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Direct Marketing Article |
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What F. Scott Fitzgerald can teach you about
PR
By Bob Bly
F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of "The Great Gatsby," was smart enough to
understand and articulate one of the most powerful public relations (PR)
techniques ever developed.
The technique is controversy: getting attention for yourself, your business,
or your product or service by focusing on an emotional, important, or timely
issue -- and taking sides.
It works best if your opinion is contentious - that is, you disagree with
the most widely held view.
Or, as F. Scott Fitzgerald puts it: "The cleverly expressed opposite of any
generally accepted idea is worth a fortune to somebody."
Marketing expert Marcia Yudkin gives us a great example of this principle in
action.
She writes about Bob Baker, who - with three colleagues in the music
business -- collaborated on a press release titled 'What's Wrong with
American Idol?'
"Their press release criticized the popular U.S. talent show for misleading
aspiring musicians and the public about what it takes to succeed in music,"
says Yudkin. "Baker's reward for stirring up controversy: five radio
interviews that highlighted his status as an expert on careers in music."
So, how can you use this principle in your PR to get media attention?
Yudkin suggests you can do it by taking issue with a survey result ...
disagreeing with a common belief ... counteracting a stereotype ...
championing an underdog ... exposing flaws in something assumed to be
beneficial ... or describing the underside of something popular.
Example: when desktop publishing software began selling in large volume,
thousands of businesspeople gained the ability to design their own
documents.
During that time, a graphic design consultant self-published a little book
titled "The Awful Truth about Desktop Publishing." It gained him significant
publicity as well as a number of paid speaking engagements.
His premise was that amateurs who used desktop publishing software without
proper training in design fundamentals risk producing sloppy, amateurish
documents.
Another variation of this technique is to make a prediction that others
disagree with.
Financial guru Doug Casey did this in his 1979 best-selling book "Crisis
Investing."
The book, which predicted financial disaster, was on the New York Times
best-seller list for 29 consecutive weeks - taking Doug's career as a
financial editor and advisor to a whole new level.
I've used this technique myself, though on a more modest scale -- and in my
case, it was completely by accident.
In marketing, there are a lot of consultants who make a living selling
unsuspecting clients on the hot new technology of the month - regardless of
the fact that the technology is unproven and has not generated significant
ROI for any of the consultant's clients.
But the consultant, of course, rakes in nice fees speaking and advising
clients on how to jump on this bandwagon before others get wind of it.
Today that new marketing technology is probably long-format online video,
also known as video letters. But a few years ago, it was blogging.
I wrote an article for DM News, the weekly trade newspaper of the direct
marketing industry, saying that blogs were an unproven marketing medium and
nothing to get excited about.
Not knowing how evangelistic many bloggers are about their medium, I was
completely surprised when my article generated a massive debate (with most
people saying I didn't get blogging) in the "blogosphere" - the nickname for
the universe of blogs.
Tad Clark, who was Editor-in-Chief of DM News at the time, said my article
on blogging generated the most reader response of any article they published
that year.
What I discovered (or more accurately, re-discovered, since I had known it
but forgotten it), was the corollary to Fitzgerald's law about controversy
being profitable - and I am sure you've heard it many times: "ANY publicity
is good publicity."
And it's true: if you come out on one side of an issue, half the market will
revile you. But the other half will think you wise beyond your years, and
seek you out to do business with a person of your obvious savvy.
Should you worry about half the market rejecting you because of your strong
controversial opinions?
Well, if half think you're all wet ... and half think you walk on water ...
that's a 50% market share.
I'll take that any day of the week.
Of course, if you disagree with my opinion, write an article to the
contrary.
It just might make you semi-famous ... and a little richer.
About the Author:
Bob Bly is an independent copywriter and consultant with more than 25 years
of experience in business-to-business, high-tech, industrial, and direct
marketing. He has written copy for over 100 clients including Network
Solutions, ITT Fluid Technology, Medical Economics, Intuit, Business & Legal
Reports, and Brooklyn Union Gas...and has won numerous industry awards. Bob
is the author of more than 70 books including The Complete Idiot’s Guide to
Direct Marketing (Alpha Books) and The Copywriter’s Handbook (Henry Holt &
Co.). Visit: www.BobBlyMarketingBooks.com |
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