4 PR Stunts We Loved from April
April has been a busy month for marketing and PR bods. There was Easter, April Fool’s Day, and the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s third child. Plus, royal wedding fever is in full swing ahead of Prince Harry’s nuptials to Meghan Markle later this month.
What have organisations been doing to take advantage of these great PR opportunities? Here are a few of the best.
Cadbury’s Creme Egg pop-up in Old Street
To celebrate, what it referred to as, ‘Creme Egg Hunting Season’, chocolate brand Cadbury’s brought a unique Creme Egg pop-up to Old Street for five weeks.
The ‘hunting ground’ was set up as a forest complete with a tree house, a nest filled with giant Creme Eggs and plenty of hiding places to search for limited edition white Creme Eggs.
As well as a Creme Egg themed treasure hunt, there was a kitchen serving a selection of Creme Egg-inspired snacks, such as the Crème egg toastie, Creme Egg cookies, the Creme Egg fongo, served with breadsticks or fruit, a Creme Egg hot chocolate and Creme Egg woodland waffles, garnished with Creme Eggs — naturally.
Entry was £5, and 100% of the proceeds went to youth charity The Prince’s Trust.
This was a great way to get people egg-cited for Easter and generate goodwill with its charitable donation. Egg-cellent work by Cadbury’s.
Madame Tussauds takes the Queen to meet Prince Louis
There’s a new royal baby in town, courtesy of the Duchess and Duke of Cambridge. On April 23, Prince Louis Arthur Charles was born at St Mary’s Hospital, London, and crowds of photographers and reporters were on hand to capture the moment he left the hospital with his doting parents.
It was the perfect opportunity for a savvy brand to get some great publicity, which is exactly what Madame Tussauds did. The world-famous wax museum arranged for the Queen to pay a surprise visit to the hospital to see her newly born grandson.
‘Her Majesty’ was spotted arriving at the Lindo Wing in a black cab several hours after the announcement was made. The press went wild, until they got close enough to see it was a waxwork. Thankfully, they saw the funny side, and the stunt got Madame Tussauds some great PR, just in time for the unveiling of their new waxwork of Meghan Markle.
Another clever and timely stunt to get the waxwork brand in the spotlight.
The Royal Wedding guest list
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding has regularly made the headlines since their engagement was announced in November last year. And their latest announcement is no different.
The couple have sent invites to 1,200 members of the public, as nominated by nine regional Lord Lieutenant offices. Each person has been chosen because of their contributions to their communities and their inspiring stories.
In addition, the couple will be inviting an additional 2,000 members of the public into the grounds of Windsor Castle to watch the couple and their guests arrive. They’ll also be able to watch the carriage procession as it leaves.
In an official statement, Kensington Palace said that Harry and Meghan wanted ‘their wedding day to be shaped so as to allow members of the public to feel part of the celebrations too.’
A great way to earn brownie points with the public and secure some positive royal PR.
Ad agency Isobel’s April Fools’ prank
There were plenty of April Fools’ pranks in the media this year, but one of the more topical ones was carried out by British ad agency, Isobel. On April 1, the brand made the following announcement on its website: ‘Remember when Trump’s state visit to the UK was postponed last year due to a lack of popular support? The White House went in search of a British advertising agency to turn the President’s below par reputation around. And they’ve chosen us. Our Trump Loves Britain campaign launches today and will run digitally and in print. God bless America.’
The agency shared details of the campaign, which was scheduled to launch prior to his July 13 visit. It featured Trump posing as iconic British figures including Winston Churchill and Henry V. There was even a poster of a naked Trump with the George Cross painted on his chest: this referenced the Wayne Rooney 2006 World Cup poster, which was created for Nike. The strapline read, ‘Trump Loves Britain’.
The agency said it would work closely with the US Embassy in London to deliver the campaign. This was a great tongue-in-cheek campaign that put Isobel on the PR map.
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This article was originally published on the PR Superstar website.
