Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly - S2E09 - Marketing Stunts

Episode Date: March 3, 2013

This week we look at Marketing Stunts.Many brands try to get into the Guinness Book Of World Records as a marketing strategy. With that in mind, we’ll talk about how an energy drink staged a record-breaking jump from space, why a giant popsicle stunt melted before it even started, why unsuspecting travelers ended up running through a train station like James Bond, and how Richard Branson pulled off a stunt that drove British Airways crazy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi, it's Terry O'Reilly. As you may know, we've been producing a lot of bonus episodes while under the influences on hiatus. They're called the Beatleology Interviews, where I talk to people who knew the Beatles, work with them, love them, and the authors who write about them. Well, the Beatleology Interviews have become a hit, so we are spinning it out to be a standalone podcast series. You've already heard conversations with people like actors Mark Hamill, Malcolm McDowell, and Beatles confidant Astrid Kershaw. But coming up, I talk to May Pang, who dated John Lennon in the mid-70s. I talk to double fantasy guitarist Earl Slick, Apple Records creative director John Kosh. I'll be talking to Jan Hayworth,

who designed the Sgt. Pepper album cover. Very cool. And I'll talk to singer Dion, who is one of only five people still alive who were on the Sgt. Pepper cover. And two of those people were Beatles. The stories they tell are amazing. So thank you for making this series such a success. And please, do me a favor, follow the Beatleology interviews on your podcast app. You don't even have to be a huge Beatles fan, you just have to love storytelling.

Subscribe now, and don't miss a single beat. From the Under the Influence digital box set, this episode is from Season 2, 2013. You're so king in it. You're loving it in style. Your teeth look whiter than noon, noon, noon. You're going to love it in an instant. Your teeth look whiter than noon, noon, noon.

You're not you when you're hungry. You're in good hands with us. You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly. With all things. You're under the influence with Terry O'Reilly. It's a constellation that consists of over 2,400 stars. Every star has five points and each is unique in its own way. While it is estimated that the stars stretch for over 1.3 miles, its location is easy to remember.

You'll find it at Hollywood Boulevard and Vine and it's called the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Over 10 million people visit the Walk of Fame every year. There are five categories of stars on the walk. Motion pictures, television, recording artists, radio, and live theater. On average, about 20 new stars are added every year. To be immortalized on the Walk of Fame, your name must be put forward

to the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Walk of Fame Selection Committee, and the nominator must pay a fee of $30,000. Nominees must have a minimum of five years of experience in their chosen category, and one posthumous star is bestowed each year. Almost every celebrity you can think of has a star on the walk,

although Bruce Springsteen, Clint Eastwood, Julia Roberts, and George Clooney don't, because each has turned the offer down. Carol Burnett asked that her star be put in front of the movie theater she was once fired from as an usherette. Roger Moore's star is located at 7007 Hollywood Boulevard. James Stewart's and Kirk Douglas' stars were stolen once, but recovered. Someone took a concrete saw and removed Gregory Peck's star

and it has never been found. Only one person has a star in all five categories and that is Gene Autry. The official groundbreaking for the Hollywood Walk of Fame took place in 1960 and 1,558 stars were installed

over the next year. Two of the first stars honored were Joanne Woodward and Burt Lancaster. What many people may not know about the Hollywood Walk of Fame is that it was a marketing stunt. It was originally conceived as a way to encourage the redevelopment of Hollywood Boulevard and to attract tourism. As a matter of fact, Hollywood was in such urban decay at the time,

it took another eight years before another star was added. And it wasn't until 1978 that the city deemed it a historic monument. Stunts are an interesting aspect of the marketing business. While every stunt is different in how elaborate it is, how long it lasts, or what kind of

reaction it provokes, all marketing stunts have one thing in common. They exist to attract attention. Some are brilliant events that resound around the world. Some only shine bright for a short time. Some are subversiveive and some just don't work at all. But they are all great stories. You're under the influence. The longer I'm in the business of marketing, the more I feel that one thing stands in the way of success for most products.

