How to Promote Your Business With Low-Cost Events and Clever Stunts 

by Dr. Kevin Nunley

iPrint sends actors dressed as ancient Roman soldiers into downtown San Francisco to get attention and hype the company's latest offer. Evite's CEO wanders the financial district handing out thousands of brightly colored pens emblazoned with the company logo.

The latest marketing trend in Silicon Valley is a time-honored guerrilla marketing promotion method that is almost free. Some of the Net's hottest start-ups are pushing their products and ideas with promotional events, creative promotional stunts, and clever gimmicks.

Companies like Evite, Ask Jeeves, and TheStreet.com have made stunts ranging from flooding Wall Street with singers to dropping fruit on passersby an important part of their marketing plans. Why use this method that some might consider the poor cousin of mainstream advertising?  Stunts and gimmicks work, especially when they are creative and well done.

It wasn't too long ago that corporate web start-ups were awash in money. The conventional wisdom was you couldn't launch a new idea without a minimum of $20 million in ad budget.

The tech crash that followed forced a lot of companies to abandon their lavish advertising. Instead, they are turning to the mother of invention, creativity. When you don't have cash, you get creative.  This usually results in better, more interesting marketing.

In an age when all your prospects and customers are constantly bombarded by advertising, a good stunt can look unusual,  get attention, and help your message cut through marketing clutter. Even better, stunts often get media coverage. You come off looking creative and energetic in front of thousands of prospects.

Once you have a great stunt in place, it doesn't take much copy writing to get television, newspapers, and magazines to cover you. 

Television is looking for something visual. Giant checks and swimming pools filled with Jell-O always bring out the cameras. I once got my face on the prime time news just for pulling out a small shovel while competing in an ice cream eating contest. It was funny and visual, just the kind of thing TV producers love.

Newspapers generally want an event that relates to a topic in the news. Create a team to solve a pressing local problem. Provide a humorous twist on a popular controversy.

Call the news desk and ask who covers your kind of story. Give the reporter a quick rundown of  the most interesting facts about  your event (be sure to give them the juicy stuff first). Then follow up with a press release. Include your phone number and email so the reporter can quickly get back to you with questions.

Writer/actor Stefene Russell remembers one film director who had to promote a new movie with almost no budget. He worked to find unusual local performers or performers that have a cult following.

* The director hired one crew member to dress up in a Lobster suit and lead a local marching band around the city.

* For another event, he had an eccentric oldies group perform.

* The director created a  contest where people submitted answers to trivia from the movie, then gave away t-shirts, videos, and little tchochkes.

* He created a film festival in  a small town, had a parade  consisting of the local fire and police vehicles followed by local children, and sponsored horseshoe throwing, a swap meet, and lots of really bad monster movies.

The list  of clever events and stunts is endless.  Hire a pilot to write  your message in the sky over rush hour traffic or tow your  banner past fans in a stadium. Give away mouse pads, pens, and coffee cups with your logo on them. Rent ALL the space on a taxi or bus. Cover every inch with your logo and slogan.

Most good events and stunts are little more than street theater. All you need are some energetic participants, some props, and maybe some simple costumes. Find a location where your target audience will be. Once a radio station I worked for sponsored an impromptu concert  in a park that normally drew 10,000 visitors each weekend. We automatically doubled that count for a whopping audience of 20,000.

Because media already have an  audience, look for ways you can partner with them and share that audience. Offer to provide a service or prizes to a radio station. When a celebrity comes to town to promote a movie or book, have them stop by your store to sign autographs. Create an event that ties the celebrity to a local concern. Then call the media.

Don't forget about local talk radio and TV programs. They need a constant supply of interesting people, experts, and comedy.  Use your coming event as an excuse to get a foot in the door with talk hosts and their producers.

A few words of caution: don't destroy property, stay within the bounds of public taste, and get permission from land owners or local government before staging an event. Having your employees arrested or getting bad press may do more harm than good to your cause.

Creative events and stunts have been around forever. Because they combine fun and creativity with very low cost, they are still a marketing strategy you shouldn't miss. Use events to stretch your ad budget, to punctuate your regular advertising, and to give your marketing a high-profile lift.

Note: this article was originally written for DEMC e-magazine.

Kevin Nunley provides marketing advice and copy writing for businesses and organizations. Read all his money-saving marketing tips at http://DrNunley.com/ . Reach him at kevin@drnunley.com  or (801)253-4536.