Hey up, this is Unbottled. The weekly newsletter taking you around PR like an AMEX rewards program takes you around the world. There’s one major difference – we don’t charge fees.

Here’s how we’re starting the week:

• The ‘“do cool sh*t budget” and why you need one

• Led by Donkeys strike again

• From the journalist’s mouth: How many follow-ups before they get annoyed

THE PERFECT ATTIRE FOR CLIMBING

A three-piece suit. Of course.

A Japanese tailor took his marketing to new heights when he climbed Mount Kinabalu while wearing a three-piece business suit and brown leather shoes.

Why? Because why not!

The business owner just wanted to secure some images at the top of the mountain to show just how good the suits are if you can climb all the way to the summit in one.

But maybe what he didn’t bank on was being the star of numerous people’s TikTok videos as they spotted the man casually strolling up the mountain as if he was late to a business meeting. And TikTok did what TikTok does best. He went viral.

Social media and PR seem to be going hand in hand more than ever before and it wasn’t long before the global press picked the story up. Coverage in Yahoo, The Mirror, and Times Now just to name a few, and they are still rolling in!

Probably the best marketing his company will ever do. All from an idea he thought was cool.

No data, no science, just an idea.

And this got us thinking. This was an activity that had no clear ROI… it took quite a bit of time and effort, but it was cool.

We’re putting this in the “do cool sh*t budget”.

Marketing is tough and we all know not everything is going to fly. That’s where the do cool sh*t budget comes in. Because good stuff will come if you execute cool and creative ideas, you just might not be able to predict the ROI.

Google used to have the 20% rule.

They wanted employees to take one day per week to work on side projects on whatever they think will most benefit Google. No set ROI, no set plan, just do cool work… and what happened? Gmail was born. Not a bad result.

So start executing cool ideas just because they are cool. Good sh*t will come from it.

If it is good enough for Google, it is good enough for us.

So if you want an excuse to execute some of your ideas, just forward this email to your boss. We’ve got your back.

LED BY DONKEYS: MPs FOR HIRE

Where do we start with this one?

You may be opening up your Twitter and news feeds this morning to see that once again the UK government and certain MPs are in a PR nightmare.

Again.

Activism group Led By Donkeys created a fake firm and tried to hire a number of MPs for advisory roles. It is no surprise that a few of them jumped at the opportunity.

🚨MPs FOR HIRE: a Led By Donkeys undercover investigation🚨

Watch the trailer… pic.twitter.com/TOPxuhmbr9
— Led By Donkeys (@ByDonkeys) March 25, 2023

 

National headlines, 100+ million views on social media, and a whole lot of backlash.

If you ever feel imposters syndrome just remember that Matt Hancock confidently charges £10k a day https://t.co/K092reASTk
— Luke Cope (@Copozade) March 25, 2023

More than anything though, we just love the creativity and execution of the activist group.

If you want some lunchtime entertainment, give the videos a watch.

FROM THE JOURNALIST’S MOUTH: FOLLOW-UPS

As PRs we know that follow-ups are essential to the outreach process. Journalists are busy and often appreciate the follow-up. But how many follow-ups are the perfect amount before you start to be an annoyance?

How many PR follow-ups is too many? Honestly right now, for me, more than 1. If I haven't responded to you after 4 emails, including 3 follow-ups that add zero new information or timely hook, please stop pitching me that idea. Safe to assume it's a pass for now! #PRtips #PRpros
— Kelsey Ogletree (@KelseyOgletree) March 23, 2023

Of course, every journalist will have a slightly different preference for what they like. So here are 3 top tips from PR Director Katy Powell:

1. Follow up once, two or three days after your first email (consider weekends, if your original outreach was on a Thursday, send your email Monday or Tuesday, not Saturday or Sunday).

    

2. Keep your follow-up short, reply to the previous email you sent (so don’t start a new thread) and add in anything bespoke to that journalist e.g. if they’ve written something relevant recently that your story would compliment

    

3. Don’t phone the journalist up to follow up if they’ve not responded to your email, just don’t do it – we want to make friends not lose them here.

Cheers, KP.

That’s all for this week folks. Stay thirsty & see you next week! If you want more, follow us on LinkedIn

– The Bottled Imagination team