In the late 1960s and early 1970s, along with a small band of supporters, Frumkin embarked on a true Guerrilla campaign to increase awareness of the plight of Soviet Jews. Over the years, he evolved into a media master, and almost single-handedly he rallied the public around his issue with his tactics.
Nothing was too dramatic for Si. He spray-painted the words “Save Soviet Jews” on the side of the first Russian tanker in L.A. harbor. He hired a helicopter to fly over the Super Bowl trailing a banner reading “Save Soviet Jewry.” When Leonid Brezhnev visited Richard Nixon at San Clemente, Si released five thousand helium balloons with the words “Let My People Go” emblazoned on them. Wherever and whenever he could, Frumkin and his cohorts appeared at Soviet cultural events dressed in their indigenous Soviet costumes, handing out literature, creating a stir, and making people feel uncomfortable.
His creativity brought constant media attention. He launched a campaign to have Americans send their unused holiday cards to the Soviet embassy in Washington, pleading to release Soviet Jews. He staged a musical at synagogues around Southern California. He even jokingly contemplated a “Martyrs for Soviet Jews” campaign wherein he and his friends would break their legs skiing at Mammoth Mountain.
“We wanted to have bathing beauties stand before City Hall with signs, but we couldn’t get enough pretty girls,” he says.
Si’s prankish wit helped him survive the long days of struggle, but his instinctive understanding of the media made him a natural Guerrilla P.R. genius. “The first thing we wanted was to get the media talking about us,” he recalls. “In many cases the publicity we received was because we were confrontational. We never did anything overtly violent, but the media love confrontation. If we annoyed people, too bad.”
Si made a distinction between his P.R. goals and those of others. “It was not a question of winning people over,” he notes. “Normally the aim in P.R. is to get people to like you because you want them to buy your product. That was not true for us. We wanted to convince the world of our strength and the rightness of our cause. My feeling was that those people hostile to us because we picketed a basketball game would never be sympathetic anyway, and they didn’t matter.”
Working with next to no budget, Si relied on street smarts. He set up a darkroom to develop his own photos of magnet events and rush them to the papers. And he understood the needs of editors. “The average planning desk at a TV station or newspaper has about three hundred items every morning,” says Si. “They have to decide where to send the five or six available crews and reporters. We tried to make things ‘sexy.’ We poured blood and excrement in front of buildings, burned Soviet flags, whatever was visual.”
His activities made him the reigning “expert” on Soviet Jewry, so the media called him whenever comment on the subject was needed. “They didn’t call me because I was wonderful, but because I had the information.” Today, with so many Jews departing the former USSR, Si feels vindicated and ecstatic. “It’s a miracle,” he says. “Ten years ago, if I were told a million Jews would be leaving with many more to come, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
His advice to other Guerrilla publicists: “Believe in what you’re doing. Be totally dedicated, and be ready to work eighteen-hour days. Learn enough skills to check up on the professionals who supposedly know better. Chances are they don’t know any more than you do.”
You can find out more about Si at www.sifrumkin.com.
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6
Data Smog
The Media. It sounds like a convention of spiritualists.
—Tom Stoppard
As I’ve noted, one of the main differences between 1993, when the original edition of this book was published, and now is the geometric proliferation of media sources. In 1993, there were newspapers, magazines, television (with far fewer stations), and radio. That’s not the case today.
With blogs, Web sites, podcasts, MP3s, DVD, and so many other media choices, there has developed, in my view, a condition I’ll call data smog. It’s the thing that happens to your brain when too many media outlets bombard you with messages: your eyes glaze over, your mind wanders, and you are no longer a valid consumer of information. You’re a zombie.
You don’t even know it, either. We are assaulted with media messages, it has been estimated, every few seconds these days. Try to remember the last time you walked into a bar that didn’t have a television on. Think of the last time you watched a newscast that did not have more news crawling across the bottom of the screen like a tiny version of the ribbon in Times Square. Newspapers, even as they condense in number, are offering smaller, quicker, more easily digestible nuggets of information with considerably less depth and analysis. And that doesn’t even begin to assess the impact of the Internet.
Whether you’re a fan of Matt Drudge or Arianna Huffington, I’m willing to bet you get at least some of your news every day from an Internet source. Yahoo!, Google, Reuters, and countless other Web sites offer looks at the news that you can customize to emphasize your own interests and to exclude that which you don’t find interesting. Every major news organization has at least one Web identity, and even if you’re not concerned with anything but leisure, you can get sports scores, cartoons, interviews with celebrities, and fashion trends, among millions of other things, just by checking in with bloggers, Web sites, and podcasts or Webcasts.
Add that all up, and you have the top three inches of the iceberg that sunk the Titanic. There are so many media outlets now that it’s utterly amazing we don’t all have our own television shows. Clearly, someone else is using up our fifteen minutes of fame.