That one thing is exposure. As marketer Tony Chapman says, attention is the oxygen of brand building. But getting attention for a product is a tricky business. Even established brands with big marketing budgets can suffer from a lack of attention if what they are promoting is boring or irrelevant. And many times, new products have perished

because they couldn't get enough oxygen. For many companies, marketing stunts are the answer. A marketing stunt is an interesting tactic. It can have the quick hit of guerrilla marketing or the long-term impact of an experiential event. But what all stunts have in common is that they exist outside of traditional media and traditional thinking.

On October 14, 2012, Red Bull took marketing stunts to new heights. The event was called Red Bull Stratos, Mission to the Edge of Space. Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian skydiver, wanted to set a new world record by skydiving from the stratosphere, 24 miles above the Earth. The previous record was established by retired Colonel Joe Kittinger, who skydived from 19 miles above the Earth's surface, and remarkably did it 52 years ago in 1960. The Red Bull-sponsored stunt aimed to break four world records.

First, altitude. The previous record, set by Kittinger in 1960, was 102,000 feet. Second, speed. Baumgartner hoped to break the sound barrier with his jump, which is to say he hoped to fall faster than 690 mph. Third, time. Baumgartner hoped to have the longest free-fall jump time

before deploying his parachute, breaking Kittinger's record of 4 minutes and 36 seconds. And lastly, highest manned balloon flight. Baumgartner hoped to break the existing record of 123,491 feet. The skydive was no trivial matter. Baumgartner assembled a team of experts from around the world and it took five years of preparation. Mission control for the jump resembled the Kennedy Space Center in intensity and layout. There were a lot of things that could go wrong. For starters, Baumgartner was to be put

inside a capsule that would be lifted by a 55-story helium balloon. That balloon's surface was only one-third as thick as saran wrap. The chances of puncture were extremely high. Weather was always an issue. No matter how many experts and top meteorologists were employed, Mother Nature was still in charge at the end of the day. Most importantly, Felix Baumgartner was attempting to exceed the speed of sound during his fall, without being in an aircraft. In other words, he was going to break the sound barrier with just a spacesuit on.

At that speed, at that altitude, a simple breach in his spacesuit could cause his blood to boil. After two test jumps at 71,000 and 97,000 feet, the team was finally ready on October 14, 2012. That morning, Felix Baumgartner climbed into the Red Bull capsule, and the helium balloon attached to it climbed into the sky for over two and a half hours, carrying him up to an astounding 128,000 feet, or 24 miles above the Earth's surface, 26,000 feet higher than the world record. When Baumgartner was ready, he opened the door of the capsule, saluted, and announced

he was coming home. With that, he jumped. As he picked up speed, he broke the sound barrier and reached a rate of 834.4 miles per hour. At one point,

his visor fogged up, impairing his vision. So, he deployed his parachute after 4 minutes and 19 seconds, 17 seconds short of Joe Kittinger's record. There's the chute.

There's the chute. Suddenly, Baumgartner was spotted in the sky. There he is. There's a closer shot from the helicopter. Even though he had broken the sound barrier and had jumped from 24 miles above the Earth's surface,

Felix Baumgartner managed to land perfectly and remarkably on his feet. It was an extraordinary achievement that established three new world records. It was also an extraordinary marketing stunt. First, Red Bull has historically built its brand by sponsoring extreme athletes in over 160 different sports. Red Bull's image is that of rebellion and adventure.

Their slogan is, It gives you wings. This stunt was perfectly in line with the company's image. According to Adweek magazine, the live stream video of the jump on YouTube had over 8 million concurrent viewers, the most ever on the site over 8 million concurrent viewers, the most ever on the site.

According to ABC News, the jump was shown by more than 40 TV stations and over 130 digital outlets. While the impact of the stunt is hard to quantify, the attention it generated was staggering. For example, the Dacus Group, a company that tracks over 30,000 brands and 100 million social accounts across every major social media platform

every 15 minutes, analyzed the event. According to Dacus, the Red Bull Stratos stunt was unprecedented. One million distinct user accounts talked about the stunt. If you subscribe to the traditional model that for every one person creating content, 90 more are lurking around and reading it, that suggests an audience of over 90 million following the event. And more than 61 million Red Bull Stratos impressions were generated over social media alone.

