Hall of Fame a Fun Way to Promote Products, Events

By Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound

Regardless of what you’re promoting, almost anybody can create a Hall of Fame and generate fabulous publicity—often year after year.

And you don’t need a building to house it—just a little time and effort to promote it.

Annual events like festivals are perfect candidates for a hall of fame. For example, the owl Nature Center in Houston, Minnesota has its own World Owl Hall of Fame to promote its annual “Festival of Owls” every March.

It chooses not only one owl each year, but one human who has done something special for the world of owls.

Keeping it really fun helps generate publicity. The first year, Fat Broad was inducted into the Hall of Fame. The Oregon Associated Press covered the story which was picked up by newspapers throughout the state. Now, it’s called the “World Owl Hall of Fame.” Media as far as Australia covered the story.

In 2008, people from seven countries nominated candidates for the hall of fame.


The Cockroach Hall of Fame

Here’s another great Hall of Fame I love. It’s called the Cockroach Hall of Fame, courtesy of Michael Bohdan, an exterminator who runs The Pest Shop in North Texas. Whenever there’s a problem with fire ants or roof rats, he alerts the local media, and they feature him as an expert.

My friend, TV reporter Jeff Crilley, tipped me off to Museum and wrote about it in his newsletter:

“Two decades ago, he held a national contest asking people to dress up dead cockroaches as their favorite celebrity and send them in to his extermination store in Plano, Texas,” Jeff wrote. “This little PR stunt cost him nothing and it has earned him hundreds of media hits, including The Tonight Show, Regis, CNN and Fox News.”

In fact, Jeff says, even though it’s been 20 years since Bohdan held the contest, he’s still featured in stories about his museum. Visitors come from coast to coast to The Pest Shop to see exhibits like Liberoache, David Letteroach, and Madonnaroach.

Jeff writes:

“There are lots of exterminators in this country. Michael Bohdan is one of the few who has figured out a way to become a public relations praying mantis without ever being a pest.”


What you can learn

So what can you learn from the owl and cockroach halls of fame?

—Use humor. In Bohdan’s book “What’s Bugging You?,” he even includes reviews of bug movies.

—Consider starting a Hall of Fame for your event, and promote it like crazy with optimized press releases, and pitching bloggers and traditional media.

—Make it interactive. Ask attendees or your website visitors to nominate Hall of Fame entries.

—Position yourself as an expert in your topic, and piggyback off local, regional and national news.


The Wisconsin Veterinary Hall of Fame

One of my favorites is the Pet Hall of Fame, created by the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association. Each year, it gets fabulous publicity when it announces its newest inductees. They receive medals and special recognition at a luncheon in their honor during the association’s annual retreat.

Winners include:

• Hoss, a black Labrador that saved the lives of two young children who had fallen through the ice.

• Dixie, a German Shepherd/Golden Retriever mix that helps his owners sense and cope with seizures before they occur.

• Milo, a pup that moved into a new home to give a lonely person constant companionship.

The annual awards have resulted in dozens of stories over the years in local newspapers and magazines and on Wisconsin radio and TV stations. But the big coup came more than a decade ago, shortly after the first Hall of Fame inductees were announced.

A producer working for “Oprah” called Leslie Grendahl, executive director of the veterinary association, and asked about Elvis, a Harlequin Great Dane that saved the lives of his owners during a house fire. “Oprah” was planning a program on unusual animals, hence the phone call.

Elvis was whisked by limo from his home in Chetek, Wisconsin to Oprah's studios in Chicago and, overnight, became a star. And, of course, the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association and the Pet Hall of Fame were mentioned.

"Our Hall of Fame stories are touchy-feely, and the press just loves them," Leslie said.

Why not create your own hall of fame that ties into your own special event? (For more help, see "How to Plan & Promote Sizzling Special Events.")

Promote it by writing and posting online press releases, pitching bloggers who write about your topic, pitching journalists on your media contact hit list, using social media sites, and creating videos about inductees.

It’s inexpensive. It’s fun. And it’s the type of promotion that can become an annual event.


 

Direct comments or questions about this article, including requests for reprint rights, to:

Joan Stewart
The Publicity Hound
3434 County KK
Port Washington, WI 53074
Phone: 262-284-7451
JStewart@PublicityHound.com