Given that, is it any wonder that we don’t sometimes overload? It’s impossible to walk out of the house (iPod buds in ears; Bluetooth cell phone at the ready with games, video and text messages; car equipped with GPS, DVD, and XM satellite) and drive or commute past video billboards, BlackBerry e-mails, laptop using Wi-Fi on the train—and not feel overwhelmed by it all.
Data smog envelops us without our even being aware of its existence. We ignore most of what we see and hear because we simply can’t consciously process that much information all at one time. We don’t listen to most of what we’re told, and we don’t see much of what we’re shown, not because it wouldn’t interest us, but because we can’t cut through all the interference being created by millions of messages coming at us, whether or not they’re intended for us, all at the same time.
We are a civilization with attention deficit disorder, and we have been brought up to be that way by media sources and corporations desperate for our attention. It’s not an evil plot (well, most of it isn’t, anyway); it’s simply a question of everyone trying to take advantage of the media avenues open to them in an attempt to reach a wider audience.
Perhaps Guerrilla P.R. has contributed to data smog. Because it is no longer prohibitively expensive to communicate with large numbers of people, more and more companies and individuals are trying to do so. And they are contributing to the pollution of information that surrounds us and jams our frequencies.
What does that mean to you as an aspiring Guerrilla? It means several things:
You have to work harder—there’s way more competition than there used to be.
You need to be careful to tailor your message to a target demographic—decide who your audience is, and aim specifically for that group.
You must be even more creative. Creativity is even more important now than it was in 1993; not only do you have to find your audience, but also you have to cut through the interference of other messages just to get their attention.
You must have a clear, focused, understandable message that can be communicated in seconds. Details will be sought out by those who are interested, but that will happen later.
You must choose your media outlets carefully.
You probably need to use more than one media outlet.
You have to entertain as you inform, or you won’t be noticed.
You need to c
onsider every medium, from a video loaded onto YouTube to a full-fledged television campaign—it’s all up for grabs now.
You need to carefully consider your message, to make sure it’s the one you want to convey. Using the wrong words or focusing on the wrong aspect can be a huge mistake.
You don’t need to have a higher volume level to break through—what you need is a more direct frequency to your audience. Where do you get your information?
Danger Ahead
Data smog is a danger not only to the consumer of information, who might miss important news or simply overdose on data if he’s not careful, but also to the provider. Guerrillas who make the wrong moves in an ill-advised attempt to cut through the smog might not make the right choices. And in the Guerrilla movement, making the wrong choice can be devastating.
Make no mistake: There have been many Guerrilla P.R. disasters, plans so ill conceived, so poorly designed, or so badly implemented (sometimes all three) that they might have attracted media attention but have also done their originators irreparable harm. Guerrillas aren’t firing blanks—we’re using real guns and bullets out there, and if you are standing in the wrong place with the wrong plan, you can get shot.
It’s easy to understand why some of these catastrophes have occurred. Data smog blocks all messages, good and bad, and can seem impenetrable by conventional weapons. But hauling out a nuke because it will make a loud noise is like using a shotgun to kill a fly; it might not work, and it can do unforeseen damage.
You want an example? In February 2007, some employees of Turner Broadcasting’s subsidiary Cartoon Network decided to publicize a segment of the channel’s Adult Swim programming called Aqua Teen Hunger Force by placing battery-powered cartoon advertising signs that resembled suitcases at various points around several cities, including Boston, Massachusetts. A Guerrilla plan to get commuters, especially, to notice the name of the cartoon show and to wonder what it might be—a concept not all that different from the “I Hate Steven Singer” billboards in Philadelphia.
The problem was, these Guerrilla devices looked far too much like potential bombs.
The devices, which included circuit boards, were seen at various places in Boston, and the city, not wanting to make a fatal mistake, closed parts of bridges, subway stations, an Interstate highway, and the Charles River on February 1. It arrested one man and eventually settled with Turner Broadcasting for the cost to the city. Turner ended up paying $2 million to Boston—and no, that wasn’t free publicity.
It wasn’t the kind of publicity you want, either. Jim Samples, general manager and executive vice president of Cartoon Network, resigned just over a week later. The show’s ratings did not spike, and a film based on it tanked at movie theaters when released a few months later.
Turner didn’t mean to create that kind of panic—the devices weren’t supposed to look like bombs—but it was devastated by the incident. Anyone who says “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” should look closely at the news reports that ran on February 2, 2007, and see how well Cartoon Network is portrayed. While it didn’t cripple the division or the parent company, there was nothing about that tactic that in any way enhanced the image of anyone at Turner.
Say Pepsi, Please
Need another example of a P.R. disaster that could have been caused by data smog? Go no further than the Mother of All Business Disasters, the Edsel of the soft drink industry, New Coke. We’ve discussed this product and its remarkably bad introduction already, but now let’s ignore the enormous marketing blunders that were made and examine the message Coca-Cola was broadcasting.
When it decided to change its formula (based largely on market research that showed people liked the taste of Pepsi better), the Coca-Cola company had several P.R. choices open to it: the new product could be an addition to the existing product line, it could be marketed as something separate without the name “Coke” at all, or it could step in and replace one of the most successful products in history. The company, for reasons known only to its executives, chose the last—the worst—alternative.
