Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work--And Why Your Company Needs Them [Paperback]

Peter Shankman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 047004392X | ISBN-13: 978-0470043929 | Publication Date: December 5, 2006 | Edition: 1

This fun and friendly book looks at real-life PR stunts that will blow your mind and inspire you to develop innovative and creative ways to get your company noticed. PR guru Peter Shankman chronicles the most ridiculous, outrageous, and possibly crazy PR stunts of all time—explaining why some work and others don’t. This is a funny, insightful guide to winning the PR game.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

What would you do to get your business noticed?

Every day consumers are bombarded with advertising and public relations messages. With so many companies competing for limited consumer dollars, how can you get your company's message out? Sometimes, a successful PR stunt is just what the doctor ordered! Can We Do That?! looks at real-life PR stunts that will blow your mind and inspire you to think nontraditionally and find new and creative ways to get your company noticed.

PR Guru Peter Shankman chronicles some of the most ridiculous, outrageous, and possibly crazy PR stunts of all time. Wading through the silliness to get to the root of why some stunts work and some don't, Shankman offers a funny and insightful look at what it takes to win the game of PR. You'll learn how and why:

• A stolen Yoo-Hoo truck became a promotional and media relations coup
• RegisterFree.com's "Free Hour" promotion was so successful it virtually shut down Internet access on the East Coast for nine hours
• More than 100 CEOs, dot.com workers, and media figures jumped out of a plane in the name of brand visibility
• A small yarn shop in upstate New York caught on with hip city dwellers interested in eating their sweaters
• And more outrageous ideas!

Shankman looks at these and many more case studies and provides the historical background and follow-up needed to fully gauge their success. But most important, Can We Do That?! shows you how to develop effective PR campaigns on your own. Getting noticed is no easy task, especially for small businesses. This handy guide to guerrilla PR explores the tactics and stunts that work—and shows you how to apply them to your own business without busting your budget.

About the Author

Peter Shankman is the CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc., a marketing and PR strategy firm, whose clients have included Snapple Beverage Group, Napster, and the Discovery Channel. He is also CEO of AirTroductions, the Internet's first in-flight dating and networking service. He lives in New York and frequently speaks at trade shows and conferences on PR, marketing, and creativity.

Product Details

• Paperback: 211 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (December 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047004392X
• ISBN-13: 978-0470043929
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.6 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #687,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

174 of 186 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Other reviewers must be GOOD friends of the author, August 30, 2007

By 

Nunja Bidnet (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work--And Why Your Company Needs Them (Paperback)

A piece of "advice" from the author (pg. 54):

"PR for the sake of PR is a waste of time."

Writing a book just for the sake of writing a book is a waste of time for readers seeking ROI on their valuable time spent.


For readers seeking any insight on effective communication campaign operations, look elsewhere.

The content of this book ranged from the banal ("Everything should be a potential media opportunity...as a chance to get more media and more exposure for your client.") to the narcissistic ("...I am known. The media knows me...they know my clients.") with not that much of value for anyone -- industry beginners or salty veterans. At times the author's advice drifted toward the ridiculous. He suggests, for instance, that if you are suffering from a creativity block, take a trip down to the local animal shelter and hang out with stray dogs (no kidding!).

Without fail, his anecdotes cast him as the Maharaja of "out-of-the-box" thinking. I would agree with this self-characterization if the phrase "out-of-the-box" meant mass-produced Bratz dolls from the Walmart shelves after Christmas. His pomposity truly shines through when he describes situations at his firm -- he rarely mentions another name, opting instead to refer to most collaborators as his "employees." OK, it may be true that all of those with whom he's had these experiences happened to be his employees, but the facelessness and anonimity with which he veils others SCREAMS of a self-absorbed man who guards his "turf" at all costs and rarely offers credit and praise to others. Don't mean to play junior therapist, but it is an important note that highlights one of the more annoying aspects of this diary.

The author advises the reader to keep pitches short and to the point (more "original thinking"), yet provides samples of his own pitches that were, to be generous, neither.

His advice on effective headline writing is atrocious. It seemed as though he is hoping all of his competitors read his book and take his advice so he is the only on left in the PR industry!

The following is actually a suggested headline:

ACME COMPANY OFFERS A "DAY OF THANKS" TO LOCAL COMMUNITY FOR RECORD GROWTH AND PROFITS, SIGNS MULTI-YEAR DEAL ON NEW SPACE AND WILL GIVE BACK TO CENTERVILLE'S LESS FORTUNATE ON MARCH 15TH

Yes, I said this is a suggested headline. I'm assuming that the text appearing after "PROFITS" was meant as the deck, but it is not presented as such. Either way, it's a mess. And no, I'm not saying that because it's "different." I'm saying that because it is garbled and just plain awful.

More from the sage:

"Don't be afraid to be different." (Pg. 2)

"If it's not important, it's not worth talking about." (pg. 14)

"If you have something to say, find an intersting way to say it." (pg. 18)

"Don't bore people." (pg. 18)

"Learn to craft a press release that doesn't put people to sleep." (pg. 31)

"To be creative, you have to do different things than you are doing right now." (pg. 50)

"...brainstorming will produce the most insane ideas when you least expect them." (Pg. 86)

"You get one chance to make a first impression." (pg. 89)

"Don't expect. Plan." (pg. 97)

"Whatever you do, don't give up. Don't rest on your laurels." (pg. 103)

"Don't make promises you can't keep." (pg. 168)

Really, it doesn't get any better than this...and I don't mean that in the sippin' Mojitos on a white sand beach sort of way.

65 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Overhyped, May 16, 2008

By 

Dan Cooley "Dan" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work--And Why Your Company Needs Them (Paperback)

Hi there, after reading some of these positive reviews, I bought the book and I was extremely disapointed. I think was irritates me the most is that these reviews are clearly fake or written by PR friends of the author. I guess working the amazon system is what you'd expect to find from a pr person. Save your money.

72 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Reviews are not to be trusted, March 22, 2008

By 

Lo (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work--And Why Your Company Needs Them (Paperback)

I feel duty-bound to note that sadly, as seems to be the case more and more frequently on amazon, there is review "fixing" going on for this product. The favorable reviews are featured and presented as "most helpful." However, the only one-star review actually has the most helpful votes AND the most actual information about the book. This review may not have useful information about the book, but neither do the "most helpful." I don't consider "beg, borrow, steal, just get this book!" to be very illuminating as to its contents. Presumably there were other one-star reviews that have been removed. Be aware that the rating is probably not accurate before you purchase.