Red Bull also monetized the content from the jump by striking a deal with the Discovery Channel, probably earning back a big chunk of its investment in the process. In the end, will this marketing stunt increase sales for Red Bull? My vote is yes, because brands aren't just what they say they are, they are the sum total of what they do. Actions speak louder than words.

And people respond to brands that deliver. Red Bull walked the walk that day. The tagline, It gives you wings, was perfectly realized in a stunt that was watched the world over. Getting into the Guinness Book of World Records can be a marketing strategy for some brands.

And it makes for some interesting marketing stunts. For example, 3M just entered the book by breaking an adhesion record. In Germany, a 10-metric-ton truck was suspended one meter above the ground by a crane for a full hour. Two of the main links holding the truck up were stuck together solely with a commercially available glue that 3M makes for metals. In another entry, natural balance pet foods created the world's longest float at the Tournament of Roses parade, with a 114-foot entry that featured a giant ramp that bulldogs snowboarded down. Cosmetics giant S.D. Lauder Company entered the Guinness Book of World Records when it was cited for the most landmarks illuminated for a cause in 24 hours. 38 landmarks, including the Taj Mahal and the Empire State Building,

were lit up in pink to promote breast cancer awareness. But not all Guinness Book of World Records marketing stunts work out. Beverage maker Snapple wanted to promote a new line of frozen treats, so they attempted to erect the world's largest popsicle. The previous record was 21 feet, done in Holland in 1997. So Snapple created a 25-foot, 17.5-ton kiwi-strawberry-flavored popsicle and had it shipped to Union Square in New York. Unfortunately, the stunt took place on June 21st, the first day of summer.

The temperature that day rose to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Almost immediately, the snapsicle started melting. Thousands of gallons of sticky pink liquid poured onto the streets. Just as the snapsicle was raised to a 25-degree angle by a crane, officials halted the proceedings, afraid the gushing liquid meant the core of the giant popsicle might risk collapse. Soon, people were fleeing, pedestrians were getting stuck to the asphalt,

and bicyclists were sliding on pink, sticky East 17th Street. Eventually, fire trucks converged, and police had to close off several streets so the pink slush could be hosed away. Poor Snapple. Their stunt didn't get into the record books, but it did get them a lot of press. Just not the right kind of press.

And to add insult to injury, Snapple had to pay for the cleanup. And we'll be right back. BetMGM, authorized gaming partner of the NBA, has your back all season long. From tip-off to the final buzzer, you're always taken care of with the sportsbook Born in Vegas. That's a feeling you can only get with BetMGM. And no matter your team, your favorite player, or your style, there's something every NBA fan will love about BetMGM.

Download the app today and discover why BetMGM is your basketball home for the season. Raise your game to the next level this year with BetMGM, a sportsbook worth a slam dunk, and authorized gaming partner of the NBA. BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. Must be 19 years of age or older to wager Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have any questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. If you're enjoying this episode, why not dip into our archives, available wherever you download your pods.

Go to terryoreilly.ca for a master episode list. While a giant popsicle can get a lot of attention for a brand, another food company had their sights set on an even bigger opportunity. Kentucky Fried Chicken, we do it right. Kentucky Fried Chicken, we do chicken right. In 2006, KFC became the first brand visible from outer space. Similar to Red Bull, Kentucky Fried Chicken wanted to create a stunt that had never been done before. KFC had just updated its look and logo.

And as the president of the company said at the time, The Colonel is a truly global icon, and we want everyone in the universe to see KFC's new look of the future. To achieve that lofty goal, KFC constructed a massive 87,500 square foot logo, so large that it could be seen from outer space. It took 50 designers, engineers, and scientists three months to conceive and design, and 3,000 hours to assemble. And sure enough, a state-of-the-art geo-satellite captured a photo of the giant logo

while it circled the Earth at an altitude of 300 miles. The face from space was a news story for a day, launching the new look of KFC. It wasn't an advertisement, launching the new look of KFC. It wasn't an advertisement, noted the fast food company. It was an astrovertisement. When the London Eye was set to launch in 1999, it was a momentous occasion. The 443-foot-tall structure is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, capable of carrying 800 people

at a time. It has become the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, with 3.5 million climbing aboard each year. Welcome everyone to London, where many, many great things are happening tonight. But one of them, thanks to the passion and vision of over 2,000 people from Britain and all over Europe, Holland, France, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, has changed the skyline of London. The British Airways London Eye is the largest observation wheel in the world.

