Here’s an example of a company creating a completely out-of-the-box idea by mixing in a little creativity, a little timeliness and a whole lotta controversy resulting in some incredible publicity. Too bad some thought the ingredients proved only to result in bad taste rather than a successful publicity stunt for small business.
A Georgia funeral home received a lot of publicity this week with its promotion of offering a free funeral to anyone (who registered with them and signed a contract ahead of time) who was killed in a drunk driving accident during New Years. The McGuire, Jennings and Miller Funeral Home in Rome, GA., received plenty of attention during the week of New Years.
We’re not here to say whether this was a smart decision. We’re not touching that one. But it’s the week of New Years. Drunk driving is going to be a topic of conversation. And this was one heck of a publicity stunt for small business that got attention. Plenty of news agencies were planning “Best of 2009″ stories so it was going to take some serious creativity to get a reporter’s attention. For their part, the McGuire, Jennings and Miller Funeral Home stated they were also trying to drive awareness of the dangers of drunk driving through the well-planned publicity stunt.
We’re not sure how many signed the contract, nor are we certain how many ended up satisfying their contract.
What do you think about this as a publicity stunt for small business?
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I think it’s brilliant. A bit irreverent, but that’s rarely a bad thing.