Here is a Great Marketing Publicity Stunt from Roto-Rooter

Roto-Rooter used a tricked out toilet to build attention for its services. Here is what I think worked about the campaign:

· It leverage currents trends in consumer electronic technologies

· It identified the popularity of the “tricked out” or “Pimped out” trend and leveraged it to the point of silly (which also worked)

· The novelty value of the prize that had great visual appeal for the broadcast media

· It targeted its male demographic properly with the right prize, tone, and theme

· Using YouTube as the video news releases (VNR) distribution method. (With the new FTC rules about VNR usage broadcast news stations have to report that the VNR is and “advertorial” and not created by the station. This means that many stations will no longer use VNR footage.)

· They could have gone even further by offering it to some television shows or movies for product placements. Couldn’t you picture this on The Simpsons or some of the odd reality shows out there e.g. Falva Fave?

A Woman Wins Roto-Rooter’s Tricked Out Toilet

From Promo Magazine

Much to the chagrin of thousands of men who entered Roto-Rooter's sweepstakes offering a tricked out toilet, a woman has claimed the prize.

Marcia Luhman, 55, a semi-retired Oro Valley, AZ, resident won the “Pimped Out John” valued at $5,000. She said she entered because she thought her 25-year-old son would like the prize.

"I did it as a joke because he is a little crazy and I knew he would enjoy it," she told reps at Roto-Rooter.

The sweeps garnered 318,000 entries.

The high-end Kohler Cimarron commode has a flat-screen TV, gaming system, DVD player and other electronic gadgets attached to it. An iPod docking station is equipped with a toilet paper dispenser and the seat is covered in lime green fuzz.

The goal of the campaign was to bring in a younger demographic to boost the company’s core customer base of aging Boomers and beyond.

The winner was announced April 25, National Plumber’s Day. The toilet arrived at the winner’s home yesterday, with the option of a Roto-Rooter service person installing it, spokesperson Paul Abrams said.

Roto-Rooter used a $140,000 budget for the campaign that included notifying its 200,000 e-mail subscribers about the sweeps and placing videos on YouTube.com.

A major PR effort helped boost awareness. The Pimped Out John was mentioned on major broadcast shows including the “Today” show, “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, the BBC, as well as in hundreds of newspapers.

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