Why did the Mustang ride the elevator?
To get to the top of the Empire State Building, of course!
It’s not a riddle, but it was a clever PR tactic.
The Ford Motor Company is an iconic American enterprise, and it has no intention of
taking a back seat to any competitor. One of its classic cars, the Mustang, turned 50 in
2015, and the company wanted to ring in the anniversary with nostalgia and panache.
How? By scaling the Empire State Building. Again.
At 50, the Mustang is still agile and powerful, as the two YouTube videos I’ve posted
demonstrate. Both talk about the stunt, but the videos have different perspectives.
One perspective is Ford’s. If you were working for the company’s in-house PR team,
you’d pitch the idea to multiple media outlets. You’d do more than say the Mustang is
strong; you’d demonstrate it by putting the muscle car atop what was once the world’s
tallest building. You’d use the tactic to position (literally) one of its most popular
vehicles at the top of the market.
You would use the stunt to allude to the company’s ingenuity and originality. How many
other companies, after all, could pull off this stunt? The second climb recreates a feat
that hasn’t been tried in the last 50 years.
You would secure interviews that carefully frame the language of the engineers and the
CEO. Sure, you’d use social media to generate buzz, but if you’re smart, you would use
the event to give Ford an opportunity to tell its story through local, national and
international media and trade publications to amplify the company’s message. Some
argue that earned media coverage drives circles around advertising.
Now, take a look at the CNN video, which offers a different perspective. Reporter
Jeanne Moos’ was one of many journalists who covered the story, but her off-beat,
feature style emphasized the novelty of the stunt. Moos used Ford’s video to give
audiences a behind-the-scenes view of how they pulled off the stunt. She also
explained that Ford was not the first car company to pull off this kind of high-wire act.
She also pointed out there were no horses under the Mustang’s hood. The event
provided CNN (and other media outlets) with what they need: an interesting story that
could be covered from a variety of perspectives because it touched on many news
values. Most of the stories did not stay on the Ford “script.”
If you’re a savvy practitioner (working in a firm or in-house) you’ll figure out other clever
ways to tell your client’s story, earn media attention and build relationships.
Questions for thought:
Using the PRSA’s definition of public relations, what can we learn about this stunt?
How does it, for example, demonstrate strategic communication? What connection
does this story have to mutually beneficial relationships? Relationships with which
publics? What do you think the purpose of the video was? What do you think Ford was
trying to accomplish: Sales? Buzz? Relationships? What is the value of earned media
coverage versus advertising? What other media outlets could have covered this story?
How might a “straight” business story, for example, differed from Moos’ feature style?
What other news values were present in the story? Why should you provide video to
journalists if they can use it any way they choose?
The video also raises questions about news values that journalists use to determine
whether information is newsworthy. Here’s a list of common news values that you’ll find
in print and broadcast newsrooms from coast to coast. The more news values a story
has, the longer it will be in the news cycle.
Hard News Values – Key elements that drive a story (pun intended) and keep it on
the front pages:
Timeliness – events happening now; very important in era of 24-hour news cycle
Proximity – how close events are to an audience; proximity can be emotional, physical o
geographic
Impact/Relevance – What does it mean in the lives of your audience? How will these
events change your life?
Prominence – How well-known is the person or event?
Conflict – Does the event involve man vs man? Man vs self? Man vs nature? Man vs.
technology?
Currency – An idea, event that keeps recurring
“Soft” News Values – Key elements are fun, not necessarily life-altering:
Human interest – Elements of the story speak to our connectedness as people
Novelty – Elements that are unusual or strange (e.g. man bites dog).