While PR and advertising typically sit on opposite sides of the fence, it's also true that PR professionals sometimes help ad agencies broadcast their success stories.
Although advertisers have taken it on the chin the last few years, DiMassimo Advertising is going strong. "We really have been a true survivor in the advertising industry. We
have not been forced to merge. We are still hiring," says Managing Partner Lee Goldstein. "We really wanted to come up with a fun way to get that news out."
Enter Ian Madover, creative director at Jericho Public Relations. Longtime client DiMassimo came to Madover in April 2003 looking for an idea, and by June Madover's PR team had
put its plan in motion: A take-off on CBS' wildly popular "Survivor," in which candidates for an entry-level job in the ad agency would compete in a series of tasks. The last
remaining player at the end of a week would land a job with the agency. "Being an avid watcher of TV and especially reality television, it seemed like a perfect fit," Madover
says.
To get things rolling, Madover issued a call-to-action press release, soliciting resumes and videotapes from aspiring ad executives. This first went out as an exclusive to The
Wall Street Journal, which broke word of the contest in a news story. The PR team followed up with more press releases, as well as letters and fliers to universities, while
DiMassimo announced the contest on his Web site.
The effort generated nearly 300 resumes, from which executives from the PR and ad agencies weeded down to eight prospects. A second press release then went out naming the
finalists and detailing what would happen next: The contestants would live in the offices of the ad agency for five straight days. They would run errands, pitch clients and, at
one point, stay up for 24 hours straight while developing a campaign concept.
Not everyone at the ad agency was keen on the idea; some felt it would be demeaning to the applicants. "We did get some push-back from people on my team and people on [the PR]
team saying, 'Oh, how could you do that.' But then the thing just kind of took on a life of its own as people began to see how big it could be," Goldstein says.
He adds that the contest would produce the applicant best suited for the job. "The kind of person who would want to work here and live here for a week is the kind of person who
is right for this place," he says. "That kind of dedication and enthusiasm says a lot about who you are."
By sheer luck, the agency's 'Survivor' week started the same time as the latest season of "Survivor" premiered. This was a slam-dunk PR-wise. "In any campaign if you have a
timely element it makes it that much easier to pitch the press," Madover says. In addition to coverage in The New York Times, New York Post and Chicago Tribune, the weekly
cultural guide Time Out New York and New York Newsday each sent reporters to follow the contestants during their weeklong trial.
As far as tasks went, applicants had to generate a grass-roots campaign for Bally Total Fitness's Crunch Fitness, with a $1,000 ad budget and secure a meeting with JetBlue CEO
David Neeleman. (No one did, but no one thought they would.) And then there was the all-nighter: 24 hours sans sleep to come up with an ad campaign for the Plaza Hotel in New York
City.
Still, Madover was surprised to find that all of said activities weren't enough to fill a week. "The biggest challenge was trying to fill 24 hours a day for five days of
people's time," he says. "Normally, to come up with an advertising campaign for a client can take weeks, so we would try to make it happen in a day, which meant they would have to
put in a lot of time. We sent them to the streets to do focus group interviews, and to the library for four hours at a time to research a client," he says. "Rather than doing a
lot of smaller activities, I think we would have been better off doing just two really big projects."
Each day, the PR leaders and ad executives would get together and vote players off the "island." Those who didn't make the final cut got warm letters of reference and a chance
to post their resumes on DiMassimo's Web site. Winner Annie O'Rourke, of New Jersey, got the job, as promised.
Did the 'Survivor' stunt work? Did the ad agency get recognition it sought as an industry that is still alive and thriving? Goldstein says yes. First off, there were the
numerous press clips. Then there was the all-important industry buzz. "I hear from people throughout the advertising industry: 'I didn't know you had the money to do that. I
didn't know you were hiring,'" he says. "The buzz has just been incredible."
Contacts: Lee Goldstein, 212.253.7500, [email protected]; Ian Madover, 212.645.6900 x108, [email protected]
A PR team promoting an ad agency? Difficult, but not impossible
"Make sure they understand the difference between what they do and what we do. Theirs is the art of statement, ours is the art of demonstration," Madover says. "That means you
have to explain to them in the first meeting that it is not the end result, the ad itself, that is the most easily promoted piece of the whole puzzle. It's how they got there.
What was the planning that was involved? Did you survey people? What did you find out? That's where the gold is. That is what we promote."
"They are used to paying for space. You could spend a million dollars for a space and say whatever you want. So again you need to explain the difference, how with PR you might
spend a tenth of that, and you can still say what you want, but you have to develop that statement differently."
Fast Facts: Jericho Communications
Founded: March 1984
HQ: 304 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10013
Revenues (2002): $7 million
Number of Employees: 51
Campaign Staff: Ian Madover, Creative Director; Kathy Bell, Senior Account Supervisor; Kevin DeSantis, Senior Account Executive; Cindy Gittelsohn, Senior Account Supervisor
Campaign time frame: August 15 - October 1, 2003
Campaign budget: $150,000