking to get new clients, you wouldn’t throw a flash mob at the mall (sometimes an exaggerated example gets the point across). Here is where you will set your goals to determine what you want to achieve with this tactic.
#2: Decide on a budget. This is going to determine what you will be able to do for your concept. Amazing public stunts and events can be executed at all budget levels, so don’t feel you have to break your marketing budget for one tactic. It’s also important to take into account that your budget will be the first thing to slide, so you need to stay on top of it. Keep a spreadsheet of all costs and regularly go over everything with your team to make sure you are on track.
#3: Come up with a creative concept. Once you have a purpose and goals, it’s time to come up with a concept. What are you going to do to achieve your goals? It’s great to have a look at what some other companies have done, but it’s also important that you make it your own. The last thing you want is the media or your audience online talking about how you copied someone else’s idea. Equally important, your idea should fit your brand identity. You want people to immediately associate the stunt with your brand when they discuss it with their friends. Unless you have the brand awareness of, say Pepsi (and the budget to go along with it), you are going to need to do some legwork to make the connection, so make it easy for yourself.
#4: Research the date. How many times have you heard, “oh, I would come but I have another event to go to…” Or have you said that to someone else. It’s important that you do your research before setting a date. You could be planning something big for the same weekend as something else, like a festival or key industry event. Don’t set off on the wrong foot by putting yourself in competition with another event or attraction. Granted, things will come up, but, you should know what’s happening anyhow.
#5: Make a project game plan. Once you know the date of your event, you need to come up with a game plan. This means making a list of everything that has to be done to ensure the success of your stunt – will you have food, refreshments, entertainment, signage, etc. After you have made your list, work backwards from the date you have chosen to create a realistic timeline for when everything will need to get done. Remember that things often take longer than you would expect, and you should always give yourself a buffer time zone. Scheduling things to take place down to the wire is always tough, both on you as well as the vendors you have chosen.
#6: Consider a weather contingency. This is so often overlooked. If you are having an outdoor event, what happens if it rains? If you are having a winter event, what happens if there is a snowstorm? You should be prepared for everything, even if it means having a tent rental company’s number programmed into your phone for a last minute rental!
#7: What’s next? Your public stunt or event shouldn’t happen in a vacuum. You should look at your marketing strategy as a whole and when it comes to this particular tactic, you need a follow up strategy, whether it’s putting together a video from the big day, following up with media, or following up with attendees, it needs to tie in to everything.
