Marketing by Protest
Catholic News Agency broke a story about video game giant Electronic Arts (EA) funding a publicity stunt: Marketing by protest. There are several examples (The DaVinci Code, The Last Temptation of Christ) of films whose box office was increased by the amount of negative publicity generated by protests from Christian groups, so a viral marketing agency EA hired thought it would be a good idea to use that strategy.
They hired about 20 people to pass out amateurish material and hold signs bearing slogans such as “Trade in Your PlayStation for a PrayStation,” “Hell is not a Game” and “EA = Electronic Anti-Christ” outside the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. The agency also created a website in connection with the stunt. Condemning messages and images were actually thinly-disguised promotions of the game.
That’s a very underhanded way to promote a new product, but apparently Christians’ reputations precede us. It’s a tired saying, but still true, that Christians are often known more for what they’re AGAINST, than what they’re FOR. So now the protests that so many hoped would change the minds of filmmakers, retail giants, and other influencers, are being used in a reverse marketing ploy.
While a spokesperson for EA admitted they hired the company who pulled the stunt, they failed to apologize for it.
What do you think will be the next “fake Christian stunt” publicists and agencies will use?
[...] talked about marketing before on this blog (here, here, and here), and looked at some great examples of grass-roots campaigns that got audiences into [...]
November 11th, 2009 at 2:51 pm