How a Gorilla in a Grocery Story Made the News

Great grassroots marketing tip on The Publicity Hound’s Blog: Pitch stand-alone photos ideas to weekly newspapers.

When Tom Holubowicz wanted publicity recently for his custard stand in Grafton, Wisconsin, he donned an ape costume and visited the local Pick ‘n Save supermarket to buy bananas for Monkey Pox, his “flavor of the day.”

The recipe calls for bananas, custard and chocolate-covered peanuts.

Before he left, he called The News Graphic, his local weekly newspaper and told them it would make a great photo op.

(You'll have to read Joan's blog post to hear the great marketing results!)

Gets you thinking, doesn't it?  What kind of photo opp could you stage for instant-gratification PR?  Joan's example makes me think of Scrapbook University's "Chicken Soup" party.  SU co-owner Ami Mizell-Flint contributed a story to Chicken Soup for the Scrapbooker's Soul.  To celebrate the book's release, the store pledged to donate a can of chicken soup to a local soup kitchen for every book sold in the store.  Of course they let local media know about the event, and got great coverage as a result.

So be thinking about something you can do to gain media attention.  The custard stand owner needed bananas - he just took it a step further and bought them in a gorilla costume.  Ami wanted to promote a book her store was selling - she took it a step further by also making it a charity event.  Both business owners also made sure to notify the media.  Is there a media opportunity waiting out there for you?  I'd love to hear about it!