How Leveraging the Media in Clever Ways Can Help You Stand Out

By Libby Esterle, Senior Account Executive

As part of a regional marketing and communications agency, our team is well-versed in working with the media. From proactive pitching to distributing press releases to coordinating and hosting press conferences and events, our agency has many years of experience working in media relations on behalf of our clients.

Similarly, people, organizations, and businesses have leveraged the media to gain attention for their causes, products and/or services—some with more success than others. So, this got me thinking about some of the best and most unique examples of how the media was leveraged to garner attention over the years.

One of the first, and oldest, examples that pops to mind is U2’s famous “Where the Streets Have No Name” rooftop video shoot that took place on March 27, 1987. What became a surprise free concert to more than 1,000 people in Los Angeles, the shoot is legendary for eventually shutting down the entire area and finally requiring police intervention to get the city up and moving again.

Another more recent example is how BBC Creative cleverly used a relatively simple billboard and the sunset to promote its limited series “Dracula” available on Netflix. While not a media stunt per se, the billboard attracted a ton of media attention, including social media. Having watched the series, I would highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates strong writing, excellent character development and witty banter.

Finally, who can forget IHOP’s controversial marketing campaign to introduce its IHOB name change. Interestingly, this example made both lists above proving that a “success” or “failure” really is open to interpretation. However, considering the company sold four times more burgers after the campaign, from a sales perspective alone, it was a win.