That’s a marketing decision, and we won’t bother to speculate on it. Instead, let’s look at how the company might have explained its decision to the consumers, an amazingly loyal bunch of millions who had catapulted the original product to the very top of every conceivable sales chart. This is the constituency, the family. These were the people who had made this globally successful company what it was.
And here’s where the company really made the worst possible decision.
In essentially telling its consumers, “Don’t worry—trust us. You’ll like this better than the product you’ve been loyal to for decades” and then letting out the information that the new formula was supposed to taste more like Pepsi, Coca-Cola was making a statement equivalent to telling Boston Red Sox fans that the team had decided to be more like the New York Yankees, and in keeping with that philosophy, had decided to trade away its marquee players for several Yankees prospects. Blood would no doubt run in the streets of Boston.
It wasn’t bad enough that Coke was telling its customers it was making a more Pepsi-like product for them. The company then added injury to insult by completely removing the original product—the one consumers had been buying with undying loyalty for their entire lives—from store shelves, presumably never to be seen again. There might have been a way to communicate that action so loyal customers wouldn’t feel betrayed, but it would have taken a P.R. miracle of untold proportions. Instead, the Coke executives merely stated their decision, yanked the “original formula,” substituted the imposter on store shelves, and sat back, presumably waiting for the accolades and increased profits to which they felt entitled.
Needless to say, it didn’t work out that way. Instead, there were protests at supermarkets. Boycotts were announced. The reviews of the new product were negative. It was a matter of weeks before one of the world’s largest companies was brought to its knees and forced to immediately reverse a policy it had spent years creating and implementing.
With more communication between the customer base and the company, with a sensitive approach to those people who had indeed sustained Coca-Cola for years, it might have been possible to save New Coke—probably not as a replacement product, but certainly as an augmentation to the product line. But either arrogance or immense indifference to the consuming public (or both, a deadly combination) caused the executives to issue edicts rather than explain their position. Today, with blogs and e-mail blasts, it would be even easier to communicate directly with consumers, but for a company as large as Coke, there was no reason to be imperious and uncommunicative, even in 1985.
Keep in touch with the people who keep you going, and do so through carefully orchestrated Guerrilla P.R. assaults. But always keep in mind that communication is a two-way affair. Expect feedback—in fact, encourage feedback. Revel in it. It will tell you what you need to know to succeed beyond the level you’re reaching today.
Tips & Traps
Cut through data smog with originality, not volume.
Assume your audience is inundated with information and ask yourself, what’s different about what I’m saying?
Remember that reporters and media gatekeepers are just as badly afflicted with data smog infestation as anyone else—maybe more. Keep your message short, focused, and different.
Stunts can work, but most of the time they make you look silly. The man who created a 30-foot résumé and hung it over the rooftop of a Manhattan office building got plenty of news coverage—and no job.
In a video-obsessed society, how you look does count. Michael Moore always wears a baseball cap—it’s his signature. If he didn’t wear it, nobody would recognize him. What’s your signature?
If you do run into a Guerrilla P.R. disaster, own up to it immediately and make amends. Turner Broadcasting didn’t deny it was behind the botched Boston campaign, and paid for the security measures it had necessitated.
Focus on your target audience—i
t doesn’t matter what the general public will pay attention to if your consumer doesn’t care about that. It doesn’t matter if most people wouldn’t notice something, as long as the people you’re targeting will.
Statistics can be compelling, but they’re overused. They won’t cut through data smog unless they’re so dramatic they take your breath away. Even then, don’t start a press release with a statistic.
Data smog is caused by information overload. Your job is to get media exposure. Make your message different by saying less—just use your one most compelling argument, and forget the rest until you’ve got their attention.
Keep this in mind: What would make you stop and pay attention?
* * *
GUERRILLA P.R. COMMANDO: Jill Buck
Since Guerrilla P.R. was published in 1993, I’ve been touched and honored by many letters, e-mails, and faxes sent by readers who say the book has helped them. None of these is more gratifying to me than the communication from Jill Buck, founder and executive director of the Go Green Initiative Association (GGI).
Jill started GGI, which is a simple, comprehensive program designed to create a culture of environmental responsibility on school campuses across the nation. Founded in 2002, the Go Green Initiative unites parents, students, teachers, and school administrators in an effort to make real and lasting changes in their campus communities that will protect children and the environment for years to come.
It started simply enough: “I, as a PTA president of my kids’ elementary school, wrote the program in May 2002 on my kitchen table, and it has now eclipsed the entire environmental education industry,” Jill says. “We operate in thirty-nine states, Europe, Africa, Mexico, and will be taking the program to mainland China by the end of 2007. I am a featured speaker all over the country, and have been covered in many press outlets, large and small. We have an incredible list of partners, including both President Clinton’s and President Bush’s Federal Environmental Executives.”
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