Expensive press stunts are a waste of money

I think that expensive press stunts are a waste of money which could be better spent on other PR activities. Whilst the quantity of coverage can be extensive, the type and quality of the coverage of poor. I'm riffing a bit on what TWL covered a few weeks back here.

Here’s my case study. Some time ago I reported about a PR pro from who was accompanying Rod Baber on his trip up Mount Everest to make the world’s highest mobile phone call. This was a PR stunt by Edelman for Motorola.

I can’t begin to fathom how resource intensive this trip must have been. But did Motorola really benefit from it?

Chances are that Edelman can show their client a lovely selection of cuttings in many major media outlets. Certainly Justin seems more than satisfied. But of those cuttings how many mention Motorola in a substantial light?

Looking at some of the online news articles now, I see that some publications haven’t mentioned Motorola at all when covering the story. Baber, probably advised by the client, was even smart enough to mention Motorola within the text message: “One small text for man, one giant leap for mobilekind - thanks Motorola”

In some cases this stunt has generated negative publicity, emphasizing the distressed caused by people taking mobile phones everywhere.

• Daily Telegraph - Is this really the type of coverage Motorola need?
  
• The Times - does this coverage really help increase sales? Note: Look at second comment – genius.
  
• Daily Mail - Mentions of Motorola, but is it in the manner that is really going to make me buy a Motorola phone?
  
• BBC News - Two mentions of Motorola, was it worth it?
  
• ABC News - extra kudos here for deliberately omitting the Motorola part of the text message.
  
• The Sun

Disclaimer: Just noticed that Rod Baber is quite local to me and runs a company called Head 4 Heights – which is a competitor to a former apt client.