Jennifer Marko of Tampa, Florida wantes to know how to promote the “Buckle Up Florida” campaign designed to encourage people to use their seatbelts. Here are a few ideas.
From Dan Limbach of Oak Park, Illinois:
Give an unusual twist to the concept of the “cutest baby” photo contest. Ask people to submit the most unusual, cutest or most outrageous photo of themselves wearing their seat belts. The entries are likely to include everything from people dressed in formalwear–or in the buff–to truckers buckling up in big rigs.
From Kirsten Taylor of Cincinnati, Ohio:
Gather a group of people who are willing to tell their stories about how a seat belt saved their life or the life of others, then pitch their stories to various media outlets based on their target audiences.
From James Tudor of Falls Creek, Pennsylvania:
Paint a face on a melon and place it on top of a crash test dummy. Show a clip of a dummy being restrained and not hitting the steering wheel or windshield. Then show a clip of the melon being smashed and say, “This is what happens when you forget to buckle up!”
From Crystal Revak of Cape Coral, Florida:
How about the Art Linkletter approach for publicity. Stake out a variety of theme parks (Florida has soooo many) and pick out children. Then ask them “Why should you buckle up?” You may be surprised at what you hear! And there will probably be some really cute ones too.
The Publicity Hound loves using letters to the editor, opinion columns and editorials for these kinds of campaigns, yet no one suggested that. “How to Use Newspaper and Magazine Editorial Pages” is a one-hour recording of a teleseminar I conducted last year. I give you lots of ideas on how to use the opinion pages to promote your product, service, cause or issue.