"During the course of a normal workday, each of us is hit by thousands of incoming messages, e-mails, advertisements and public relations information, all demanding our time and attention. The amount has become so overwhelming that we often absorb little of it. Under these circumstances, how can anyone get our attention?
It takes a truly off-the-wall, possibly crazy, stunt to get the public's attention. That's the premise of PR guru Peter Shankman in his new book, Can We Do That?: Outrageous PR Stunts that Work — And Why Your Company Needs Them.
Shankman is the CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc., a marketing and PR strategy firm that works with such clients as Snapple Beverage Group, Napster, Walt Disney World, American Express and the Discovery Channel. He is also CEO of AirTroductions, the Internet's first in-flight dating and networking service.
Shankman does outrageous for a living, and this book is a fast-paced frolic through his escapades, highlighting the principles and tactics he developed. He makes the difficult task of getting noticed seem easy.
Shankman's book is written with an everyone-is-a-publicist approach. He suggests that every individual in business today needs a creative and sometimes outrageous edge to be successful. He gives practical methods for coming up with ideas, breaking rules and trying new techniques.
The author encourages us to become caffeinated — awake with creativity. He highlights six top rules to be creative and come up with ideas:
• Get up, stand up. Sitting in front of your computer screen until blood droplets form on your forehead will not create new ideas. You need to up the endorphins with a run, walk, hop or skip.
• Overcome a fear, and stagnation goes out the window. Shankman's suggestions include bungee jumping or going to a nightclub wearing something that will land you in purgatory for eight years.
• Talk to a child, think like a child. A six-year-old does not worry about the stock market. Children live in the moment and see what is going on in front of them.
• Walk a dog. Or a cat. Or a parrot. Or a llama. Animals don't use day planners, yet are often more focused than humans.
• If you can't get out of your office, read things you've never read before.
• Work somewhere else. Take your work to the coffee shop, the airport or the stadium. Hold client meetings in the park or at a restaurant.
The book highlights these and numerous other rules as the author takes us on a fast-pace gallop of his insights on creativity, PR and success. At the end of each chapter, he includes take-aways that read like daily reminders you might write to yourself.
But it is the stories that make this book. One of the best is how he turned the simple act of turning 30 into the greatest birthday party of the year.
Eschewing the belief that "doing things the ordinary way is a sure path to boredom and complacency," the author decided that celebrating his birthday by inviting some friends to a bar for drinks was not a challenge.
He determined that his birthday had to be "done bigger, stronger, louder and faster." He approached it as the biggest possible idea that would require pushing boundaries of his creativity.
Finally, he decided that the party should be free.
He sent an initial e-mail out to potential sponsors asking for cash or product. When one responded with the promise of product, he sent out another e-mail announcing it. A few hundred of New York's most connected people would be there, along with media, he told them. There would be a logo wall — and he would not charge the sponsor for placement!
The event did indeed become the party of the year. Held in the NYC Fire Museum, over 30 companies donated to the party. Penthouse models in NYC firehouse tank tops greeted people at the door and the local fire department brought their truck.
The New York Times, MSNBC and VH1 covered the event, among others. Over 450 people, many who did not know the author, came.
This story, as well as the many others in the book, offers an insightful look at what it takes to successfully be noticed today. Shankman's philosophy of "I wanted to see what would happen," is a great way to come up with new and exciting ideas. There are benefits for both the individual and business. And finally, he tells us, it's fun.
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