Outdoor Events & Advance Ticket Sales

Publicity Stunt Results
In less than a week, the video above has amassed almost 8 Million YouTube views. Some consider the publicity stunt (for Cohen’s upcoming movie) the biggest highlight of the 2012 Oscars.  On Monday morning after the Oscars, the gag above was played repeatedly on almost every major news channel. It would cost millions … if not tens of millions of dollars … in advertising to generate the same level of buzz.

It Actually Takes Work
After watching the video, you might be asking, “ok, Eugene what does this have to do with promoting my event?” On the surface, not much … And, I’m not encouraging you to go out and “ash-bomb” the Oscars, or some else equally ridiculous. But if you dig deeper into Cohen’s gag, you’ll see all the work that goes into generating massive publicity. To pull off a gag at the Oscars (that actually works) doesn’t happen by chance! Gone are the days when you could post a video (funny or not) and HOPE it went viral. Today, there is so much social media that it’s hard to cut through all the noise. When trying to generate publicity for your event, you need to make sure it’s a well thought out process

Here are some ideas from the world famous P.T. Barnum on creating publicity for your event …

• P.T. Barnum on Advertising
• Barnum & Hyping Up Your Event
• Curiosity Advertising P.T. Barnum Style
• Your Event, Stories, and P.T. Barnum
• The World’s Best Event Promoter Is . . .
• Turn Your Event Into an Experience
• Online Marketing Like P.T. Barnum
• More Marketing Like P.T. Barnum (Part II)

Are you considering getting someone to help you with event PR?
Generating great publicity for your event takes a tremendous amount of work and knowledge. My strong recommendation, if you have the budget, is to hire a well-established publicity firm with a proven track record.  If you’re going to use a volunteer, they NEED to have a strong background in public relations.