But on its launch day, it ran into a technical problem that prevented the giant wheel from being erected. So, until that problem could be fixed, the wheel just lay on the ground. The London Eye, by the way, was sponsored by British Airways,

and the airline had assembled the world's press for the big moment, except that moment had stretched into a seven-hour delay. When Virgin Airlines chairman Richard Branson was told the London Eye wheel was having trouble getting hoisted up, he instantly had an idea. He figured he'd give the press something to look at in the meantime. Within a few hours, Virgin put a blimp into the air with a message painted on its side. So, as the world's press waited for the giant Ferris wheel to be erected, they looked up

and saw a Virgin blimp floating overhead that said, British Airways can't get it up. As Branson later said, this is the stuff that makes people smile. It is done in a tongue-in-cheek way, but it is very much a part of the Virgin brand. It is this kind of fun-spirited competition that helps build a brand. The failure of the London Eye wheel to be raised up that morning was an opportunity for Virgin that Branson couldn't pass up. He grabbed it and the headlines. As the famous saying goes, fortune favors the bold.

The James Bond series, written by Ian Fleming, was mildly successful in the 1950s and early 60s. But when President John F. Kennedy was asked what he was reading in his spare time, he answered, from Russia with love. In that moment, the Bond books hit the bestseller list and the rest is history. Every Bond film is a mix of espionage, Bond books hit the bestseller list, and the rest is history.

Every Bond film is a mix of espionage, sex, gadgets, chases, double crosses, and spectacular sequences where Bond saves the planet while a clock does a nail-biting countdown. For the newest Bond film, Skyfall, Koch planned an elaborate marketing stunt to tie into the picture. When unsuspecting travelers at Antwerp Central Station in Belgium wanted to buy a Coke, they walked up to a Coke vending machine. The screen on the machine said, Touch to Order. When a customer touched the screen, a question suddenly popped up. It asked, Want the chance to win exclusive tickets to Skyfall? Next, a keypad appeared on the screen, and customers were asked to enter their name.

Once they did that, a message instructed them to Go to Platform 6. You have 70 seconds to unlock the 007 in you. Then, a digital clock started a countdown. In a YouTube video, we see a customer take up the challenge. He first rushes to the escalator to begin his run to Platform 6, where he's met by a janitor with a broom who wouldn't get out of his way. So the customer goes around the janitor and bounds up the stairs instead, and is met at the top by a gorgeous woman in a red dress, planted as a diversion. A person standing next to the woman holds a digital sign that says 59 seconds. He manages to get away from the woman in red

and runs to the next escalator, but is blocked there by two stationary joggers. Over to the stairs he goes again, wasting precious seconds, where he gets blocked by a dog walker, getting tangled in the twisted leashes of at least ten dogs. At every level, by the way,

there is a busker playing the James Bond theme. Breaking free of the canines, the customer almost runs into two men carrying a long sheet of glass that blocks his way. Just as he maneuvers around the glass, a juice fender spills a whole box of oranges on the ground. The customer slips and falls, gets up and continues running to beat the clock. He gets to yet another escalator, where he sees a digital countdown sign that now reads 39 seconds.

He runs up the long escalator, exhausted, where he encounters an area busy with people. Suddenly, a load of luggage is overturned in his way. He jumps over the suitcases, runs through the crowd, and finally, on platform 6, another Coke machine awaits with a message. It says, Unlock the 007 in you. Sing the Bond tune to get your exclusive tickets. The guy stands there, a little stunned at this final hurdle. But then he starts singing the tune

and finds himself surrounded by a group of people helping him out. He's made it in time and out pops the exclusive tickets to the premiere of Skyfall. It was a fantastic marketing stunt, perfectly capturing the twists and turns of a Bond film as well as Coke's strategy of spreading happiness.

