Happy National You Day! How to Generate PR out of Thin Air

In past posts we’ve covered pull vs. push marketing. While terrific as a strategy to boost sales, have you ever considered implementing these tactics into your business on the PR side?

Take holidays and other special “awareness” weeks or months. We’re all aware of Christmas and Mothers’ Day marketing, and you probably already capitalize on these to spike your sales. However, the media is always looking for timely stories. Designated months or weeks (for example, Fire Prevention Month and Children’s Book Week) can represent an ideal opportunity for your business to support a movement while getting profiled.

So what if these aren’t relevant to your world?

Try creating a holiday, just for your business: “A Festivus for the rest of us.” Before you dismiss this as absurd, know that two guys took the time to create International Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19) –which has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and on CNN.com, made the #1 trending topic on Twitter, and now has 34,000+ fans on Facebook. Anyone in the costume business is laughing all the way to the treasure chest with the additional opportunity for sales and exposure.

The lesson: if you think there’s no way your widget deserves its own day of recognition, don’t kid yourself – there are more ridiculous ones out there. For example, just in September:

Skyscraper Day – 9/3

National Cream-filled Donut Day – 9/14

Felt Hat Day – 9/15

Collect Rocks Day – 9/16

So how does one go about creating a holiday?

1) Know who you are trying to reach.

Example: Last year CityMax.com organized Canada’s first-ever Entrepreneur Spirit Day: A Celebration of Small Business – a huge party for business owners, business students, and anyone else who shared the entrepreneurial spirit. I timed it to coincide with Small Business Month (October) – a national designation that very few organizations across the country were celebrating, much less leveraging on any sort of scale.

Questions to ask: Is there a pre-existing day/week or can you create one? Perhaps you could put a twist on it?

For example, Small Business Month was already taken,  but there was no specific day that had yet been organized to kick-off the festivities.

2) Identify the key people whose involvement will give your cause legitimacy.

I compiled a list of key influencers to celebrate Spirit Day with us, including politicians, government officials, CEOs, media and business school faculty. We billed the event as a momentous occasion and planned it as such, providing live entertainment and music, food and drink. After using our various networks to land our first “VIP” RSVPs, we leveraged their clout to help the event gain momentum via word-of-mouth. Remember, as it’s an event – traditional hand-written invitations go a long way.

Questions to ask: Who are your key influencers? Government? Public advocates? Local experts?

Is there a local celebrity who shares a similar passion that might endorse your cause?

3) Create a narrative and execute your plan.

During the peak of the recession, we thought that small business owners could use a pick-me-up recognizing their admirable efforts as the engines of our economy. We decided early on that Entrepreneur Spirit Day would be a low-barrier, fun party – in keeping with the title, a Celebration of Small Business. That meant no self-promotion or selling. Stuffy speeches would have detracted from the spirit of the day so instead we focused on loud music, good times, with food and drink aplenty.

Every attendee received a nametag and a chance to vote on 3 international global entrepreneurs that CityMax.com would sponsor through KIVA.org. They were also encouraged to write messages of support or celebration for posterity. The event was attended by over 300+ people representing tens of millions in annual business revenue, and included several city councillors, provincial MLAs, and several prominent figures in Vancouver’s business community. The event received numerous glowing reviews and even a special commendation in the B.C. House of Commons by MLA Jenny Kwan.

Questions to ask: What’s the angle behind your holiday? Why should people care about your cause? Find a way to get people engaged without over-promoting yourself.

Another excellent example is provided by our friends at Grasshopper Group, who took this similar cause to a complete new level with their movement. Rather than holding an event, they’ve utilized key influencers to spread an online petition targeted at reaching the White House. Their goal? To have President Obama declare November 19, 2010 National Entrepreneurs’ Day. To date, they have mobilized thousands of supporters and amplified their message, as the initiative has attracted coverage in outlets such as Inc., the Boston Globe, and AOL Small Business.

The Takeaways: Generate buzz by creating a movement (national, provincial, or even in just city-wide). Tap into popular sentiment and get people inspired. Thinking big, thinking celebration, and thinking in terms of your audience – no matter how niche – can help you generate some wicked PR.

Patrick Lok is Town Crier at CityMax.com, an easy website builder company that has helped 572,000+ small businesses owners grow online. Read more about Patrick here.

Matthew Toren

Matthew Toren is an Award Winning Author, Serial Entrepreneur, and Investor. He Co-Founded YoungEntrepreneur.com along with his brother Adam. Matthew is co-author of the newly released book:Small Business, Big Vision: “Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market from Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who Did it Right” and also co-author of Kidpreneurs.