After accidentally spamming 1,000 VIPs with 450,000 emails, a marketer sent a personal apology. He found that 99% of recipients were gracious and empathetic, understanding that such mistakes can happen. This act of vulnerability helped mitigate the reputational damage.
An agency attempted to win a video game client by live-waterboarding an employee in the boardroom. The stunt, intended as memorable 'pitch theatre,' went too far, causing genuine suffering and ultimately costing them the business. This shows that being memorable isn't always effective.
A marketer discovered a recurring typo ('soffware') on a six-figure trade show stand. Instead of correcting it, she ignored it for three days. No clients or executives noticed, proving that audiences often scan rather than read, making minor errors less critical than feared.
A client blindsided her PR team by revealing a past affair on national TV. Her rationale was to 'take the air out of the balloon' and own the story, preventing publications from using it as a salacious exposé years later. This is a high-risk, high-reward approach to reputation management.
When David Cameron bailed on a press conference in Afghanistan, a PR officer was mistaken for him by the world's media. He chose to do the interview as Cameron, delivering the pre-approved lines, to avoid the damaging headline 'David Cameron walks away from difficult questions.'
An agency hired an actor to play a 'weird' PR person in a pitch, with a planned reveal at the end. The stunt backfired when the client genuinely liked the actor's performance and requested they be assigned to the account, highlighting how clients can value charisma over proven expertise.
After losing all flip chart notes from a C-suite workshop, marketers recreated the strategy from memory. This forced them to recall only the most salient points, resulting in a concise, effective plan the client praised. This suggests the most memorable ideas are often the most important.
To stand out, PR agency Frank built unique boardrooms, including a real ambulance and an indoor beach. While sometimes impractical (a large client couldn't fit in a waltzer ride), the strategy ensured no client would ever forget them, providing a powerful competitive advantage in a sea of generic meeting rooms.
A £15M Nokia campaign generated only 37 downloads because most TV viewers didn't have a compatible handset—a flaw known internally. The campaign proceeded because the business case was approved, showing how rigid corporate finance structures can override common sense marketing and guarantee failure.