The video I just described is on our website and you'll have to see this stunt in motion. In only four days in October, 2.5 million people had already viewed it. When I watched it

in early December, the tally was 9.5 million. And therein lies the ultimate goal with all marketing stunts. Leave them a little shaken, but plenty stirred. If you're looking for flexible workouts, Peloton's got you covered. Summer runs or playoff season meditations, whatever your vibe, Peloton has thousands of classes built to push you. We know how life goes. New father, new routines, new locations. What matters is that you have something there to adapt with you, whether you need a challenge or rest.

And Peloton has everything you need, whenever you need it. Find your push. Find your power. Peloton. Visit Peloton at onepeloton.ca. BetMGM is an official sports betting partner of the National Hockey League and has your back all season long. From puck drop to the final shot, you're always taken care of with a sportsbook born in Vegas. That's a feeling you can only get with BetMGM.

And no matter your team, your favorite skater, or your style, there's something every NHL fan is going to love about BetMGM. Download the app today and discover why BetMGM is your hockey home for the season. Raise your game to the next level this year with BetMGM, a sportsbook worth a sellie, and an official sports betting partner of the National Hockey League. BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. Must be 19 years of age or older to wager. Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you have any questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close

to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Attention is the oxygen for brand building. No truer words have ever been spoken. And nothing can get instant attention like a marketing stunt. The Red Bull Stratos stunt was five years in the making. It was a spectacle that captured the attention of millions The Red Bull Stratos stunt was five years in the making. It was a spectacle that captured the attention of millions and created three entries in the Guinness Book of World Records.

It worked because the product message was integral to the stunt. It aligned perfectly with Red Bull's strategy of extreme adventure. Creating a memorable expression of their tagline, It gives you wings. Just like 3M's glue stunt, it was born of the product promise. I suspect the giant KFC logo visible from outer space was a short-lived stunt. The same holds true for the pet food company, with the longest float in parade history.

Both forgettable because they had no tight tie-in with the products. An effective marketing stunt also needs perfect timing. And in the case of a sudden opportunity, it has to happen fast, as Richard Branson proved with his hilarious blimp message to archenemy British Airways. Some stunts only live for a day, like Branson's blimp. Some last for decades, like the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But all stunts have to be meticulously planned.

The Coke stunt for the Bond film was a case in point. It involved dozens of people and split-second timing and was memorable as a result. Yet, so much can go wrong with a marketing stunt, and things can get sticky really fast. Just ask Snapple when you're under the influence. I'm Charlie. Hi, Terry. Just heard your show on marketing stunts. Very interesting.

Listen, I have a great stunt idea for your show. Let's have all your listeners send letters to get your name put on the Canadian Walk of Fame. And because you don't really deserve it, it'll be hilarious, and the show will get a ton of Fame. And because you don't really deserve it, it'll be hilarious, and the show will get a ton of attention. And I won't even charge you for it. Under the Influence was produced at Pirate Toronto.

Sound engineer, Keith Oman. Theme music by Ari Posner and Ian Lefevre. Series coordinator, Debbie O'Reilly. Research by Lama Balagi. Download the podcasts on iTunes. See all the visual elements from this episode at cbc.ca slash under the influence.

See you next week. Bet MGM, authorized gaming partner of the NBA, has your back all season long. From tip-off to the final buzzer, you're always taken care of with the sportsbook Born in Vegas. That's a feeling you can only get with BetMGM. And no matter your team, your favorite player, or your style,

there's something every NBA fan will love about BetMGM. Download the app today and discover why BetMGM is your basketball home for the season. Raise your game to the next level this year with BetMGM, a sportsbook worth a slam dunk, and authorized gaming partner of the NBA. BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. Must be 19 years of age or older to wager Ontario only. Please play responsibly.

If you have any questions or concerns about your gambling or someone close to you, please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BitMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario.