So who really likes an outrageous challenge?

Hi folks,

Have you heard of Paul Hartunian? The man renowned for “selling the Brooklyn Bridge”. Maybe, maybe not. I’ll give you a quick rundown here.

As I remember Paul was driving in his car listening to the news when he heard that they were actually rebuilding parts of the old wooden Brooklyn Bridge. Seizing on the opportunity Paul raced to contact the company carrying out the reconstruction and offered to take the timber “off their hands” at his own expense. The construction company, seeing the value of not having to dispose of the old timbers themselves quickly agreed.

Paul subsequently attached a small piece of the Brooklyn Bridge timber, approximately 25mm x 25mm, to a postcard size piece of cardboard with the history of the Brooklyn Bridge printed on it. Then he sent a press release to the effect that he was “selling the Brooklyn Bridge” and it wasn’t long before it became “hot copy” and he was being interviewed by radio and TV stations and print media alike.

His story is legendary and so is he with his ability to make a fortune out of getting free publicity worth I suspect millions of dollars over the years.

You see, I’m looking for a slogan to help create a publicity buzz about the Silent Killer Seminar. After all, ticket sale proceeds are going to the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation and quite honestly I’ll make a fair bet nobody reading this hasn’t had a mother at some stage in their lives. Some of you probably are one. Some of you are married to one I’m sure.

Anyway, I intend to offer t-shirts for sale at the event with a slogan on them, again with the proceeds going to the OCRF, while hoping to get the attention of the media.

So put on your thinking cap, get your creative juices flowing, here’s your chance to email your slogan to us and maybe get to see it printed on the t-shirts and used for publicity.

Here's my feeble attempt.

"Ovarian Cancer...early detection
is the best protection!"

I challenge you to come up with a better one. I'm the only judge and executioner...no correspondence will be entered into.

To find out more about the actual Silent Killer Seminar, and how you can help us make a huge donation, go to the Silent Killer Seminar Web Site

Approximately 500 people have signed up in the last 48 hours. So I expect it will be sold out within the week. Thank you to all of you!

Here’s something that will help you get those juices flowing. It’s from Joe Vitale’s fantastic Hypnotic Marketing ebook and it’s a great example of what I am trying to achieve with your help.

"When Peter Shankman was downsized out of a job in 1998, he was nearly broke and not sure what to do next.

Of course, all problems contain new opportunities.

What his former employer couldn't take from him when they ripped away his access card was the inside knowledge of how media works.

As a result, Peter's company, The Geek Factory, a public relations agency, expects to gross an incredible $1 million in its second year. How did he do it? By using publicity to his advantage.

Here are some publicity stunts that worked for Shankman---and the underlying rules behind them

Rule 1: Word-of-mouth is the best publicity, so give people something to talk about. When Shankman first launched his high-tech consulting business, he donned a sandwich board and stood on the corner of 51st Street and Park Avenue in New York. He handed out resumes and fliers, which cost him under $30 to have printed. Two hours of effort---just two hours!---during a busy lunch hour netted him 189 phone calls, 74 interviews and 37 offers of work. He took on several opportunities, including the one that appealed most to him---helping the New Jersey Devils hockey team build their first website.

Rule 2: Reporters like stories that have a sense of immediacy, so look for ways to link your company's message to the big story of the day. Shankman didn't have enough money to buy the computer equipment he needed to get his new consulting business up and running. The hottest news and entertainment story of the day was the popularity of the hit movie Titanic. Shankman took his last $1,800 and bought 500 T-shirts on which he had imprinted a picture of the ship and the words "It Sank -- Get Over It." He took the T-shirts to New York's Central Park and set up shop, selling them for $10 each. Two hours later, he'd sold all 500, making a tidy profit of $3,750.

Rule 3: Toot your own horn. If you don't tell the media what you've done, they'll never know. So prepare press releases and get on the phone to the people you most want to hear your story. Shankman, a regular reader of USA Today, suspected that the writer/editor of his favorite column might be interested in his story, so he gave her a call.

Rule 4: Timing is everything. Shankman called on a slow Sunday, the slowest day of the news week.

The USA Today editor was thrilled to hear from Shankman because it's hard to write a column when there's not much news. A bright, enterprising story like Shankman's made the reporter/editor's job easier.

Rule 5: Don't be old news. No media wants to report on events that have passed. Offering news about things while they are happening will not only get you valuable attention, but also sell more products.

The first question the reporter/editor asked Shankman was whether he was going to continue selling the shirts because she didn't want to write about something that was no longer for sale. Shankman assured her he'd be selling the shirts. She asked where -- on his website? Shankman didn't have a website, but he didn't let that stop him. "Yes," he said, "I'm selling them on my website." Then he went home and built a website.

Rule 6: Be prepared for the impact of your promotional efforts. Have the goods ready to sell and the systems in place to make it happen. The next morning, the Internet Service Provider hosting Shankman's site woke him up. The 35,000 responses to his site in three hours that resulted from the USA Today article had crashed four of the company's six servers, and they wanted to know if this was going to continue.

Rule 7: Don't stop now. Keep those press releases coming. While you can't always expect a published follow-up report, media outlets always like to know when they've had an impact, so share your success.

In all, Shankman sold 8,000 T-shirts at $15 a piece and, after paying his upfront expenses, pocketed about $80,000 toward his business start-up costs. The ink from USA Today got picked up and published in such far-flung publications as the San Diego Union Tribune, the New York Daily News and U.S. News and World Report.

Rule 8: Be nice. Say thank you. Media people are customers too. After Shankman got his business off the ground and grew it in less than a year to eight employees, he decided to hold a picnic and invite people who had helped him out along the way. It ballooned into a skydiving party to which 75 media people and clients were invited. Among the guests who ultimately wrote about their experience were reporters from Forbes magazine and Business Week.

Shankman is modest about his successes and offers only one piece of advice.
"Don't be afraid to do something stupid," he says. "The worst that can happen is that it doesn't work."

Wise words indeed.

Remember, just let these ideas sink in.

In a way, what you are reading are hypnotic inductions.

They are stories for your “inner mind” to absorb, to help stretch your mind---and later fatten your wallet. "

So can you help us fatten the donation we’ll make to the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation by using your collective creativity to come up with a catchy slogan?

The chosen authors name will also be printed on the t-shirt and identified on the next Rebellious Rant, with their permission of course. So get to it and put your thinking caps on! The women of the world can use your help.

Email your slogan to mal @ rebelliousrant . com (without the spaces)

If you want to sign up now, head to Silent Killer Seminar Web Site

Committed to Multiplying Your Profits and Guilty of Conspiracy to Committing Capitalism,

Mal Emery

Have you enjoyed this week's rant? Then why not Tell a Friend

First time to my Rant...keep up to date on new rants?
Simply subscribe below.

PS We can't stand spam. Your email will only be used to update you on my next rant. If you don't subscribe I can't update you & you wont be able to get access to my Rebellious Rant

© Copyright Magnetic Marketing & Publications 2006  Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this article may be reproduced by any process or any other exclusive right exercised, without the permission of Magnetic Marketing & Publications.