So let’s talk about some of the PR Stunts Nick Ferris has done across his positions. In other essays like Nick Ferris - Marketing Tips, Phone Calls Aren't Dead Yet we’ve talked about using old media but this next example was using cutting edge tech to draw PR. Working in predominantly B2B areas the opportunities are a little more limited - quite often you are trying to get the attention of a few hundred or a few thousands at best given the products are very niche. You’re not looking for a widespread million view of something as that won’t necessarily translate into sales.
One thing Nick Ferris pioneered back in the early 2000s was the use of gamifying to drive trials and subscriptions. He was working with Institutional Investors and trying to increase the circulation of the main magazine in his portfolio. Given the audience were predominantly traders, he worked with a third party to develop an interactive game. Don’t forget to also check out his other article Nick Ferris, Digital Marketing Beyond the Box.
The game let people catch bags of money that were falling from skyscrapers and had a league table. Adding that competitive element ensured traders (who are naturally very competitive in their industry) would play the game over and over as well as share it. The game was built by a third party for roughly $10,000 and was played by over 50,000 people.
At the end of the game, users could opt to take a free trial to the publication as well as subscribe. Nick Ferris helped orchestrate a PR release when the game came out too, so people knew about it and covered in the press. The game helped generate over 150 trials and 25 subscriptions which netted a year one profit of over $10,000 and lifetime profit which was a multiple of that.
So games really can work in the B2B space and generate sales. You have to be clever in your content and make sure it matches the audience. When you’re targeting traders, a game about puppies probably would not have worked quite so well! And be sure to Beta test. Send the demo to people who are your target audience and make any adjustments and refinements before releasing wild into the public.
The last thing you want is a PR stunt backfiring on you, advises Nick Ferris. Sometimes no PR is better than bad PR.
One thing Nick Ferris pioneered back in the early 2000s was the use of gamifying to drive trials and subscriptions. He was working with Institutional Investors and trying to increase the circulation of the main magazine in his portfolio. Given the audience were predominantly traders, he worked with a third party to develop an interactive game. Don’t forget to also check out his other article Nick Ferris, Digital Marketing Beyond the Box.
The game let people catch bags of money that were falling from skyscrapers and had a league table. Adding that competitive element ensured traders (who are naturally very competitive in their industry) would play the game over and over as well as share it. The game was built by a third party for roughly $10,000 and was played by over 50,000 people.
At the end of the game, users could opt to take a free trial to the publication as well as subscribe. Nick Ferris helped orchestrate a PR release when the game came out too, so people knew about it and covered in the press. The game helped generate over 150 trials and 25 subscriptions which netted a year one profit of over $10,000 and lifetime profit which was a multiple of that.
So games really can work in the B2B space and generate sales. You have to be clever in your content and make sure it matches the audience. When you’re targeting traders, a game about puppies probably would not have worked quite so well! And be sure to Beta test. Send the demo to people who are your target audience and make any adjustments and refinements before releasing wild into the public.
The last thing you want is a PR stunt backfiring on you, advises Nick Ferris. Sometimes no PR is better than bad PR.
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