Autumn is upon us and it’s getting a little chillier to sail something down the Thames so PR and marketing firms are having to think a little outside the box to get those coverage hits this season. Halloween is always an option to build a stunt around and Candy Kittens gained some good traction with their spooky vending machine which ‘grabbed’ those attempting to pick up sweets. Although whether a company called Candy Kittens should be in the business of scaring people is another matter.
In case you were hiding under a rock, it was also Back to The Future Day a couple of weeks ago with every brand under the sun (and even David Cameron) trying to shoehorn their agenda and product into the topic. Most ideas felt a little undercooked but with so much social media leverage, you couldn’t blame everyone for trying to get involved in what was an important day for many in Generation X.
We do all like a visual stunt though and handily our winner this month was also within touching distance of the Thames. To celebrate the release of Jurassic World on DVD, a seven metre sculpture of a Mosasaurus was placed on London’s South Bank and successfully managed to scare all school children in the vicinity. It was only in situ for one day but was a great way to create a bit of extra coverage for a DVD release, which in an age of instant streaming is certainly hard to do!
Tim Thackray
