Three Fabulous PR Campaigns from February

There were some brilliant PR campaigns from February, including Fatboy Slim and Deliveroo’s ‘Deliverave’; US charity The One Love Foundation’s Valentine’s Day chocolates that highlighted the dangers of toxic relationships; and an Australian zoo’s unusual campaign to find a name for one of its venomous brown snakes.

Let’s start with British DJ, Fatboy Slim and food delivery service, Deliveroo.

Fatboy Slim and Deliveroo team up for a gig with a difference

In conjunction with Deliveroo, Fatboy Slim AKA Norman Cook launched a competition to grant one lucky Deliveroo customer the chance to host the final night of his UK tour in their home. Dubbed ‘Deliverave’, the winner and a group of friends got to enjoy an arena-standard set played by the legendary DJ, and a feast fit for a king, courtesy of Deliveroo. Ten lucky runners-up were also chosen to win a pair of tickets to a date of their choice on his UK tour. The tickets were delivered in special Fatboy’s pizza boxes.

Why it’s a winner

Unsurprisingly, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity caught the attention of the press and Deliveroo customers, who entered the competition in droves via an online ballot. And the timing was perfect, as it gave Fatboy Slim’s tour a nice plug.

This PR campaign had the magic combination of celebrity endorsement and the scarcity factor, which is always a winner. By nature, we don’t want to ‘miss out’. If you can pull a unique collaboration like this off, you’re pretty much guaranteed to have the press falling over themselves to write about it, and the public wanting a slice of the action.

The One Love Foundation shows us that love is like a box of chocolates

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, American charity, The One Love Foundation, launched a special-edition box of chocolates to get people talking about their relationship behaviours. The box contained eight unique chocolates, which represented different relationship traits. There was Respect, Honesty, Equality, Independence, Sabotage, Obsession, Isolation and Manipulation. ‘Honesty’ was a transparent chocolate with nothing to hide. ‘Manipulation’ was filled with a caramel so sticky that it locked your jaw and was hard to swallow. ‘Jealousy’ contained a bitter centre of orange marmalade, that was fairly harmless to begin with, but ended up leaving a bad taste in the mouth. ‘Respect’ was a bold dark chocolate decorated with gold saffron, ‘the world’s most revered spice’.

Each box contained a leaflet, describing each flavour and the corresponding behaviour traits.

Why it’s a winner

This PR campaign made my list because it was innovative, topical, and right on message. The charity’s aim is to ‘ensure everyone understands the difference between a healthy and unhealthy relationship’. The message came across loud and clear with this clever campaign.

Also, creating chocolates that tasted like feelings was a novel way to get people talking about their relationships and re-thinking the way they behave towards their partners.

The campaign won lots of acclaim from the trade press, online news sites, and social media sites. It’s safe to say the One Love Foundation is enjoying the sweet taste of success with this one.

Australian zoo invites the public to name a poisonous snake after their ex

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, Wild Life Sydney, a zoo in Australia, launched a competition with a sting in its tail. In the run-up to February 14, the public were invited to name one of its newest additions, a brown snake, after an ex-partner. To enter, people had to register their snakey ex’s name online and explain why the deadly snake should be named after them. Entrants were also asked to make a $1 donation to the Wildlife Conservation Fund, which is dedicated to conserving Australian native wildlife by conducting research and educational programmes and events.

The lucky winner will not only know that their ex will forever be remembered as a cold-blooded reptile, they’ll also get a certificate and the opportunity to visit the reptile for free for a year.

The campaign was a big hit with the public. There was a flurry of activity as people reacted to the zoo’s competition with delight, tagging their friends and vowing to submit the names of their ex or, in some cases, exes.

Why it’s a winner

This was a clever campaign. It was simple and unique, cost the zoo next to nothing, and secured them thousands of pounds of publicity. The story first appeared on Mashable but has since appeared all over the internet.