My Top 5 PR Campaigns Of March 2023

I hope it’s not just me… March has felt like the longest month EVER. But we’re here now. Finally. Spring has arrived and I’m looking forward to a busy month cramming in BrightonSEO, a hen party, a bank holiday weekend, a weekend break and… A house move (hopefully) into 30 short days. I’m nothing if not always looking for a challenge.

Anyway, I’m forming a bad habit of lengthy introductions that bear no relevance to what I’m about to write. So I’ll move on. March’s roundup of PR stunts features my all-time favourite franchise ever, Scream, and its producers, as well as some nice creative and our all-time favourite International Women’s Day shunner – the PayGap App… 🫶🏻

My Top 5 PR Campaigns Of March 2023

1. Ghostface Takes NY – Paramount

Remember when Paramount launched the Smile movie last year by placing actors in well-known locations such as at the Mets? Seems that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it – as this month, Ghostfaces started popping up around New York to promote the latest instalment in the Scream franchise and its new, big city twist.

When you’ve got something (or should I say – someone) as iconic and discernible as Ghostface to work with, you can get so creative with your marketing, and I was glad to see Paramount eat this opportunity up.

2. Recycled Toys Ads – IKEA

Every now and then Twitter and LinkedIn go nuts for an OOH ad series. This is a prime example of one of those times. Sweet copywriting really sealed the deal with this one for me, the words work and the campaign promoting their latest eco-friendly toys is endearing and personable – something that IKEA do well often. I’m not sure what I love more… Shopping at their store or their wonderful PR efforts.

3. International Women’s Day – PayGap App

International Women’s Day (IWD) – for all intents and purposes – has actually become a bit of a grey area in marketing over the last few years. It can look bad if you don’t acknowledge the day, but at the same time, many businesses get accused of ‘fem-vertising’, or marketing for marketing’s sake.

So this year it’s not an IWD campaign that makes this blog, but actually a nifty piece of technology designed to call out the brands who create them. Those that deserve it, that is. The PayGap app is a bot that retweets company’s IWD messages, highlighting disparity (if there is one) in pay between men and women. And, something new for this year, how much this aperture has increased in the 12 months. It’s really important for brands to only promote values they actively support, not just stick to “cut-and-paste platitudes” once a year.

4. Celebrity Endorsements – Surreal Cereal

We looove a little risqué marketing on this blog (as long as it’s done tactfully and not tack-ily). A campaign by Surreal Cereal to suggest a number celebrity reviews for their product, but that were actually from regular people with famous names, actually, in my opinion, was more attention-grabbing than actual campaigns with actual celebrity endorsements! Small fishes in big ponds have to think big to grow, and when you’re up against the likes of Kellogs and Nestle, brands with strong and long reputations, I think it pays to take risks.

This is the kind of thing that always attracts attention in the marketing world too. And whilst a brand like this is trying to reach consumers, not other creatives, it doesn’t harm to create more noise in more niches.

5. No Smoke Without Fire – Burger King

And finally this month is a brand that is no stranger to this blog. Burger King always pop up here every now and again for the latest scandalous stunt they’ve pulled. In March, it was a newspaper ad that got my attention. Best product placement of all time..?

Burger King are a brand unafraid to make big statements – and with their biggest competitor and rival being a HUGE brand with an impenetrable McReputation, you have to be consistently outrageous. They often are. I love it.

Thank you as always for reading and for supporting me, and always happy to continue the conversation on my socials. Also, if you ever spot any campaigns you’d like to hear my opinion on, please send them my way. Always happy to hear from you. Read my other blogs here whilst you wait for the next one.