Over the past twenty years Quite Great Music PR have created a reputation for helping acts of all shapes and sizes gain what we call , ‘splash stories’ within the national media by examining pretty much all aspects of their music, and back story to find that idea that should excite the media, some of these can be checked out on our site http://www.quitegreat.co.uk/stories-that-hit-the-headlines/ .
In recent weeks , the wonderful Meghan Trainor has shown how a superstar can create a huge buzz within the media with a fairly standard create idea – if one is to view this cynically as a method to drive sales as opposed to a real example of an artist making a serious point, which again it could be – withdrawing a video because she objected to the way her body was seemingly tampered with by her label , hence gaining millions of pounds worth of media coverage in the process.
Again , it is important to say that she may well have done this as a message to her fans highlighting the importance of being happy with the way they look , but if one is cynical it is could be viewed as a classic pr stunt.
So here are ten ways to create starting points for your own pr stunts.
If Does your idea create a headline? The media love headlines and thrive on them so by being able to sum up the impact of the idea in one exciting line you will then be able to get a feel for how it will work in the minds of the media.
Is there a social issue or current newsworthy aspect to the idea? Timing is key to any creative idea.
Give the idea a local impact as if the local media run with it then it could turn into a national story.
Make sure your idea has a strong visual aspect to it.
If your idea cannot create an impactful opening paragraph in your release , rethink the idea, make it simple and snappy.
Hijack’ an event where the media will be attending the classic is for a relatively unknown artist to take a low key awards event or charity event by storm simply by wearing a stunning outfit, but the ‘breaking your high heals’ photo can work well too.
Although not mind numbingly creative, the media love visual record breaking attempts, all you do is link in with Guinness Book of Records , make sure you fit all the criteria , alert the media and off you go.
For bigger names the relationship bust up always works , best done in a public place and then the great thing is that when they get back together there are further headlines.
Remember that with any pr stunt the impact is never truly defined as once the story is out there the dynamic and angle taken by the media can change , so be prepared!
Check the link outlined above for some more simple thought processes or even better get in touch with the guys at Quite Great Music PR and see if we can be of service Pete.