A clever PR stunt or well-formed campaign can launch your brand from unknowns into a national or even global sensation instantly. Get it right, and your unique marketing ploys and well-versed humour will win the hearts, respect and hopefully custom, of the public. 2018 has been another incredible year for PR and here are our Leeds Digital Agency’s top picks:
Greggs
Greggs have been so fantastic this year we’ve had to credit two of their PR campaigns! Back in January, they launched their Gregg’s Valentine’s dinner by teaming up with OpenTable to offer couples a unique candlelit dining experience on the 14th February. Serving up their famous pastries and baked goods with a ‘Valentines-twist’ accompanied by dimmed lighting and classical music got everyone talking about a Greggs date!
More recently, Newcastle’s Northumberland Street Greggs pulled a simple yet hilarious PR stunt by reversing their sign so that it reflected correctly in Fenwick’s infamous Christmas window display, proving that you don’t need a big budget to have successful PR!
Oasis
Oasis’ ‘Togetherness’ spoof campaign, parodied brand’s (step forward Pepsi and Heineken) focus on campaigns aligning with social-justice movements and causes. The tongue-in-cheek advertisement pokes fun at the trending campaign style in this slapstick satire that we absolutely loved. Well played, Oasis.
Watch it here.
Grenfell Tower
The ‘Three Billboards’ #Justice4Grenfell protest caused a huge stir nationwide, with the campaign calling out the lack of action being taken in the wake of the tragedy across London and, most notably, outside Parliament. Taking inspired from the drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, the publicity stunt was praised by Frances McDormand at The Oscars.
Huawei
Let’s face it; we all love a little bit of friendly trolling! This year we were treated to Huawei hijacking the queue waiting for the latest iPhone outside the Apple store in Singapore, handing the crowds free power banks telling them ‘Here’s a power bank, you’ll need it!’ Tapping into their tech-rivals frequently lamented flaw created a hilarious publicity stunt that quickly went viral.
Strasbourg Church
This campaign took immersive cinema to the next level when a church in Strasbourg screened The Exorcist as a part of an annual film festival in an attempt to raise money for its restoration. We don’t think we’d have been brave enough to go though!
Frankie and Bennys
Chain Italian restaurant caused a media stir with their family-friendly PR stunt banning mobile phones to encourage families to communicate with each other and spend quality time together. This campaign helped the brand solidify its reputation as a family restaurant and venue in the minds of the public. To add an incentive to the promotion, if families handed in their phones upon arrival, the kids ate for free.
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